Postdoctoral Researcher in History or Literary Studies
Nijmegen (Pays-Bas, avant le 20 octobre 2016)

The Arts Faculty of Radboud University (Nijmegen, The Netherlands) is currently seeking researchers to work on the European Research Council-funded project MEDIATE (Middlebrow Enlightenment: Disseminating Ideas, Authors, and Texts in 18th-century Europe)
Faculty of Arts, Radboud University (Nijmegen, The Netherlands) 

Vacancy number: 23.35.16
Application deadline: 20 October 2016

To view the full description and to apply online:http://www.ru.nl/werken/details/details_vacature_0/?recid=588139

Responsabilities

You will work as part of a six-person team on the ERC-funded project ‘MEDIATE’ (Middlebrow Enlightenment: Disseminating Ideas, Authors and Texts in 18th-century Europe), which aims to reconstruct reading trends in 18th-century Europe and revise our understanding of the Enlightenment.
You will study the 18th-century circulation of books by focusing on the owners and sellers of a corpus of several thousands of library auction catalogues from the Dutch Republic and elsewhere in Europe (see the mediate 18 website for further details: www.mediate18.nl). Your main tasks will be to establish an overview and typology of library owners, including networks linking them, and to identify book ownership patterns, e.g. among specific professional groups, social classes, religious groups, or geographical regions.
Furthermore, you will contribute to implementing the project’s central database of 18th-century library auction catalogues, helping us establish data consistency protocols regarding named entities/people, data enrichment and data entry. Your work on the MEDIATE database will include linking the findings from library auction catalogues to data regarding the clients of 18th-century publishers and booksellers, including the digitized archives of Luchtmans booksellers for the period 1697-1849 and the FBTEE database (fbtee.uws.edu.au/stn/interface) for the period 1769-1794.
Finally, you will participate in the project’s programme of workshops, symposia and international conferences, both as a speaker and organizer. You will also contribute to the publication of digital and print research outputs, both individually and collaboratively.

Work environment

The Faculty of Arts consists of ten departments in the areas of language and culture, history, history of arts, linguistics and communication and information studies, which together cater for about 2,400 students and collaborate closely in teaching and research.
Research at the Faculty of Arts is embedded in two research institutes: the Institute for Historical, Literary and Cultural Studies (HLCS) and the Centre for Language Studies (CLS).

What we expect from you

  • a background in (book) history or literary studies, as evidenced by a completed PhD in the field, preferably with a focus on the 18th century;
  • good reading knowledge of French, Dutch and (preferably) Latin and another European language;
  • some knowledge of book history, analytic bibliography, intellectual history or cognate disciplines;
  • the ability to communicate effectively with IT-specialist colleagues about the project’s requirements;
  • team spirit/ability to work collaboratively in an international research team;
  • a proactive, can-do outlook.

Experience with working in a Digital Humanities environment and/or a willingness to (further) develop DH literacy and skills will be considered a plus.

What we have to offer

  • employment: 0,75 – 1,0 fte;
  • in addition to the salary: an 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus;
  • the gross monthly salary will be between €3,427 and €4,691 (salary scale 11) on a full-time basis, depending on qualifications and experience;
  • temporary appointment, for a period of 3 years on the basis of 1,0 fte or for a period of 4 years on the basis of 0,75 fte;
  • you will be appointed as a Postdoctoral Researcher Level 3 (Onderzoeker niveau 3) in the Dutch university job-ranking system (UFO).

Are you interested in our excellent employment conditions?

Other Information

The position is scheduled to start on 1 January 2017.

Would you like to know more?

Further information on: The Faculty of Arts
Further information on: MEDIATEFor more information about this vacancy, please contact:
Prof. dr. Alicia C. Montoya
Telephone: +31 24 3612152
E-mail: A.Montoya@let.ru.nl

Are you interested?

Applications (attn. of Drs. L.J.P.M. van Mosseveld) can be submitted exclusively online. Your application should include (and be limited to) the following attachment(s):

  • Motivation letter
  • CV
  • PhD thesis or another relevant publication (preferably in English)
  • 1000-word research statement

The 1000-word research statement must include:

  • your own research interests and specific research focus in this subproject;
  • your choice of method in studying the library owners or sellers;
  • a description of how your project relates to the larger MEDIATE project (as well as to other book history projects);
  • a three- or four-year work plan, with clearly defined deliverables (conference papers, publications).

To ensure confidentiality, please have a letter of reference sent directly to A.Montoya@let.ru.nl. If applying less than 3 years after completion of your PhD, the letter of recommendation should be from your dissertation supervisor.

The job interviews are scheduled for 11 November 2016.For more information on your application: + 31 24 3611173.