CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
2 PhD-‐Positions
E 13/TV-‐L, 50 %, Third-‐Party Financing
SELMA STERN ZENTRUM FÜR JÜDISCHE STUDIEN BERLIN-‐BRANDENBURG and FREIE UNIVERSITÄT BERLIN
General
The Selma Stern Zentrum für Jüdische Studien Berlin-‐Brandenburg invites applications for 2 PhD-‐ positions from September 1st, 2018 to March 31st, 2022.
The PhD-‐students are expected to work in the research area ‘The Monotheistic Triangle’ on the topic ‘Image Prohibition and Art Theory’.
The PhD-‐students will be officially enrolled at the Freie Univeraität Berlin (Fachbereich Geschichts-‐ und Kulturwissenschaften – Seminar für Katholische Theologie), under the direction of Prof. Dr. Rainer Kampling. Their positions are located at the Selma Stern Zentrum für Jüdische Studien Berlin-‐ Brandenburg and are founded by the BMBF.
Structure
Within the research area ‘The Monotheistic Triangle’ a research group on ‘Image Prohibition and Art Theory’ will be established. It is a three-‐member group, where the two PhD-‐students are expected to work under the direction of a postdoc (Dr. Beniamino Fortis). The goal is to deal with a common theme from three different points of view.
Only PhD-‐projects that fit within the thematic frame of the research group will be considered.
Research Area – The Monotheistic Triangle
A fundamental assumption, in this research area, is that a meaningful inquiry into any of the three monotheistic traditions cannot be carried out, without taking the other two into consideration. The research focus is thus set on relationships, connections, and interactions between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Particular attention is paid to those topics that are dealt with in all monotheistic traditions and can thus be studied from three different perspectives.
Research Group – Image prohibition and Art Theory
The prohibition of images lends itself particularly well as such an interdisciplinary theme, because the legitimacy of pictorial representation is at issue in every monotheistic tradition. In each of them, moreover, image prohibition has experienced a manifold impact history, which of course includes also the ban’s consequences for art theory.
The postdoc’s research focuses on the relationship between image prohibition and art theory from a Jewish perspective. It is thus meant as part of a wider project, in which two additional PhD-‐ projects are expected to deal with the same topic from a Christian and/or an Islamic point of view.
Doctoral and postdoctoral works must share the same theoretical structure, which acts as a common denominator between them and consists in two aspects. More precisely, each project must 1) determine the different ways the prohibition of images is conceived of and 2) analyze the influence the prohibition exerts on modern picture and art theories.
Suggestions for a possible PhD-‐project
The postdoc’s project investigates Hermann Cohen’s (1842-‐1918) philosophy. For he sake of group cohesiveness, preference will be given to PhD-‐projects that focus on modern and contemporary subject matters.
Possible research topics are:
- § ‚Abstraction’ und ‚Spirituality’ in Islamic Art as Consequences of Image Prohibition.
- § Image Prohibition and its Interpretations in the Haskala.
- § Rabbinical Debates on the Prohibition of Images in the 19. Century.
- § Alex Stock’s Picture Theology Dealing with Image Prohibition.
- § Image Prohibition and Hans Urs von Balthasar’s Conception of ‚Herrlichkeit’.
- § Aestheticization of Art as a Reaction to Image Prohibition. The Case Study of Odo Marquard.
Requirements and Duties
Applicants should have completed their Master’s degrees in philosophy, theology, Jewish studies, or cultural studies no longer than two years before the application deadline. Good command of English and German is expected. Knowledge of another language that is relevant to he project is desirable.
Besides working on their own project, the PhD-‐students are expected to contribute to other collective works, to take part in other academic activities, and to collaborate in organizing academic events.
Application Documents
- § Curriculum Vitae
- § Exposé (in German or English) of max. 8 pages with:
- Aim and Scope of the PhD-‐project
- Status Quaestionis
- Explanation of how the PhD-‐project contributes to scholarship
- Explanation of how the PhD-‐project fits within the research group
- Applicant’s previous works (if any)
- Method
- Work Plan
- Names of two referents
The application deadline is on May 7th, 2018.
Applications should be sent in hard or electronic form (in a single file!) to:
Freie Universität Berlin
Fachbereich Geschichts-‐ und Kulturwissenschaften Seminar für Katholische Theologie
Prof. Dr. Rainer Kampling Fabeckstr. 23-‐25
14195 Berlin (Dahlem)
E-‐Mail: rainer.kampling@fu-‐berlin.de
For information, please contact:
Dr. Beniamino Fortis: Mail: b.fortis@selma-‐stern-‐zentrum.de
Applications from qualified female scholars are particularly welcome. Severely disabled applicants with equivalent qualifications will be given preferential consideration. People with an immigration background are specifically encouraged to apply.
Since we will not return your documents, please submit copies in the application only.
