Five positions in an ERC Advanced Grant Project "Scholars, Animals, Images, Geographies and the Arts: De-exoticizing Eastern Europe in the Early Modern Period" (SAIGA)

 Five positions in an ERC Advanced Grant Project "Scholars, Animals, Images, Geographies and the Arts: De-exoticizing Eastern Europe in the Early Modern Period" (SAIGA), University of Warsaw, Poland

Project's PI: Grażyna Jurkowlaniec (https://ihs.uw.edu.pl/en/jurkowlaniec/ )

Deadline: 31 October 2024

Start Date: 1 January 2025

Duration: 57 months

Positions:

1. Assistant Professor, full time, gross monthly salary (including all bonuses): approximately PLN 16,200 (PLN 210,600 yearly) – Specialization: visual or material sources in early modern natural history

2. Assistant Professor, full time, gross monthly salary (including all bonuses): approximately PLN 16,200 (PLN 210,600 yearly) – Specialization: historical geography, 15th–19th centuries

3. Research Assistant, full time, gross monthly salary (including all bonuses): PLN 10,500 (PLN 136,500 yearly) – Specialization: art history or book history, 15th–19th centuries

4. Research Assistant, full time, gross monthly salary (including all bonuses): PLN 10,500 (PLN 136,500 yearly) – Specialization: environmental history, 15th–19th centuries

5. Research Assistant, 50% working time, gross monthly salary (including all bonuses): PLN 5,250 (PLN 68,250 yearly) – Specialization: Classical Philology or Comparative Literature

Project's Abstract:

Building on Claude Lévi-Strauss’s oft-cited claim that “animals are good to think with,” SAIGA sets out to forge a zoological trail in the understanding of Eastern Europe between the sixteenth and late eighteenth centuries. Focusing on animal representations, the project will shed new light on the role of images in the production and transfer of knowledge.

The project will highlight the region’s underrated contributions to the development of natural history by examining the overlooked Eastern European nodes in networks of scholars. By investigating various patterns of transmission of knowledge from East to West, this study will consider the vital role of Eastern informants, both trusted experts and unreliable amateurs. With animals as the primary object of investigation, the project will direct attention to the arduous processes of discovering Eastern European fauna. While some species had already been recorded by ancient authors (though seldom if ever seen), other species were only documented in the early modern period, turning Eastern Europe into a rewarding research opportunity for naturalists. Tracing the replication of images of Eastern European fauna, the project seeks to understand how early modern naturalists accounted for the discrepancies among ancient, medieval, and contemporaneous sources, and how their strategies of verification varied between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. Mapping this knowledge transfer onto the articulation of early modern geographies—which also attempted to make sense of the regions situated between Europe and Asia—the project promises to move the study of Eastern Europe beyond the paradigm of “demi-Orientalism,” which all too often imposes a modern othering lens onto the earlier past of the region. Finally, the project will foreground the role of the arts, above all various printmaking techniques, in projecting the image of the region as an environmental and cultural landscape defined and distinguished by its animals.

Job Description:

The SAIGA project is seeking team members who will conduct independent research within the specific thematic clusters of Scholars, Animals, Images, Geographies, and the Arts, while also collaborating closely with the broader project team. Each member will be responsible for developing an individual subproject into a monograph (or a PhD dissertation for research assistants), aligned with the overarching objectives of SAIGA, which explores the role of animals, images, and knowledge transfer in Eastern Europe from the 16th to 18th centuries. In addition to their own research, team members will work collaboratively to contribute to shared goals, including the development of the URUS database (https://urus.uw.edu.pl/), conference organization, and collective publications.

Additional information about specific positions can be requested at g.jurkowlaniec@uw.edu.pl

Required Documents for Recruitment:

- Application addressed to the Rector of the University of Warsaw

- Personal questionnaire (https://bsp.adm.uw.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2021/01/KWESTIONARIUSZ_OSOBOWY_KANDYDAT_11_2019_EN.docx)

- Information on personal data processing (https://bsp.adm.uw.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2021/01/Klauzula-informacyjna-przy-rekrutacji-do-pracy_11_2019_EN.docx)

- Statement on primary place of employment (https://bsp.adm.uw.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2021/01/oswiadczenie_podstawowe_miejsce_pracy_caly_etat-2019_EN.doc)

- (For Assistant Professor positions) Copy of the PhD diploma or other document confirming the awarding of the PhD degree

- Copies of other diplomas or certificates confirming higher education, postgraduate studies, or other courses relevant to the planned research

- Academic CV, including a list of publications

- Motivation letter in English, including a preliminary research concept (max. 5 pages) outlining your planned contribution to the SAIGA project

- Names and contact information of two referees whom the committee may contact for recommendations

- Statement confirming knowledge and acceptance of the rules for academic recruitment (https://wnks.uw.edu.pl/wydzial/struktura-wazne-dokumenty/inne-dokumenty/; English version: https://monitor.uw.edu.pl/Lists/Uchway/Attachments/5034/EN.M.2019.282.Zarz.106.pdf)

Recruitment Procedure:

The deadline for submissions is 31 October 2024, 23:59. Documents should be sent electronically to g.jurkowlaniec@uw.edu.pl as signed scans or digitally signed PDF files.

The committee will review the submitted materials, assessing both formal compliance with the announcement and substantive quality. All candidates will be notified of the results via email between 4 and 10 November 2024. Selected candidates will be invited for an online interview, scheduled between 12 and 19 November 2024. The anticipated decision date for the competition is 19 November 2024.

Note: This competition is the first stage in the process of hiring an academic teacher as outlined in the University of Warsaw Statute. A positive outcome of the competition is the basis for proceeding with the further employment process.

For additional information, please contact: g.jurkowlaniec@uw.edu.pl