four PhD positions in "Metaphor in discourse"

[Gerard Steen]

Apologies for cross-postings

4 PHD POSITIONS IN METAPHOR AND DISCOURSE ANALYSIS F/M
FOR 32 HOURS A WEEK (NOT NEGOTIABLE)

Vacancynumber 1.2005.00089

The Faculty of Arts at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is inviting
applications for four PhD positions, beginning 1 September 2005, in the
vici-programme "Metaphor in discourse: linguistic forms, conceptual
structures, cognitive representations.”

The five-year research programme, awarded to Gerard Steen by the
Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), addresses the role
of metaphor in discourse by examining its distribution, structure,
function, and effect in four varieties of English. The hypothesis is that
distinct linguistic forms and conceptual structures of metaphor display
distributions and functions of their own, and that these interact with the
domains of discourse in which language users employ them. The programme
aims at describing and explaining these interactions on the basis of
detailed corpus research on four samples from the British National Corpus,
and at testing the cognitive effects of some of these interactions in their
mental representation by language users. Metaphor in discourse will be
modelled by means of a discourse-analytical elaboration of the cognitive-
linguistic approach to metaphor as a cross-domain mapping. Research
involves corpus analysis of samples from the British National Corpus and
psycholinguistic experiments on various aspects of metaphor processing.

The four PhD projects constitute the core of the programme. Each of the
projects will concentrate on the use of metaphor in one specific language
variety: conversation, news texts, academic texts, and fiction. All
projects will be organized by the same—five-year—timetable, and the
research will be characterized by a great deal of synchronized team work.
During the first year, all researchers will identify metaphors in samples
from all four language varieties, after which each researcher will
concentrate on one language variety for the rest of the programme.

Each of the four PhD projects will involve a research training and aims at
a dissertation within five years. As part of their training, PhD students
will take courses offered by the National Graduate School in Linguistics
(LOT). They will present their work at annual expert meetings and
participate in international conferences. Candidates will also be requested
to make a small contribution to the teaching programme of the Department of
English Language and Culture at the Vrije Universiteit.

Candidates should have native-speaker or near-native speaker command of
(British) English. They should have an excellent MA thesis in English
language and linguistics, or be able to show that such a thesis will be
completed by August 31. Expertise in metaphor, discourse analysis,
cognitive linguistics, and/or corpus linguistics will be regarded as an
advantage.

Employer
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Faculty of Arts
The vici-programme is part of one of the four research programmes of the
Institute of Language, Culture, and History of the Faculty of Arts of the
Vrije Universiteit, “The architecture of the human language faculty”. This
research programme investigates the modular structure of human language and
cognition, with participation from formal, functional, and cognitive
grammarians, and psycholinguists as well as discourse analysts.
The vici-programme is also connected to the recently founded Ster research
programme of the Vrije Universiteit on “Discourse, cognition, and
communication,” for which two further PhD research positions are advertised
independently. This is an interdisciplinary research programme between the
faculties of Arts, Psychology, and Social Science, with the Faculty of Arts
concentrating on “The conversationalization of public discourse” in the
usage of Dutch.

Conditions of employment
For all projects we offer a part-time (80%) five-year PhD position with
gross monthly salary starting at € 1,867,- in the first year to € 2,394,-
in the fifth year of appointment (salary based on a full-time-contract).
Appointment will initially be for one year, to be extended with a maximum
of four more years upon positive evaluation.
We also offer a pension scheme, a health insurance allowance and flexible
employment conditions. Conditions are based on the Collective Employment
Agreement of the Dutch Universities and are supplemented with a holiday
allowance of 8% per year.
Additional Information
A full description of the complete programme and additional information
about the vacancy can be obtained from dr. G.J. Steen, phone 31-20-598
6445, e-mail address: Gj.Steen at let.vu.nl.

Application
Your letter of application will have to be in by Monday 30 May. Please send
your application to Vrije Universiteit, Faculteit der Letteren, t.a.v. dr.
G.J. Steen, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam or by e-mail to
Gj.Steen at let.vu.nl.
Applications (by regular mail or by e-mail) should include a curriculum
vitae and the names and addresses of two referees. An MA thesis and a list
of courses plus results should also be included.
E-mail applications should be sent in pdf format and should specify your
name and vacancy number in the message as well as in the topic, include a
list of attachments in the message, and specify your name in every
attachment.
Interviews are planned between 15 and 20 June 2005.
When applying for this job always mention the vacancy number: 1.200500089.