Dear all, 


Soon I'll be leaving the University of Amsterdam to set up a research group at the University of Leuven. Right now, I'm looking for three PhD students who could start around March/April 2013. (Additional positions may be advertised for a starting date around September 2013.) I'm looking for candidates with different language skills (see announcement below). These are funded PhD positions.


Please consider forwarding this e-mail to prospective candidates. Applications should be in by December 1, 2012.


Thanks and best wishes,
Manuel


-- 

Manuel B. Aalbers, Ph.D.
University of Amsterdam 
Department of Geography, Planning and International Development Studies
Nieuwe Prinsengracht 130 
1018 VZ  Amsterdam
The Netherlands
http://home.medewerker.uva.nl/m.b.aalbers/
http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Y_y-xAkAAAAJ&hl (includes PDFs) 
 
Released April 2012: 
Subprime Cities: The Political Economy of Mortgage Markets
http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1444337777.html


The Department of Geography, University of Leuven, Belgium, is looking for three PhD students for the research project “The Real Estate/Financial Complex”.
 
Promoter: Manuel Aalbers

Description: Real estate and finance were at the roots of the global economic crisis that started in 2007. States and their many institutions have also been seen as complicit to the crisis. The connections between real estate (both residential and non-residential), finance and states still remain under-researched and under-theorized. Work in various political economy traditions has done a great deal of research into the connection between finance and states, but they have often ignored a crucial sector: real estate. There is also a tradition of work focusing on the interaction between real estate and states, usually concentrating on the involvement of municipalities in real estate projects. Finance is often ignored in this tradition. Moreover, this tradition has its roots in urban studies and is very micro focused, while the various political economy traditions are very macro focused. In other words, we not only need a stronger connection between finance and real estate, we also need a stronger connection between different scales: local/urban, national and global. We here propose a new metaphor that can help us to centre attention on the connection between real estate, finance and states: the real estate/financial complex, akin the military/industrial complex. Both complexes should be seen as triangles since states are also part of the equation. Three PhD students will focus on two countries each, each complementing two national mappings of the complex with two local/urban case studies. These sub-projects take a central focus on the importance of politics, geography and history, and present extensive and in-depth studies of the organization and development of the real estate/financial complex in different countries. The PhD students are expected to do literature reviews, document analysis and semi-structured in-depth interviews with key figures in real estate, finance and state, including lobby groups, think tanks and research institutes.

Key words: real estate, financialization, urban studies, political economy, economic geography 

Latest application date: 2012-12-01 

Financing: available 

Type of Position: scholarship 

Source of Funding: European Research Council 

Remarks: Interested candidates holding a Master degree in any social science are invited to apply, although knowledge of urban studies and political economy/economic geography are highly recommended. Familiarity with most of the following concepts is crucial: financialization, gentrification, megaprojects, capital switching, growth coalitions/machines, residential capitalism, de-linking real estate and place, subprime cities, lobbying, and the privatization of social housing. Applicants should be highly motivated and goal-oriented. They should have the ability to work independently as well as in a team, at KU Leuven as well as in two different research countries. The candidates should be at home with qualitative research methods, in particular in-depth interviews. In their cover letter, interested candidates should explicitly state their language abilities, research experience in different countries and international residential history. The shortlist of countries that may be included in the research include: Belgium, Brazil, China (including Hong Kong), Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, the UK, and the US. Knowledge of at least two of these countries and their languages will be important. In addition, interested candidates should be fluent in English as the research team will primarily communicate in English and papers and a doctoral thesis need to be written in English as well. Please do not include writing samples at this stage, but at the end of your cover letter you should list the titles of three (not more, not less) papers/theses that you would be able to provide in case you would be included in the shortlist for the position. Also indicate the status of each of these, e.g. term paper, submitted research paper, Master thesis. This list of three papers/theses should also be considered an indication of your interest in topics related to the research topic of this project. 

Please apply here: https://phd.kuleuven.be/set/voorstel.php?id=7327&view_item=view#detail