Doctoral Fellowship in (Byzantine) Greek Literature 2018, Belgium

Publish Date: May 30, 2018

Deadline: Jun 10, 2018

Doctoral Fellowship in (Byzantine) Greek Literature

The Greek Section of the Department of Literary Studies of Ghent University is seeking one well-qualified research fellow at the level of PhD student. The successful candidate will work in the framework of a project on the reception of the Psalms as poetry in late antique and Byzantine literature. The project is generously funded by the Flemish Research Foundation (FWO) and involves the collaboration of a team of scholars affiliated with several institutions: Ghent University (prof. Floris Bernard, prof. Kristoffel Demoen, dr. Rachele Ricceri), KU Leuven (prof. Reinhart Ceulemans), the Austrian Academy of Sciences (PD dr. Andreas Rhoby, dr. Anna Gioffreda).

Research project and job description

The overarching project aims at studying the afterlife of the Psalms in Byzantine poetry. A major focus of the project is the analysis of the reception of the poetic nature of the Psalms, and of the appreciation of their literary qualities by Christian poets. A first step of the research will be collecting and discussing sources in prose that indicate if and how Byzantine readers appreciated the poetic nature of the Psalms. Patristic and exegetic literature is actually an intermediate step between the biblical text and its Byzantine reception, as well as an important part of the cultural background of Byzantine poets, as they are meant to provide the reader with indications on how to read the Bible. The research also includes the study of the actual influence of the Psalms on Byzantine poetry. Special attention will be devoted to the identification of peculiar elements related to the self-expression, as to be found in some Byzantine poems (e.g. catanyctic and eis heauton poems). An important goal of the research will be the investigation of the role played by the Psalms (and the Psalm-related literature) in the composition of such poems.

Within the framework of this project, the PhD candidate will be expected to complete a doctoral dissertation after four years of research. The topic of the dissertation will tie in with the candidate’s  interests and will be determined in dialogue with the supervisors. (S)he will also be expected to actively contribute to the scholarly activities of the research group (co-organizing conferences, participating in joint publications, etc.) The dissertation will be supervised at Ghent (prof. Floris Bernard and dr. Rachele Ricceri; main institution) and Leuven (prof. Reinhart Ceulemans; additional institution).

Envisaged profile

The successful candidate will have:

  • a Ma degree in Classics (with an emphasis on Greek) or in Byzantine philology;
  • a broad competence in classical, biblical and/or Byzantine Greek literature;
  • a strong command of classical Greek, and at least good notions of medieval Greek;
  • demonstrable interest in (research into) late antique and Byzantine poetry, and/or in patristic and exegetic literature;
  • very good knowledge of English and at least good reading skills of several other languages relevant to the field (primarily German, Italian, French, Modern Greek);
  • the attitude to contribute to a research team.

The offer

  • a full-time, four-year PhD fellowship, continuation being subject to positive evaluation after one year;
  • a competitive salary as established by the Flemish government (ca 2,000€ net/month), as well as a travel allowance for research purposes;
  • office space at the University, membership of the Department of Literary Studies (http://www.letterkunde.ugent.be) and a stimulating and lively academic working environment with a strong international profile;
  • the possibility to work in close collaboration with a team of specialists from different top institutions.

Application procedure

Applications should consist of a cover letter outlining the candidate’s background and motivation, a detailed CV (including accurate information on grades and study results), and two recommendation letters that should be sent by the referees directly to floris.bernard@ugent.be, reinhart.ceulemans@kuleuven.be, and rachele.ricceri@ugent.be.

Applications should be submitted to prof. Floris Bernard (floris.bernard@ugent.be), prof. Reinhart Ceulemans (reinhart.ceulemans@kuleuven.be), and dr. Rachele Ricceri (rachele.ricceri@ugent.be) preferably as one PDF file.

A selected number of candidates will thereafter be asked to produce a short research plan which will include their views on how to carry out the PhD research. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview, which will take place in the second half of August, either in Ghent or through video conference. Starting date is 1 October 2018 (or soon after, no later than 1 January 2019).

For more information click "LINK TO ORIGINAL" below.


This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:

http://www.letterkunde.ugent.be/en/PhDByzantineGreek?utm_source=ARMACAD.info&utm_medium=ARMACAD.info

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Disciplines

History

Literature

Study Levels

Doctoral

Eligible Countries

International

Host Countries

Belgium