1 Postdoc and 3 PhD positions in Geography and/or Urban Studies
‘Urban Revolution and the Political’
Applications are invited for 1 post-doctoral and 3 doctoral researcher positions for the project “Urban revolution and the Political” funded by an ERC Starting Grant at LATTS (Research Centre on Technologies, Territories and Societies). The positions are for 3 years, renewable for one year, and are expected to begin in September 2017. Candidates should have a background in Urban Geography, Economic Geography, Urban Economics, Urban Sociology, Urban Anthropology, Urban Planning, or a related discipline. Ability to work collectively as a part of a research team, and fluency in spoken and written English are essential. For non-Francophone candidates, willingness to acquire basic French language skills is desirable.
LATTS (
https://latts.fr/ <
https://latts.fr/>) is a multi-disciplinary research lab, and a major centre of urban research in France. It is situated in Campus Descartes, a large cluster of research centres and institutes of higher education in the eastern Parisian region. LATTS is affiliated with three institutions: École des Ponts ParisTech, UPEM (University of Paris-East Marne-la-Vallée), and CNRS (the French National Centre for Scientific Research).
The project is on the political implications of speculation-driven urbanization. Adopting an urban political economy approach it will examine accumulation practices based on urbanization, and the extent to which our ‘urban age’ corresponds to a new kind of ‘urban politics’. The project is organized around three interrelated themes: 1. uneven globalization of real estate markets, 2. exploitation of urban space through rent extraction, 3. the ways in which these are contested and challenged at different scales. Using a multi-sited ethnography approach the work will be primarily based on case studies in Hong Kong, Istanbul, London, and São Paulo. (Proposals for other urban regions will also be considered if they fit the project’s framework.) These cities feature broadly similar processes of property-led (re)developments, and a variety of activist and advocacy networks that challenge these. Additionally all four cities have experienced largely spontaneous mobilizations and/or popular occupations within the last few years. The project will make use of filmmaking in collaboration with a professional filmmaker, thus candidates should be prepared to incorporate audio-visual methods in their work.
3 PhD positions
You will have a fully funded 3-year position as a doctoral student, with the possibility of an additional fourth year as a research associate. Your Ph.D. degree will be awarded by the University of Paris-Est. Dr. Ozan Karaman (the PI) will be one of your co-supervisors. Each Ph.D. project will be based on one urban region. Existing research experience in the particular urban context, and fluency in the local language are highly desirable. Through specific case studies, you will investigate the various ways in which urban land rent is extracted, as well as how specific urban processes are negotiated and contested. You will also study recent mass scale mobilizations in terms of their links to contradictions stemming from particular urban policies.
1 Postdoc position
The position will be for 3 years full time, or 4 years at 75%. Your main job will be to collaborate with the PI and the Ph.D. students to examine the differentiated articulation of local real estate markets with globalized networks. You will also share managerial responsibilities with the PI in terms of the overall coordination of the research, and training of PhD students. Quantitative analysis skills, and familiarity with GIS tools are desirable (but not essential).
To apply please send by e-mail, a cover letter explaining your past research experience and your research interests, a CV, a short research proposal (~2 pages) including case studies, contact information of two scientific referees to Ms. Sarah Alves (sarah.alves@??? <
mailto:sarah.alves@enpc.fr>) by 14 May 2017. For any inquiries please contact Dr. Ozan Karaman (ozan.karaman@??? <
mailto:ozan.karaman@enpc.fr>)
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