Three (3) PhD Positions in Linguistics, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands (2016)

Applications for a PhD position in linguistics are now invited from excellent candidates who wish to conduct corpus research on resistance to metaphor in various genres in three distinct domains: public discourse, popular science, and government and politics. Each of the PhD projects focuses on one of these domains.

This program will elaborate an innovative analytical framework in theoretical and empirical terms in order to answer the question when and how people can resist metaphor, and why. It will look at resistance to metaphor as a form of counter-argumentation and design a new, integrated theory combining a three-dimensional model of metaphor in language use (Steen, 2011a) with a pragma-dialectical (Van Eemeren, 2010) theory of argumentation. The program will yield an encompassing analytical model, three empirical studies in three distinct discourse practices, and experimental findings of people’s practices and abilities to resist metaphor.

Requirements
- MA (or equivalent) with excellent grades in linguistics and/or discourse studies, rhetoric, or communication. Substantial knowledge of metaphor and/or argumentation theory and analysis is required;
- excellent research skills;
- excellent academic writing and presentation skills;
- excellent communication, social and organisational skills;
- proficiency in English.

For more information, please visit:
http://www.academictransfer.com