Call for applications: ERC project EarlyModernCosmology at Ca' Foscari University of Venice
The ERC research endeavor, “Institutions and
Metaphysics of Cosmology in the Epistemic Networks of Seventeenth-Century
Europe,” at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice is presently looking for
Two
Assistant Professors (Non-Tenure Track) / Ricercatori (RTD-A)
with an outstanding scholarly profile in one of
the following research areas of the ERC endeavor:
1.
Early-Modern History of Science: Cosmology and
related sciences in the context of the confessionalization of European
knowledge institutions;
2.
Early-Modern Institutional History: Early-modern
institutional history of ideas and/or epistemic webs in their socio-cultural
and political entanglements;
3.
Political Epistemology: Perspectives in historical
epistemology on science, religion and ideology.
The positions will also be connected with part-time
teaching duties in the history, philosophy and logic of science (one module of 30 hours per year).
Deadline: February 19, 2018 at 12:00 (Venice time)
Links:
Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage, Ca’
Fosacri University, positions in history of science (11/C2 - M-STO/05) and
philosophy of science (11/C2 - M-FIL/02).
The calls in English can be downloaded at the
following links:
Research endeavor
“Institutions and Metaphysics of Cosmology in the
Epistemic Networks of Seventeenth-Century Europe”, led by the historian of
early modern science, Pietro Daniel Omodeo, is a comparative inquiry of
early-modern cosmologies and related scientific debates in their institutional,
political, religious and ideological settings. Science is investigated as a
contested field of confessional struggles for cultural hegemony, shaped and
transformed through its circulation within international scholarly and academic
networks. During early Modernity the rise of stabilized institutional
networks—such as the northern European universities, Jesuit colleges, and
scholarly réseaux gravitating around novel scientific
academies—produced the continuous restructuring of scientific communities as
well as the redistribution of symbolic credit and social and economic means.
This scholarly endeavor aims at an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses
of epistemic networks and alliances; vice versa, their concrete reconstruction
will provide materials for a better understanding of the mechanisms of
scientific transactions in general and their cultural-political rootedness. The
challenging originality of the project rests both on its overarching
scope—thematic, geographical, and geopolitical—and the methodology. It opens up
a perspective on the history of science informed by political-epistemological
views on the dynamic entanglements of society, culture, and politics. Because
this is a comparative enquiry in the political and epistemological history of
science, scholars from various backgrounds, such as the cultural history of
science, early modern studies, social studies of science, philosophy of science and political epistemology,
are welcome to apply.
Research profile of the candidates
We seek scholars
with a strong research commitment, an outstanding portfolio of international
publications, and a proven teaching record in the field associated with the
post. The candidates preferably hold a PhD degree in the history of science,
institutional history, cultural history, history of philosophy, philosophy of
science and related fields.
Preference will
be accorded to candidates with a research agenda relevant to at least one of
the abovementioned three areas of inquiry.
We look forward
to receiving applications from scholars of all nationalities. Preference will
be given to applicants who have published substantial contributions to a field of interest to the
ERC project.
Submission
The candidates
are invited to include the following documents in their application:
- a letter of
motivation,
- Curriculum
Vitae with list of publications,
- two letters of
reference,
- a digital copy
of the applicant’s PhD thesis in the form of a PDF,
- a research
project*,
- one
journal or chapter-length writing sample*.
(*) not
mandatory
For detailed
instructions and additional documentation, needed for administrative reasons,
please see the call on the University’s official website.
Applications should be submitted in English
until February 19, 2018, at 12:00 (Venice time); the interviews will also
take place in English.
Tasks
The researchers are expected to conduct their research
in Venice. They will collaborate with fellow team members toward project goals
and develop an original and independent research project within the ERC
endeavor.
Further responsibilities include:
- contributing
to the research in one of the project areas in a substantial manner,
- co-organizing
conferences and editing or co-editing the proceedings,
- helping
to tutor PhD students,
- academic
teaching (one class per year),
- regularly
attending the meetings of the research group,
- contributing
to its activities (e.g., workshops, symposia and conference sessions),
- presenting
and discussing their research at the meetings of the ERC endeavor.
- contributing
to the success of the endeavor with academic publications,
- presenting
at international conferences.
We offer
a three-year academic position at a prestigious
university in an exceptional cultural setting,
a unique early career opportunity,
a unique research experience in the framework of a
stimulating international environment.