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YOUR TASKS
We have a vacancy for a fully-funded four-year position as a doctoral researcher on a project at the intersection of Romantic studies and literary, translation, and media studies. The project has been awarded to Prof Dr Brecht de Groote by the national funding agency FWO (Research Foundation Flanders, grant code: G084426N). Its full title is “Recovering the British-French Romantic Media Concept by Recomposing Transnational Impostures.” Ghent University serves as the host institution for the project.
The aim of the project is to study the national circulation and transnational (i.e. between Britain and France) exchanges of hoaxes, misinformation, disinformation and similar phenomena in the Romantic period. Working closely with the project’s supervisor, you will compile and analyse, through close reading and digital methods, a corpus of texts in order to examine how writers and translators identified, created and disseminated or thwarted potential misinformation as it spread across borders.
As a doctoral researcher, you will be working towards a doctoral dissertation and a doctoral degree, and you will be expected to present and publish your work in relevant national and international venues. You will also be expected to take on limited teaching and administrative or organisational duties. At least 80% of your of your assignment will be reserved for academic research in preparation of a doctoral dissertation.
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
- You hold a Master’s degree, or are to obtain a Master’s degree by the time the position starts, in a field of study relevant to the project. This includes Literature, Translation Studies, Comparative Literature, History, Language and Literature, Cultural Studies, Philosophy, etc.
- You show strong potential as a researcher, and you combine strong analytic skills with a gift for communication in a range of settings. You can work independently as well as part of a research team.
- You have an excellent command of English, and at minimum a reading comprehension of French or better.
WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU
- Your contract will start on 1 October 2026 at the earliest.
- We will offer a full-time, fully funded position as a doctoral fellow at Ghent University, consisting of an initial period of 12 months. Following a positive evaluation, this will be extended to a total maximum of 48 months (i.e. 1 + 3 years). When you begin your contract, you will also register and enrol as a doctoral student.
- The salary is 100% of the net salary of a so-called AAP member of staff in equal family circumstances. The individual fellowship amount is determined by the University’s Personnel Administration based on family status and seniority. For more information about our salary scales, see https://www.ugent.be/en/work/talent/welcoming-new-staff/salaryscales. Note that the amounts should be multiplied by the index at time of payment, and that fellowships are not subject to income tax.
- The appointment includes a yearly bench fee which you can use (at the supervisor’s discretion, and according to FWO regulations) to offset professional expenses (conferences, equipment, specialist courses, etc.).
- All Ghent University staff members enjoy a number of benefits, such as a wide range of training and education opportunities, 36 days of holiday leave (on an annual basis for a full-time position) supplemented by annual fixed bridge days. For a complete overview of all our staff benefits, see https://www.ugent.be/en/work/talent/considering.
You will be conducting your research under the mentorship of Prof Dr Brecht de Groote. You can find his research profile here: https://research.flw.ugent.be/en/brecht.degroote. An advisory doctoral committee of experts will also be appointed to help guide you through your project.
You will pursue your research at the Faculty of Arts & Philosophy, and primarily in the context of the TRACE (Translation & Culture) Research Group (https://research.flw.ugent.be/trace). The research group, the department and the faculty offer a dynamic, supportive and well-connected context for researchers across all career stages.
INTERESTED?
Send your applications to Prof Dr Brecht de Groote (brecht.degroote@ugent.be) no later than 1 June 2026. Use “FWO26 PhD Application” as your subject line.
Your application should include these materials:
- A cover letter, which should outline your reasons for applying and how you fit the job description.
- Your CV, which should also include contact details for two references.
- A copy of the required degree (if already obtained; if not, indicate when you should have the degree in hand). If you have a degree in a language other than English or one of Belgium’s national languages (Dutch, French or German), please add a translation. Also include transcripts of your results throughout your studies, if available.
- A single-authored piece of academic writing or an excerpt thereof (a thesis or chapter from a thesis, a paper, etc.) (max. 5,000 words).
Please integrate these materials into a single pdf.
A shortlist of selected applicants will be invited for an interview, which will give you an opportunity to discuss your qualifications and your ambitions. Upon selection, you will be sent the abstract of the project, and asked to prepare a short presentation for the interview. In this presentation, you will outline how you might tackle a case study in the project described above (max. 10 mins). This talk is not expected to replicate the funded project, but rather to demonstrate how you would intellectually position yourself within it: its aim is to assess your maturity and your research potential.
Interviews are expected to be organised in the last week of June or the first week of July. The interviewers will include the project’s supervisor and one or two other members of staff. For shortlisted applicants unable to travel, online interviews will be organised.
As Ghent University maintains an equal opportunity and diversity policy, everyone is encouraged to apply for this position.
For more information about this vacancy, please contact Prof Dr Brecht de Groote (brecht.degroote@ugent.be).
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Brecht de Groote