"Creativity, Authenticity, and Cultural Mediation: Ethnography of China-Africa Fashion Trade and Cons"

The Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis (ASCA) currently has a vacant Postdoc position as part of the ERC-funded research project Fashioning Power through South-South Interaction: Re-thinking Creativity, Authenticity, Cultural Mediation and Consumer Agency along China-Africa Fashion Value Chains, led by main researcher dr. Tommy Tse. ASCA is one of the five Research Schools within the Amsterdam Institute for Humanities Research.

This Postdoc position is embedded in the ERC-funded research project China Fashion Power - Fashioning Power through South-South Interaction: Re-thinking Creativity, Authenticity, Cultural Mediation and Consumer Agency along China-Africa Fashion Value Chains. The aims of the project are:

• to move beyond a Western-centric epistemology to map the chains, restraints and materialities of China’s power expansion through everyday fashion;
• to collect and triangulate empirical information along complete South-South commodity chains through multi-sited ethnography, semiotic and visual analysis, individual and focus group interviews, wardrobe archival studies, and other digital methods;
• to provide evidence of how Chinese-African fashion industries impact upon the social, cultural, economic and affective lives of Eastern African consumers in the context of increasing globalisation, digitalisation, consumerism, and China’s ambition abroad.

While the ERC-funded research as a whole will use an assortment of research methods to map out the (1) production, (2) trade, (3) retail, and (4) consumption processes of fashion products along the China-Africa fashion value chains, the Postdoc researcher – focussing on two of the four subprojects – will primarily focus on the second (trade) and fourth (consumption) stages, and work closely with the main researcher (dr. Tommy Tse) and other existing ERC team members (2 postdocs, 2 PhDs).

This is what you will be doing:

• Designing and conducting research under the guidance of the project leader, resulting in at least two peer-reviewed academic publications in (inter)national scientific journals, edited volumes, and/or monographs.
• Conduct ethnography in key fashion trading sites (focussing on Eastern African markets) in China in the first year of research, including wholesale markets, trade shows, and online trading and consumption platforms (the fieldsites are primarily based in Guangzhou, but may also extend to other Chinese cities following the full fashion value chains).
• Building rapports and carrying out formal interviews and informal dialogues with various actors (e.g. designers, traders, trend forecasters, wholesalers), observing their everyday work procedures, work conditions and online-and-offline social interactions with others, and partaking in both their work-related and leisure activities.
• Propose and design context-specific digital strategies (e.g. digital application, social media stories) to improve resource efficiency in South-South supply chains, minimise environmental degradation, and raise consumers’ awareness of sustainability and embed it into their daily consumption.

Your tasks and responsibilities:

• Conducting research and completing full drafts of two peer-reviewed academic publications (sole- and/or co-authored) for submission within the period of appointment;
• Setting up and managing project data (while taking into consideration the project’s risk analysis, and complying to its data management plan);
• Participating in the meetings of the project, and closely collaborating with the main researcher, 2 other Postdoc researchers, and 2 other PhDs;
• Presenting research results at national and international workshops and conferences;
• Contributing to the content of the project website with your research findings.

This is what we ask of you:

• A relevant PhD degree in the Humanities or Social Sciences, on a topic relevant to the project, completed no later than 30 Sep 2025.
• Outstanding research qualities manifested in strong transcripts, a high-quality PhD dissertation and peer-reviewed academic publications.
• Demonstrable knowledge and experience of the following research methods: ethnography; participant observation; individual interviews; narrative, semiotic and visual analysis, and digital methods.
• Demonstrable experience working with theoretical frameworks, and a keen interest in the research fields central to the project: media and cultural studies, gender, race and ethnicity, fashion studies, postcolonial/decolonial theory, and China studies.
• Excellent written and spoken English, and a high-level of proficiency in/understanding of Mandarin and/or Cantonese.
• Team spirit and experience working in an interdisciplinary, international setting.
• Willingness to travel abroad for fieldwork, research stays, conferences and workshops.
• Strong interpersonal, analytical and organizational skills.

This is what we offer you:

• A temporary full-time (38 hours/week) contract for 9 months, with the possibility of extension for 6–12 months contingent on the availability of funding. The position is expected to start between 1 December 2025 and March 2026, subject to visa processing.
• Salary for a fulltime position ranges between €3.546 and €5.538 and does not include the 8% holiday allowance and the 8,3% year-end allowance.
• A favourable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to international applicants if they meet the requirements.
• The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

This is where you will be working:

The position is embedded in the Media Studies department and the project is part of the Amsterdam School of Cultural Analysis (ASCA), which is one of the five Research Schools within the Amsterdam Institute for Humanities Research. ASCA is home to more than 120 scholars and 160 PhD candidates, and is a world-leading international research school in Cultural Analysis. ASCA members share a commitment to working in an interdisciplinary framework and to maintaining a close connection with contemporary cultural and political debates.

Applications should include the following information (submitted in one pdf file, under the CV button): A letter, motivating your reasons for applying, and detailing why you are an excellent candidate for the position as well as your own ideas for this sub-project (no more than 1,000 words in total). Your curriculum vitae, listing at least: full address and contact details, education, professional employment and language proficiency. Also include grants/honors, conference presentations, academic publications and creative work (e.g. photography, art and design, exhibition), teaching and curriculum design experiences, if applicable. Transcripts of your PhD degree, and of your Master’s (or equivalent) degree. The names and contact details of three referees familiar with your academic record and research skills, including your PhD thesis advisor. They may also be approached by the selection committee. The vacancy closes on 30-9-2025.