Professor in sociology of solidarity

Organisation/Company Ghent University Research Field Communication sciences » Media studies Sociology » Other Researcher Profile Established Researcher (R3) Application Deadline 4 Dec 2026 - 22:59 (UTC) Country Belgium Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

• Apply until 04/12/2026(DD/MM/YYYY) 23:59 (Brussels time)
• Discipline: Sociology of solidarity, with a focus on voluntary association and collective action.
• 100% Assistant professor tenure track
• Reference number: 202610/PS/ZAP/001

ABOUT GHENT UNIVERSITY

Ghent University is a world-class, open, pluralistic and socially engaged university. Our credo is 'Dare to Think' : we are a haven for courageous thinkers.

With one of the most progressive career models for academics in the world, Ghent University evaluates its scholars not only by the length of their publication list but also by the impact they pursue, what they achieve and how they collaborate.

Are you a good ‘fit’ with our university? Discover here our vision on education and research .

ASSIGNMENT

The candidate has developed a research programme situated at the intersection of contemporary sociological time diagnoses and the sociology of solidarity, with a particular focus on voluntary association and collective action (including civic associations, nonprofit organisations, social movements, informal groups, and citizen initiatives). The candidate’s research examines changing dynamics in the ways citizens voluntarily engage and organise around contemporary public issues, societal challenges, and alternative visions of the future. The programme seeks to make innovative contributions to the sociological study of solidarity in contemporary societies.

The research adopts primarily, though not exclusively, a meso-sociological and critical perspective on organisational characteristics, practices, and processes, with particular attention to power relations, inequalities, and forms of exclusion that also emerge within ostensibly “civil” organisations and movements. How do these forms of collective organisation function both as producers of solidarity, inclusion, and social innovation, and as sites where such societal benefits are symbolically and instrumentally bounded and selectively distributed? This also entails examining the interplay between such organisational mechanisms and individual motivations and determinants of civic engagement. Potential developments that may form the focus of this research include the digitalisation and datafication of society, ecological disruption and post-apocalyptic future imaginaries, political polarisation and illiberal democratic tendencies, global migration and transnational identities, superdiversity, and post-secularism.

More generally, the research is characterised by a strong theoretical ambition and a predominantly qualitative methodological orientation. It is ideally informed by critical, decolonial, and other reflexive traditions within social theory, as well as by reflexive approaches to social-scientific research methods.

You lecture various course units in the discipline of general sociology, sociology of organizations, sociology of solidarity, and applied sociology.

Academic research

You conduct innovative and internationally recognised research in the field of the sociology of solidarity, with a focus on voluntary association and collective action.

Institutional and societal engagement

Based on your expertise and experience, you will contribute to the university's operations and/or take on external assignments.

PROFILE

• You have a strong academic CV with international visibility in the requested field:
• Your achievements in the field of research and education contribute to the development of the scientific domain (e.g. publications, presentations, or other academic output);
• You are capable to initiate and supervise educational and research projects and to acquire the necessary funding for this;
• You are didactically skilled to teach university students to develop academic competences;
• Mobility is recommended (e.g. education, research, economic, or societal).
• You work in a collaborative way and integrate smoothly into the department/faculty. You look for opportunities inside and outside the university and actively use your network to do so.
• You show leadership potential/have leadership experience. More information about leadership at Ghent University.
• If you do not know Dutch, you are willing to learn it within a period of 5 years and reach CEFR level B2. When taking up a teaching assignment, you must have a comm