Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften · Fritz Thyssen
Stiftung · Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
10 POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS FOR ACADEMIC YEAR 2010/11
The Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences, the Fritz Thyssen Foundation
and the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin invite scholars to apply for ten
post-doctoral fellowships for the research program
EUROPE IN THE MIDDLE EAST - THE MIDDLE EAST IN EUROPE
This research program seeks to rethink concepts and premises that link and
divide Europe and the Middle East. The project draws on the international
expertise of scholars in and outside of Germany and is embedded in
university and extra-university research institutions in Berlin.
'Europe in the Middle East – The Middle East in Europe' supports
historical-critical philology, rigorous engagement with the literatures of
the Middle East and their histories, the social history of cities and the
study of Middle Eastern political and philosophical thought (Christian,
Jewish, Muslim, and secular) as central fields of research not only for
area or cultural studies, but also for European intellectual history and
other academic disciplines. The program explores modernity as a historical
space and conceptual frame. The program puts forward three programmatic
ideas:
1) supporting research that demonstrates the rich and complex historical
legacies and entanglements between Europe and the Middle East;
2) reexamining genealogical notions of mythical 'beginnings', 'origins',
and 'purity' in relation to culture and society; and
3) rethinking key concepts of a shared modernity in light of contemporary
cultural, social, and political entanglements that supersede identity
discourses as well as national, cultural or regional canons and
epistemologies that were established in the nineteenth century.
The program 'Europe in the Middle East - The Middle East in Europe' is
funded by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation. It supports and builds upon the
following interconnected research fields:
Cities Compared: Cosmopolitanism in the Mediterranean and Adjacent Regions
This research group is directed by Ulrike Freitag and Nora Lafi, both of
the Zentrum Moderner Orient, Berlin. It contributes to the debate on
c on
cosmopolitanism and civil society from the historical experience of
conviviality and socio-cultural, ethnic, and religious differences in the
cities around the Mediterranean;
Islamic Discourse Contested: Middle Eastern and European Perspectives
This research group is directed by Gudrun Krämer, Institute for Islamic
Studies, Freie Universität
Berlin. It analyzes modern Middle Eastern thought and discourses in the
framework of theories of multiple or reflexive modernities;
Perspectives on the Qur'an: Negotiating Different Views of a Shared History
This research group is directed by Angelika Neuwirth, Seminar for Arabic
Studies, Freie Universität Berlin, and Stefan Wild, Universität Bonn. It
situates the foundational text of Islam and early Muslim traditions within
the religious landscape of late antiquity and combines a historicization
of their genesis with an analysis of their reception and perception in
Europe and the Middle East;
Travelling Traditions: Comparative Perspectives on Near Eastern Literatures
This research group is directed by Friederike Pannewick, Centrum für Nah-
und Mitteloststudien, Philipps-Universität Marburg, and Samah Selim,
Rutgers University. It reassesses literary entanglements and processes of
canonization between Europe and the Middle East.
Tradition and the Critique of Modernity: Secularism, Fundamentalism and
Religion from Middle Eastern Perspectives
This a special forum, directed by Amnon Raz-Krakotzkin, Ben Gurion
University, that attempts to rethink key concepts of modernity like
secularity, tradition, or religion in the context of the experiences,
interpretations, and critiques of Jews, Arabs, and Muslims in the Middle
East and in Europe.
PREREQUISITES AND APPLICATION PROCEDURE
The fellowships are intended above all for scholars of history, art
history, literature, philology, political philosophy, religion and
sociology who want to carry out their research projects in connection with
the Berlin program. Fellows gain the opportunity to pursue research
projects of their choice within the framework of one of the
above-mentioned research fields and in relation to the program 'Europe in
the Middle East - the Middle East in Europe'. In Berlin, they will be
integrated into a university or extra-university research institute. The
working language of the research program is English.
Fellows will receive a monthly stipend of 1.800 € (supplement for
accompanying spouses: 250 €), and are obliged to work in Berlin and to
help shape the seminars and working discussions related to their research
field.
As a rule, the fellowships begin on 1 October 2010 and end on 31 July
2011. The applicant's doctorate should have been completed no earlier than
2002.
An application should be made in explicit relation to one of the research
fields and consist of
1.) a curriculum vitae,
2.) a 2 to 4 page project sketch that should also state what the candidate
intends to work on in Berlin if granted a fellowship,
3.) a sample of scholarly work (maximum 20 pages from an article,
conference paper, or dissertation chapter) and
4.) a letter of recommendation by one university instructor.
The application should be submitted in English and by e-mail with each of
the above mentioned four elements as a single PDF file or word document.
The letter of recommendation can be sent directly by E-mail.
The application should be received by 3 January 2010, addressed to:
E-mail: Georges.Khalil@WiKo-Berlin.de
Europe in the Middle East - the Middle East in Europe
c/o Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin
Attn: Georges Khalil
Wallotstrasse 19, 14193 Berlin, Germany
Fax +49 30 - 89 00 12 00
For further information on the program 'Europe in the Middle East - The
Middle East in Europe' and for detailed information on the research
fields, please see:
www.eume-berlin.de
For information on the research institutions in Berlin participating in
the program, please visit:
Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften:
www.bbaw.de,
Center for Middle
Eastern & North African Politics, Freie Universität Berlin:
www.polsoz.fuberlin.
de/polwiss/forschung/international/vorderer-orient/index.html, Graduate
School Muslim
Cultures and Societies: www.bgsmcs.fu-berlin.de, Zentrum für Literatur-
und Kulturforschung:
www.zfl.gwz-berlin.de, Zentrum Moderner Orient: www.zmo.de, Institute for
Islamic Studies:
userpage.fu-berlin.de/~islamwi, Museum for Islamic Art:
http://www.smb.spkberlin.
de/smb/sammlungen/details.php?objectId=12
Seminar for Arabic Studies:
web.fuberlin.de/semiarab, Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin:
www.wiko-berlin.de.
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