Deadline: January 31, 2016

As part of the enhanced cooperation on the history of knowledge between the Freie Universität Berlin, the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, the Technische Universität Berlin, and the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, we are advertising several

Postdoctoral Research Fellowships

starting September 1, 2016 (or earlier), for up to three years each.

The postdoctoral fellows will contribute to the further development of the Berlin Center for the History of Knowledge—the network through which the partner institutions anchor the history of knowledge in teaching and research in Berlin—and to reflection on the foundations of the research field. Alongside their own research, successful applicants will therefore be expected to organize joint working groups, colloquia, or workshops. They will be allocated a workspace at one of the participating institutions.

Applications are invited from early career scholars with a proven record of outstanding research in the history of knowledge or the history of science. Candidates must have completed their doctorate by the time the fellowship begins, and the Ph.D. should not have been awarded more than five years previously. Applicants should be able to demonstrate an interest in theoretical questions. They are asked to submit suggested topics for their own research projects addressing the boundaries between the history of knowledge and the history of science, in one of the following thematic focus areas:

1) The focus area “practical knowledge” looks at domains in which knowledge emerges or is applied in systematic combination with practice, revealing the dynamic relationship between praxis and knowledge development;

2) The focus area “fieldworks of knowledge” covers the whole spectrum of practices, strategies, negotiations, and reflections around working with, and on, knowledge in the field. In the narrower sense, this refers to sites located outside the laboratory or the researcher’s office, which have come to typify the humanities.

The value of the fellowships follows the internal guidelines of the participating institutions, based on the stipends of the Max Planck Society (€2,100–€2,500 per month). Applications are welcome from candidates of all nationalities. Women are expressly invited to apply, and we specifically encourage applications from people with disabilities.

The selection process is organized jointly by the participating institutions. Please send a curriculum vitae, list of publications, outline of your research project within one of the two focus areas (max. 750 words), the names of three referees, and copies of your qualifications. These documents must be submitted as a single PDF file,

by 31 January 2016 (23:59 CET),

via the following online portal.

Please note that we can only accept applications submitted electronically through the application portal.

For further information on the scholars involved in this postdoctoral program, see this link.

For questions concerning the Berlin Center for the History of Knowledge, please contact Dr. Hansjakob Ziemer (hjziemer@mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de). Questions on the application process may be addressed to Tanja Neuendorf (tneuendorf@mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de).