Postdoctoral Scholarship in Social Sciences

University of Antwerp

Regime
Full-time

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Position

The Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Communication, The Visual and Digital Cultures Research Center is looking for a full-time PhD student within the ERC-funded project WALLS2BRIDGES – Media Production of Prison Communities.

The ERC project WALLS2BRIDGES investigates how prison communities produce media and how these practices reshape understandings of justice across France, Turkey, the UK, and the US. Against the backdrop of expanding incarceration regimes and enduring racial and social inequalities, WALLS2BRIDGES examines how incarcerated people, their families, and anti-prison activists engage in media production (from letters and newspapers to podcasts, films, and digital platforms) to contest dominant narratives and reimagine justice.

The project conceptualizes prison communities as active media producers, foregrounding the interplay between media practices, systems of surveillance, sensory experience, and struggles for justice.

Using a transnational and interdisciplinary approach, the project combines:

• Archival research on prison-produced media since the mid-1960s;
• Qualitative interviews and collaborative research with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals, families, and activists;
• Analysis of diverse media forms, including print, audiovisual, and digital content.

Your Role

You will conduct in-depth research in the United States, focusing on prison education programs, and NGOs and universities working in prison education and re-entry.

You will examine media infrastructures that shape access to education – including digital platforms (such as prison tablets), communication technologies, and institutional access regimes – as well as the role of universities and NGOs as key intermediaries in these processes.

You will contribute to the project’s comparative and transnational framework alongside team members working on Türkiye, the UK, and the US.

Research Strands

Studying Education Systems and Infrastructures “From Above”

• Analysing policy frameworks, institutional structures, media access, and public discourses shaping educational programs in prison contexts.

Studying Prison Education “From Below”

• Examining how these programs are implemented in everyday practice by NGOs, universities, artists, and institutional actors.

Exploring Lived Experiences, Education and Communicative Practices

• Investigating how incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals engage with educational programs, including literacy, higher education, and informal learning;
• Exploring how education fosters forms of self-representation and mediated expression, including writing, testimony, and other communicative practices;
• Analysing how knowledge produced within prison education circulates (or fails to circulate) beyond prison walls;
• Engaging with questions related to media access, visibility, and the circulation of prison-based knowledge and communication.

For this position, the University of Antwerp will serve as your home base, with extended research stays in the United States.

Profile

What Do We Expect From You?

• A Master’s degree in media studies, sociology, anthropology, criminology, education, or a related field;
• Fluency in English;
• Familiarity with, or willingness to develop engagement with NGOs and organisations working in prison education in the US;
• Experience with qualitative research methods (e.g. interviews, ethnography, discourse analysis);
• An interest in working with creative and media-based materials;
• Sensitivity to ethical questions related to working with vulnerable communities and to issues of representation, access, and consent.

You Will

• Conduct independent doctoral research leading to a PhD dissertation;
• Publish in peer-reviewed academic journals and contribute to collective project outputs;
• Present research at international conferences;
• Contribute to the organisation of workshops and public-facing events;
• Engage in societal dissemination of research findings, particularly with NGOs and educational organisations;
• Work both independently and collaboratively in an interdisciplinary and international research team.

Assets (Not Required, but Considered an Advantage)

• Experience researching prisons, carceral systems, or related social justice issues;
• Experience working with NGOs, non-profit organisations, or educational programs;
• Experience with participatory or collaborative research methods;
• Interest in or experience with digital platforms, communication technologies, or mediated learning environments in restricted settings;
• Interest in or experience with publishing, editing, or curating media content;
• Familiarity with debates on media justice, prison abolition, or critical prison studies;
• Existing networks with organisations working in prison education in the United States.

What We Offer

• We offer a doctoral scholarship for a period of one year. Following a positive evaluation, the scholarship can be renewed for another three years.
• The planned start date is September 2026, or as soon as possible after that date.
• Your monthly scholarship amount is calculated according to the scholarship amounts for doctoral scholarship holders.
• You will receive eco cheques, Internet-connectivity allowance, and a bicycle allowance or a full reimbursement of public transport costs for commuting.
• As a doctoral researcher, you will have access to a wide and varied range of courses and an educational credit through the Antwerp Doctoral School.
• Apart from the fieldwork, you will do most of your work at the City Campus of the University of Antwerp in a dynamic and stimulating working environment.

Want to Apply?

You can apply for this vacancy through the University of Antwerp’s online job application platform up to and including 15 June 2026 (by midnight Brussels time).

Click on the “Apply” button and complete the online application form. Be sure to include the following attachments:

• Your CV (including the contact details of two referees);
• A motivation letter outlining your interest in the project and relevant experience;
• A writing sample in English (e.g. Master’s thesis, student or academic paper);
• Your course transcript and diploma (not applicable for University of Antwerp alumni);
• A short research proposal (max. 2 pages, excluding references) in relation to the project, outlining how you would approach research on prison education and media in the US.

Selection Process

Step 1

Initial selection based on the application file.

Step 2

Interview with shortlisted candidates.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview (online or in person) in July 2026.

As part of the interview process, candidates will be asked to present their short research proposal aligned with the objectives of the WALLS2BRIDGES project.

Contact Information

If you have any questions about the online application form, please check the frequently asked questions or send an email to:

jobs@uantwerpen.be

If you have any questions about the job itself, please contact:

İpek A. Çelik Rappas
Principal Investigator
ipeka.celik.rappas@uantwerpen.be

Equal Opportunities and Diversity

The University of Antwerp received the European Commission’s HR Excellence in Research Award for its HR policy.

We are a sustainable, family-friendly organisation which invests in its employees’ growth. We encourage diversity and attach great importance to an inclusive working environment and equal opportunities, regardless of gender identity, disability, race, ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation or age.

We encourage people from diverse backgrounds and with diverse characteristics to apply.