Berlin University Alliance Jobs

The Cluster of Excellence 2020 "Temporal Communities: Doing Literature in a Global Perspective" aims to create a new theoretical and methodological take on literature in a global perspective. Introducing the notion of ‘temporal communities’, the Cluster investigates the ways in which literature reaches out through space and time, establishing complex temporalities and extensive transcultural and transtemporal networks as it interacts with other arts and media. The Cluster’s research is conducted within five Research Areas: 1. Competing Communities, 2. Travelling Matters, 3. Future Perfect, 4. Literary Currencies, 5. Building Digital Communities.
From 1 October 2024, 5 positions for research associates (50% part-time, limited to 3 years, pay group 13 TV-L FU) are available at the Cluster (www.temporal-communities.de). The research associates will at the same time be doctoral students at the Friedrich Schlegel Graduate School for Literary Studies. They will complete its curriculum and have access to its mentoring and qualification offers. In case of a good thematic fit, an affiliation with the Graduate School of North American Studies is also possible. Doctoral students will have access to travel, conference, and workshop funds.
The position advertised here will be filled in the research project "Enlightened Medialities" located in Research Area 1 "Competing Communities" of EXC 2020. "Enlightened Medialities" investigates communicative technologies and techniques during the age of Enlightenment (in the Greek "republic of letters", Spain and its colonies, and the newly founded United States). The advertised position is part of the North American sub-project ("Civic Indignation"), which investigates media theories and communicative self-reflections of the American Enlightenment, specifically with a view to the rhetorical interplay of sentimentality and indignation in the period 1760-1810. The doctoral project connected to the advertised position can be situated in one of the following exemplary subject areas: literary magazines of the young republic; newspapers and party formation in the 1790s; early American media constructions of the revolutions in France or Haiti; sentimentalism and citizenship in the late eighteenth century; as well as other themes related to the American Revolution and young republic.
For further information on the project, please refer to www.temporal-communities.de/research/competing-communities/projects/enlightened-medialities-project/index.html

Job description:

• Conducting a three-year research project in the framework of the project "Enlightened Medialities” (North American Subproject: “Civic Indignation”) in the EXC 2020 "Temporal Communities"; a short synopsis of 1–2 pages outlining possible lines of investigation for the research project must be included with the application.
• Completion of the curriculum of the Friedrich Schlegel Graduate School for Literary Studies and/or the Graduate School of North American Studies with the aim of obtaining a doctoral degree
• Participating in regular working meetings and workshops of the Research Area 1 of the Cluster
• Participating in the organisation and implementation of interdisciplinary, international conferences and workshops and contributing to their resulting publications
• Contributing to the publication of the project's research results in the "Living Handbook of Temporal Communities”

Requirements:
Completed MA-level university degree (Master, Magister, Diplom) in North American Studies or in a related field (English literature, history, philosophy, history of the book, media studies and cultural studies) with a North American specialisation

Desirable:

• Excellent academic track record
• Documented specialisation in North American literature and/or North American cultural history, especially of the 18th century
• Documented interests in media history and media theory or publication studies (history of the book)
• Very good knowledge of German and/or English (one of the two languages at least on level C1 CEFR, the other at least on level B2 CEFR)

For further information, please contact Frau Izabella Goikhman (apply@fsgs.fu-berlin.de / +49 30 838 65648).

Applications are preferably to be submitted via an online portal no later than November 12th, 2023. Instructions regarding the online portal and the required application documents can be found at: https://www.temporal-communities.de .

Freie Universität Berlin
Exzellenzausschreibungen
Friedrich Schlegel Graduate School of Literary Studies
EXC 2020 Temporal Communities
Frau Izabella Goikhman
Habelschwerdter Allee 45
14195 Berlin (Dahlem)

With an electronic application, you acknowledge that FU Berlin saves and processes your data. FU Berlin cannot guarantee the security of your personal data if you send your application over an unencrypted connection.

Freie Universität Berlin is an equal opportunity employer.