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*PhD position in the anthropology of tourism impacts in remote areas*

Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, KU Leuven, Belgium

/(ref. BAP-2024-439)/

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Project

Many places around the globe have turned towards tourism to sustain
local livelihoods and conserve cultural and natural resources. Despite
this widespread practice, there are still hardly any system-based
assessments of tourism, which link up the sector’s impacts across all
sustainability domains to their underlying processes of change. The
project “/Tourism and rural liveability in remote locations: Studying
tourism impacts from a socio-spatial systems perspective/” fills this
gap. The project explores whether and how tourism can develop in a
symbiotic relation with the socio-economic, cultural and landscape
contexts of rural areas that struggle in a context of globalization.
Using a comparative case study approach, studying rural areas in Georgia
and Argentina, this project helps explaining how, in a highly
interconnected world, tourism impacts materialize and are negotiated by
various actors.

This PhD position in Anthropology is one out of two doctoral
trajectories associated with the mentioned project. It will focus
specifically on community-based research on social relations, tourism
impacts and institutional/governance relations in said case study areas.
You will conduct scientific research that is in line with the thematic
focus of the research project, dealing with the following topics:

* The interplay between social community relations and tourism
development, using participant observation, semi-structured
interviews and focus group conversations
* Tourism livelihoods, conducting semi-structured interviews and
gathering related household-level quantitative data
* Tourism governance and the institutional embedding of tourism,
focusing on expert interviews with policy makers, community elites,
local/ethnic institutions, etc.

Profile

We seek a motivated and skilled candidate with a master’s degree in
anthropology, geography, social or political sciences, tourism studies,
or a related discipline. The ideal candidate:

* has a strong profile in social theory and analysis
* has an interest in and experience with tourism anthropology/geographies
* had academic good performances on BSc and MSc levels
* is experienced with in-depth qualitative research methods and is
able to apply this to research questions dealing with tourism impacts
* can communicate complex issues effectively in both written and oral form
* can think and collaborate across academic disciplines

Most of the work packages predominantly (but not exclusively) deal with
qualitative data, meaning that strong affinity with such data types is
needed. Key data collection methods include community-based research
using interviews, focus groups etc. as well as expert interviews with
policy makers, community elites, local/ethnic institutions, etc. The
project is fieldwork-intensive, meaning that experience with primary
qualitative data gathering and analysis is a requirement. Spanish and/or
Georgian language skills are a plus.

Offer

We offer a full-time doctoral position, initially for one year, which
can be prolonged after a positive evaluation by the doctoral committee
for up to four years in total.  In addition to your research, you will
assist in teaching the department’s courses (±10% of your time).

The start date for this position is around 1 October/1 November 2024 but
will depend on the candidate’s availability and HR workflows. Minor
changes to this start date can be discussed.

This is a PhD position in anthropology. You will also engage with
geographical thought and research. You will work within the Department
of Social and Cultural Anthropology with Prof. Noel Salazar and within
the Division of Geography and Tourism in the Department of Earth and
Environmental Sciences with Prof. Arie Stoffelen and Prof. Anton Van
Rompaey. You will be given support to participate in international
academic conferences and publish your work in scientific journals. You
will be provided with career guidance and encouraged to develop
research-oriented skills through courses via the Doctoral School.

Interested?

For more information, please contact Prof. Dr. Noel Salazar
(noel.salazar@kuleuven.be), Prof. Dr. Arie Stoffelen
(arie.stoffelen@kuleuven.be), or Prof. Dr. Anton Van Rompaey
(anton.vanrompaey@kuleuven).

You can apply for this position until 29 August 2024 via the KU Leuven
online tool. Please submit a CV (max. 2 pages), the name and contact
details of two references, and a cover letter (max. 2 pages) that
includes a short discussion of why you are interested in this position,
your experience with the mentioned research (both
thematically/conceptually and methodologically) and an explanation why
you are a good fit with the project.

The selection for this position will happen in two phases. First, a
shortlist of candidates will be created based on the supplied documents.
Second, a ranking will be made based on interviews with shortlisted
candidates. The interviews, which will be scheduled in early September,
will cover the motivation, background knowledge, skills and research
vision of the candidates.

You can apply for this job no later than *August 29, 2024* via the
online application tool


KU Leuven strives for an inclusive, respectful and socially safe
environment. We embrace diversity among individuals and groups as an
asset. Open dialogue and differences in perspective are essential for an
ambitious research and educational environment. In our commitment to
equal opportunity, we recognize the consequences of historical
inequalities. We do not accept any form of discrimination based on, but
not limited to, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age,
ethnic or national background, skin colour, religious and philosophical
diversity, neurodivergence, employment disability, health, or
socioeconomic status. For questions about accessibility or support
offered, we are happy to assist you at this email address.


* Job application procedure

* Working conditions

* Career opportunities


Do you have a question about the online application system? Please
consult our FAQ

or email us at apply@kuleuven.be

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Noel B. Salazar, Sociocultural Anthropologist | Founder of CuMoRe
& AnthroMob


Dpt. of Social & Cultural Anthropology
, KU Leuven, Parkstraat 45, bus
3615, BE-3000 Leuven

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in Motion Book Series
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Latest publications (2024):

- Heritage imaginaries and imaginaries of heritage
(article)

- An interview with Noel B. Salazar

(article)

- The anthropologist as observant reader of migrant literature

(book chapter)

- Betekenisvol bewegen en sporten in de 21ste eeuw
(book chapter)

- World anthropology day

(podcast)

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