Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
Deadline: January 31, 2016
Inquiries: For questions concerning the Berlin Center for the History of Knowledge, please contact Dr. Hansjakob Ziemer (hjziemer@mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de). Questions on the application process may be addressed to Tanja Neuendorf (tneuendorf@mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de).
As part of the enhanced cooperation on the history of
knowledge between the Freie Universität Berlin, the Humboldt-Universität
zu Berlin, the Technische Universität Berlin, and the Max Planck
Institute for the History of Science, we are advertising several
Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
starting September 1, 2016 (or earlier), for up to three years each.
The
postdoctoral fellows will contribute to the further development of the
Berlin Center for the History of Knowledge—the network through which the
partner institutions anchor the history of knowledge in teaching and
research in Berlin—and to reflection on the foundations of the research
field. Alongside their own research, successful applicants will
therefore be expected to organize joint working groups, colloquia, or
workshops. They will be allocated a workspace at one of the
participating institutions.
Applications are invited from early
career scholars with a proven record of outstanding research in the
history of knowledge or the history of science. Candidates must have
completed their doctorate by the time the fellowship begins, and the
Ph.D. should not have been awarded more than five years previously.
Applicants should be able to demonstrate an interest in theoretical
questions. They are asked to submit suggested topics for their own
research projects addressing the boundaries between the history of
knowledge and the history of science, in one of the following thematic
focus areas:
1) The focus area “practical knowledge” looks at
domains in which knowledge emerges or is applied in systematic
combination with practice, revealing the dynamic relationship between
praxis and knowledge development;
2) The focus area “fieldworks of
knowledge” covers the whole spectrum of practices, strategies,
negotiations, and reflections around working with, and on, knowledge in
the field. In the narrower sense, this refers to sites located outside
the laboratory or the researcher’s office, which have come to typify the
humanities.
The value of the fellowships follows the internal
guidelines of the participating institutions, based on the stipends of
the Max Planck Society (€2,100–€2,500 per month). Applications are
welcome from candidates of all nationalities. Women are expressly
invited to apply, and we specifically encourage applications from people
with disabilities.
The selection process is organized jointly by
the participating institutions. Please send a curriculum vitae, list of
publications, outline of your research project within one of the two
focus areas (max. 750 words), the names of three referees, and copies of
your qualifications. These documents must be submitted as a single PDF
file,
by 31 January 2016 (23:59 CET),
via the following online portal:
Please note that we can only accept applications submitted electronically through the application portal.
For further information on the scholars involved in this postdoctoral program, see www.wissensgeschichte-berlin.de/en/postdoc-programm