Calls for applications

Call for Applications: PhD grant

PhD grant in the humanities and social sciences:
Entangled state-building and democratization – Poland, Ukraine, and Germany, 1918 ff. and 1989/91 ff.

Call for Applications

The Aleksander Brückner Center for Polish Studies (Halle) is inviting applications for a doctoral grant in the humanities and social sciences, funded by the German-Polish Science Foundation (DPWS), for 1 April 2025.
The Aleksander Brückner Center for Polish Studies, which opened in 2013, is engaged in interdisciplinary research into historical and contemporary formations of Polish statehood, society, language and culture. It is a joint project of Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and Friedrich Schiller University Jena, funded by the Foundation for German-Polish Cooperation, the German-Polish Science Foundation, the German Academic Exchange Service, the German Research Foundation, and others. The Centre cooperates with numerous academic institutions and NGOs in Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Belarus and Israel, as well as in other countries that are or were closely entangled with Poland. Since 2013, it conceives the Master program »Interdisciplinary Polish Studies«, promotes doctoral and post-doctoral projects and conceptualizes a program for an extended audience.

As part of the research field »(Re)Configurations of Community and Society«, an interdisciplinary working group investigates the entanglements of state-building and democratization in Poland, Ukraine and Germany in two epochs: at the end of the First World War and since 1989/91. It aims at working out the transnational dimensions of these socio-political transformations as well as their interconnectedness. Of particular interest are aspects of politics, law, religion, gender, class, knowledge, language and culture. The working group cooperates with colleagues at the University of Warsaw, the Mikołaj Kopernik University in Toruń, the Mohyla Academy in Kyiv, and the University of Regensburg.

More information about the Aleksander Brückner Center and its fields of research can be found on the website.

What we expect from you:

  • a Master’s degree (very good grade) in a discipline of the Humanities or Social Sciences
  • a focus on Polish and/or Ukrainian history, language, society or culture
  • good knowledge of Polish or Ukrainian, and preferably another language of the region or the willingness to learn one during the funding period
  • a project proposal within the framework of the outlined research area
  • interest in transdisciplinary questions and interdisciplinary exchange
  • willingness to contribute to the activities of the Aleksander Brückner Center

What we offer you:

  • a three-year doctoral grant (€1,500 per month)
  • a limited amount of travel funds
  • integration into the German-Polish-Ukrainian working group in the outlined research area
  • interdisciplinary exchange
  • integration into national and international networks
  • socially orientated scholarship

Application

Please apply in electronic form, attaching a letter of motivation, CV, diploma, information on major fields of study, internships and projects, publications (if applicable) as well as your Master thesis and an outline of your doctoral project (max. 5 pages). In the latter you should address your research questions, sources, theory and methodology. Please send your application to Yvonne Kleinmann (yvonne.kleinmann@geschichte.uni-halle.de) by February 28, 2025. We will be happy to answer your queries!

Call for applications: DAAD-Guest Professorship at the Aleksander Brückner Center for Polish Studies, Halle / Germany

The Aleksander Brückner Center for Polish Studies in Halle is looking for a short term guest professor, having her/his residence outside Germany, who would like to join our team for a period of one month from April 2024 to February 2025.

Tasks:

  • teach a course (in English or German) on a topic within the range of your current research relating to Polish society, culture or politics to MA and BA students from
    various disciplines (28 academic hours, concentrated on two to three weekends)
  • participate in the activities of the Center
  • engage in interdisciplinary discussions

Application forms (in one pdf):

  • CV
  • Doctoral diploma
  • list of publications
  • short outline of your course proposal

Deadline: December 15, 2023

We are especially interested in researchers who can give an engaging course that caters to an audience from the Humanities that does not necessarily specialize in Polish Studies. Candidates with a background in a variety of disciplines, including literature & cultural studies, political science, sociology, social anthropology, law, history, etc., are welcome.

The lecturer will be hosted at the Aleksander Brückner Center in Halle (www.aleksander-brueckner-zentrum.org) and will receive a lump sum of 4,000 Euros to cover all expenses. The staff of the Center will support you in practical matters, e.g. finding accommodation and access to libraries.

Guest professors are expected to reside in Halle most of the time, pursue their research and interact with academic and other institutions in town, e.g., the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology.

If you are interested, please contact paulina.gulinska-jurgiel@geschichte.uni-halle.de.

We are looking forward to read about your ideas!