Job description (excerpt)
The project is inter-disciplinary and funded through the European Research Council’s Synergy Grant scheme. The overall aim of the project is to reconstruct the environmental, biological and societal drivers behind plague outbreaks in Eurasia between 1300 and 1900 AD.
The postdoctoral fellow’s research will contribute to the overall aim within the broader framework of the Synergy-Plague project and will cooperate closely with the epidemiologist/ecologists/evolutionary biologist at the Department of Biosciences at University of Oslo and with other partners of the project. The fellow will have the Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages as their place of work, and will be working closely with Professor Einar Wigen on plague in the Ottoman Empire. The main task will be to plan and carry out archival research on plague occurrences in the Ottoman Empire and adjacent polities as these may be recorded in French and Italian archives, and to provide valid interpretations of these sources in relation to other findings by the project team.
Qualification requirements
- PhD or equivalent academic qualifications with a specialization in the history of trans-Mediterranean networks in the early modern period (1500-1800), or other relevant specializations in history, cultural history or area studies.
- The candidate's research project must be closely connected with the historical component of the main project
- Fluent oral and written communication skills in English
- Ability to read and interpret handwritten documents in Italian, Latin and French
- Familiarity with European archives relevant to researching plague in the Ottoman Empire
- Familiarity with issues of public health in the early modern period
- Personal suitability and motivation for the position
Deadline: 15th May 2024.