Institute of History (University of Warsaw) is looking for two doctoral researchers who will join the team working on the project Presbyters in the late antique West (200-700 AD) run by Robert Wiśniewski. Their job will consist in collecting the evidence for a prosopographical database and conducting, within the project, their own research which will lead to completing the doctoral dissertation (in 4.5 years). The successful candidates will be enrolled in the doctoral programme and awarded a scholarship of 2000 Polish Zloty per month (initially for 2 years, extendable for another 2.5 years).

Argument

Institute of History (University of Warsaw) is looking for two doctoral researchers who will join the team working on the project Presbyters in the late antique West (200-700 AD) run by Robert Wiśniewski. Their job will consist in collecting the evidence for a prosopographical database and conducting, within the project, their own research which will lead to completing the doctoral dissertation (in 4.5 years).

The project aims at understanding and describing the role played by the presbyters in the ecclesiastical and social life of the Late Antique West, from the late 3rd century to the end of the 7th century. The research will be carried out in four areas: institutional, social and economic and in the field of mentality. In each of them a particular interest will be paid to the evolution of the phenomenon and differences between diverse regions of the western Christendom.

The strength of the project lies in the wide and systematic research focused on the hundreds of rank-and-file presbyters, most of them known only from a single piece of evidence, and not, as hitherto, on outstanding individuals. This will be done through the use of the whole literary, normative and epigraphic evidence from Africa, Italy, Gaul, Spain, Britain and the Danube provinces. For most of these regions the evidence will be collected for the first time, for others it will be largely complemented. The prosopographical material obtained in this way will be assembled within a searchable on-line database which will allow finding and sorting diverse data, hardly accessible up to now, concerning origin, career, social links, property and economic activity of presbyters. This massive evidence will be used in three ways: through a cautious employment of quantitative methods to the entire material, through a careful microanalysis of well documented case studies and through a systematic setting it against normative sources.

The project which will allow to see, for the first time, hundreds of lower clergymen, will provide a new comprehension of the actual function of late antique Churches. It will also contribute to a better understanding of social mechanisms, particularly those which influenced social mobility and the emergence of social barriers. The searchable on-line database created for the purpose of the project will be an important tool for international scholars working on diverse problems of social and Church history of Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages.

Employment conditions

The successful candidates will be enrolled in the doctoral programme and awarded a scholarship of 2000 Polish Zloty per month (initially for 2 years, extendable for another 2.5 years

Essential requirements

• MA in a relevant field (e.g. ancient or early medieval history, classics, patristics or archaeology)
• Very good knowledge of Latin
• Fluency in English
• An effective working knowledge of at least two of the following languages: French, Italian, German, Spanish
• Ability and willingness to work in a team, conduct academic research, present their results and write to a deadline

Desirable

• Publications and conference presentations proving interest and competence within the field of late antique or early medieval studies
• Academic experience gained outside his/her home university (e.g. Erasmus programme, working in a research team)
• Effective working knowledge of other languages of the scholarship mentioned above
• Knowledge of Greek

How to apply

• CV containing description of the academic curriculum, evidence of research interests and achievements (publications, conference papers, participation in research projects etc.) and information about the knowledge of languages
• Statement with the outline of a doctoral research the candidate is going to conduct within the project
• Letter of recommendation by an academic supervisor sent directly to: r.wisniewski@uw.edu.pl
• Copy of the MA thesis
• Copy of a selected scholarly text (published or not)
• Copy of the MA certificate
• Contact data

These documents should be sent to the Institute of History, University of Warsaw

Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28

00-927 Warszawa, Poland

Questions can be addressed to Robert Wiśniewski: r.wisniewski@uw.edu.pl

The application must arrive on 14 July 2014 at the latest.

The candidates whose dossier will fit best the requirements will be interviewed on 24 - 25 July. The final choice of the candidates will comply with the rules of the National Science Center (NCN).

More information

http://en.ihuw.pl/institute/activity/projects/presbyters-late-antique-west

This advertisement is also accessible at the websites of the Antiquity in Southeastern Europe Research Centre and the Insitute of History