2 PhD positions ILLC Logic and Language Group

University of Amsterdam

The University of Amsterdam (UvA) is a university with an internationally acclaimed profile, located at the heart of the Dutch capital. As well as a world centre for business and research, Amsterdam is a hub of cultural and media activities. The University of Amsterdam is a member of the League of European Research Universities.

Faculty of Humanities

The Faculty of Humanities provides education and conducts research with a strong international profile in a large number of disciplines in the field of language and culture. Located in the heart of Amsterdam, the Faculty maintains close ties with many cultural institutes in the capital city. There are almost 1,250 employees affiliated with the Faculty, which has about 6,800 students.

ILLC

The Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC) is a research institute of the University of Amsterdam, in which researchers from the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Humanities collaborate. ILLC's central research area is the study of fundamental principles of encoding, transmission and comprehension of information. Emphasis is on natural and formal languages, but other information carriers, such as images and music, are studied as well. Research at ILLC is interdisciplinary, and aims at bringing together insights from various disciplines concerned with information and information processing, such as logic, mathematics, computer science, linguistics, cognitive science, artificial intelligence and philosophy.

The ILLC invites applications for:

2 PhD positions ILLC Logic and Language Group

1.0 FTE for four years

vacancy number 10-3027

The two PhD students will take part in the NWO funded research programme: The Inquisitive Turn. A New Perspective on Semantics, Logic, and Pragmatics. The PhD students will be supervised by the programme leader Prof. dr. Jeroen Groenendijk and the postdoctoral researcher Dr. Floris Roelofsen.

The programme consists of three intertwined projects:

• Inquisitive Semantics (postdoctoral researcher)
• Inquisitive Logic (PhD student)
• Inquisitive Pragmatics (PhD student)

The primary aim of the semantics project is to develop a notion of meaning that directly reflects the interactive communicative function of language. In the logic project the logical and philosophical foundations of the semantics are investigated. In the pragmatics project the semantics is put to work in a system that models information exchange in dialogue.

Further Information

A detailed description of the research programme can be found at the website: http://www.illc.uva.nl/inquisitive-semantics, and further information can be obtained at http://www.english.uva.nl/vacancies/vacancies.cfm/ or from the programme leader Prof. dr. Jeroen Groenendijk (j.a.g.groenendijk at uva.nl">j.a.g.groenendijk@uva.nl).

Tasks

• complete and defend a PhD thesis within four years
• regularly present intermediate research results at international workshops and conferences, and publish them in proceedings and journals
• collaborate with the researchers in other parts of the programme
• participate in the organization of the programme’s research activities and events, such as conferences, workshops, and joined publications
• assist in teaching activities of the ILLC

Requirements

• a masters degree with excellent grades in a relevant field, such as logic, philosophy of language, or linguistics
• candidates for the PhD project on Inquisitive Logic should have a strong background in logic, and a demonstrable interest in the application of logic in the study of language
• candidates for the PhD project on Inquisitive Pragmatics should have a strong background in formal semantics and pragmatics, and a demonstrable interest in empirical linguistics
• good academic writing and presentation skills
• good social and organizational academic skills

Appointment

The PhD candidates will be appointed for a period of four years at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Amsterdam. A contract will be given in the first instance for one year, with an extension for the following three years on the basis of a positive evaluation. The gross monthly salary (on a full time base) will be € 2.042 during the first year and will reach € 2.612 during the fourth year.

Job application

Applications including a cover letter, curriculum vitae, two letters of reference, and an application statement should be submitted before May 15, 2010 to the UvA / Faculty of Humanities, for attention of the Dean, Mrs Prof. J.F.T.M. van Dijck, Spuistraat 210, 1012 VT Amsterdam. Please state the vacancy number and 'strictly confidential' in the upper left corner of the envelope.

In the application statement (approximately 500 words) the candidate should motivate interest in the programme, and is invited to specify his or her own ideas on the research questions addressed in the PhD-project for which (s)he applies.

You may also submit your application by email to solliciteren2010-fgw at uva.nl. In that case please state the vacancy number in the subject field.