The Cluster of Excellence “Asia and Europe in a Global Context” at the University of Heidelberg is offering 1 PhD Scholarship (3 years) within the Research Project “Jesuits in Asia and Europe – Transcultural Christianity and the Narratives of Orthodoxy”.
The PhD student will be expected to develop his/her own subproject within the Group’s research profile. The project is interested in the transculturality of Christendom and will examine early modern history of conversion in Asia and Europe as shared and entangled history, understanding religions as a field where actors negotiated with each other. Thus, this project challenges the traditional Western master narrative of Christianity as a purely European religion. To scrutinize this conventional understanding, the focus lies on the globally active Jesuit order.
The project brings together three research perspectives involved in a transculturalisation of Christianity: The theological discourse about Christianising, the social practice of interreligious encounter and missionary activity and the master narrative of a pure Christianity. The geographic focus will be on the Holy Roman Empire, France and India. The PhD project should preferably concentrate on Jesuits in the Madurai or Carnatic Mission. However, other places of Jesuit actions in India are possible.
The PhD student is encouraged and expected to pursue independent research and participate in the meetings of our research group and of the interdisciplinary ‘Mini Cluster’ Negotiating Religion, within which we are going to develop a comparative theoretical and conceptual base for the project.
Applicants are required to hold a Masters degree or equivalent. The scholarship is open to scholars in History, Cultural Studies, Islamic Studies, Oriental Studies, Indology/Indian Studies. He/she is expected to possess project-relevant language skills (for critical examination of primary sources in the research area and period) and to have experience in historical methods. Knowledge of methods and theories in Transcultural Studies and Cultural History is desired.
The PhD candidate is offered a tax-free scholarship of EUR 1,200 monthly and access to travel funds, technical equipment and institutional support. The scholarship will start on 1st March 2013. It is awarded for the duration of three years. The PhD candidate is invited to use the research environment of the Heidelberg Cluster of Excellence and is entitled to participate in the Graduate Program.
Applicants are asked to submit a PDF file including the following items: 1) Curriculum Vitae, 2) letter of intention, 3) copies of university degrees, 4) short project outline of no more than 1,000 words in English or German. In addition, two letters of reference (one of them from the Masters supervisor) should be sent directly by the recommenders. Applications and letters of recommendation should be submitted to PD Dr. Antje Flüchter (fluechter(at)asia-europe.uni-heidelberg.de) by 31th December 2012. Interviews will begin soon afterwards and continue until the position is filled.