Ausführliche Beschreibung

PhD position with funding (University Assistant Predoctoral) in the ERC-funded project HERESSEE - The History of Feminist Political Thought and Women’s Rights Discourses in East Central Europe 1929-2001 at the Department of Contemporary History and RECET

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Your personal sphere of influence:

The University of Vienna is looking to hire 1 PhD researcher for 3 years within the framework of the ERC-funded project HERESSEE - The History of Feminist Political Thought and Women’s Rights Discourses in East Central Europe 1929-2001 at the Department of Contemporary History and the Research Center for the History of Transformations (RECET) from October 1, 2024. The position is integrated into the Doctoral School of Historical and Cultural Studies (DSHCS).

The project HERESSEE focuses on women’s rights and feminism from the perspective of intellectual history and the history of political thought within the region of East Central Europe. It combines the focus on intellectual women and high-ranked political activists with focusing on women’s voices marginalized in more traditional approaches to intellectual histories. The dual focus on these often overlapping groups of women aims to collect, analyze and commemorate the work of women as political thinkers from East Central Europe.

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Your future tasks:

• Your main task is to complete your dissertation, which however, shall be a major contribution to the HERESSEE project itself as well. Doctoral students will enjoy structured and interdisciplinary doctoral training in the Doctoral School of Historical and Cultural Studies with
• coursework concentrated in the first 12 months, 
• a research paper due after the first year, 
• and chapter submissions based on ongoing research after the second and third years.
• You are expected to participate in and organize events of the HERESSEE Project and to engage with the activities of the Department of Contemporary History, RECET, and the DSHCS. You can also take part in the colloquia, workshops etc. at the Department and RECET.
• You present your research results at conferences and will be encouraged to publish in peer-reviewed journals.

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Application requirements:

• By the beginning of the project (October 1, 2024), applicants need to hold a Master’s degree (or equivalent) in history. Master’s degrees in literary studies, political philosophy, or a relevant discipline that qualifies the applicant for working in the HERESSEE project are acceptable. However, please note that graduates from disciplines other than history will be required to do additional coursework prior to official admission to the doctoral program in history.
• Thesis, coursework, or other academic preparation related to the history of political thought or gender history
• High level of motivation and commitment to successfully complete your doctoral studies within the anticipated timeframe
• Collaborative, team-minded and pro-active attitude
• High level of written and oral communication skills
• A working knowledge of one of the combinations of these languages:
  • Bulgarian and Macedonian – C1 or higher in one language and a reading knowledge of the other
  • Polish (C1 or higher), with a reading knowledge of Czech and Slovak
  • Albanian either C1 (or higher), or reading level Albanian and B2 (or higher) in Bulgarian and/or Macedonian
• Your knowledge of these languages should be explained in a narrative, by biographical details (having lived /worked in these countries), a list of courses taken, school degrees, and/or language certificates. No certificates are required if proof of knowledge can be provided otherwise. 
• The working language of the project and your doctoral training will be English (level C1 or English-language degree required upon project start); knowledge of German is not a precondition for admission, though of course advantageous in order to integrate well at the University of Vienna.
• Substantial, provable competence in intellectual history, history of political thought and gender history. This can be demonstrated i.e. through working with these methods in your MA thesis, publications or seminar papers during your studies, but also by explaining your approach to these fields in the proposal. 
• The successful candidate is able to assist in communicating research results into the public.

Ausführliche Beschreibung

What we offer:

The employment duration is 3 years. Initially limited to 1.5 years, the employment relationship is automatically extended to 3 years if the employer does not terminate it within the first 12 months by submitting a non-extension declaration.

Fair salary:  We provide a pre-doctoral work contract 75%, 30h/week, employment group B1, € 3,578.8 (full time)

Funding for research trips: Together with the project PI, you will create a for a budget for research and conference trips.

Good public transport connections and working in a nice city: Your workplace in the center of beautiful Vienna is easily accessible by public transport.

How to apply:

• Letter of Motivation (1 page) in which the applicant explains why this position is especially attractive to them
• Names of two referees we may contact
• A concept for a prospective PhD project (approx. 3-4 pages). 
• Your planned project needs to integrate a combination of the two languages described in the Requirements section above and focus on at least two countries from among the following: Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Poland. 
• It needs to incorporate the work and voices of both intellectual women and women marginalised in intellectual historical accounts (e.g., peasant women, working class women, women from ethnic or religious minority backgrounds).
• The timeframe should be within the overall HERESSEE timeframe 1929-2001. It can be shorter but should cut across at least one of the two traditional “caesuras” (1945 or 1989).
• The proposal should show how you plan to apply methods of intellectual history and history of political thought in your work. You will also get a training in these methods and will be required to adjust your approach to the project.  
• Writing sample (e.g. one chapter of the MA thesis or one article).
• Academic Curriculum Vitae, including a list of publications and evidence of teaching experience (if available)
• Degree certificates

• Application deadline:

  15th June 2024

  For the selected applicants, the online interviews take place between

  24th – 28th  June 2024