Departement: Departement Communicatiewetenschappen
Regime Voltijds
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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-1960’s century;
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
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You will conduct in-depth research in the United States and the United Kingdom, focusing on prison journalism as both a historical and contemporary practice. Your research will combine archival work on newspapers produced by incarcerated people from the 1970s onwards with the study of current journalistic practices inside prisons and the civil society organisations that support them.
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You will examine how incarcerated individuals have used journalism as a form of communication, documentation, and critique, and how these practices have evolved over time in both national contexts. You will also investigate the infrastructures that enable or constrain prison journalism, including access to media technologies, institutional regulations, censorship regimes, and collaborations with NGOs, advocacy groups, and independent media initiatives.
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You will contribute to the project’s comparative and transnational framework alongside team members working on Türkiye and France.
Research strands:
Studying prison journalism “from above”
Analysing policy frameworks, censorship regimes, institutional regulations, and media infrastructures that shape the production, distribution, and visibility of prison journalism in the US and the UK, both historically and in contemporary contexts.
Studying prison journalism “from below”
Examining the everyday practices of prison journalism, including writing, editing, and publishing processes by incarcerated individuals, as well as collaborations with journalists, NGOs, and advocacy organisations supporting prison-based media.
Exploring lived experience, journalism, and knowledge circulation
Investigating how incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals engage in journalistic practices as forms of self-representation, testimony, and critique; analysing prison newspapers and other media as sites of knowledge production; and examining how these materials circulate (or fail to circulate) beyond prison walls. This includes attention to questions of access, visibility, preservation, and the afterlives of prison-produced journalism.
For this position, the University of Antwerp will serve as your home base, with extended research stays in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Profile
What do we expect from you?
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A Master’s degree in media studies, journalism, history, sociology, anthropology, criminology, or a related field;
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Fluency in English;
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Familiarity with, or willingness to develop engagement with NGOs and organisations working to improve media access to prisons in the US and the UK;
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Experience with archival and/or qualitative research methods (e.g. interviews, ethnography, discourse analysis); and an interest in working with creative and media-based materials;
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Sensitivity to ethical questions related to working with vulnerable communities and to issues of representation, access, and consent.
You will:
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Conduct independent doctoral research leading to a PhD dissertation;
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Publish in peer-reviewed academic journals and contribute to collective project outputs;
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Present research at international conferences;
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Contribute to the organisation of workshops and public-facing events;
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Engage in societal dissemination of research findings, particularly with NGOs and educational organisations;
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Work both independently and collaboratively in an interdisciplinary and international research team.
Assets (not required, but considered an advantage):
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Experience researching prisons, carceral systems, or social justice issues;
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Experience with archival research, particularly working with newspapers, periodicals, or historical media collections;
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Familiarity with journalism practices, media production, or independent/ alternative media;
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Experience working with NGOs, non-profit organisations;
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Interest in or experience with publishing, editing, or curating media content;
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Familiarity with debates on media justice, prison abolition, or critical prison studies;
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Existing networks with organisations working on prison journalism, prison media, or prison education in the US and/or the UK.
What we offer
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We offer a doctoral scholarship for a period of one year. Following a positive evaluation, the scholarship can be renewed for another three years.
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The planned start date is September 2026, or as soon as possible after that date.
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Your monthly scholarship amount is calculated according to the scholarship amounts for doctoral scholarship holders.
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You will receive eco cheques, Internet-connectivity allowance, and a bicycle allowance or a full reimbursement of public transport costs for commuting.
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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.
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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.
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Find out more about working at the University of Antwerp here.
Want to apply?
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You can apply for this vacancy through the University of Antwerp’s online job application platform up to and including June 15, 2026 (by midnight Brussels time).
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Click on the 'Apply' button and complete the online application form. Be sure to include the following attachments:
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Your CV (including the contact details of two referees);
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a motivation letter outlining your interest in the project and relevant experience;
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a writing sample in English (e.g. master’s thesis, student or academic paper);
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your course transcript and diploma (not applicable for University of Antwerp alumni).
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A short research proposal (max 2 pages, excluding references) in relation to the project, outlining how you would approach research on prison journalism in the US and the UK.
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.
If you have any questions about the online application form, please check the frequently asked questions or send an email to [email protected]. If you have any questions about the job itself, please contact İpek A. Çelik Rappas, Principal Investigator ([email protected]).
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.
