Wednesday, August 14, 2013

3 Post-Docs (and a general reflection on the doc-postdoc positions balance)

Finally…a tendency favouring the employment of post-docs seems to emerge. It is a good thing, since until now, there were (relatively) many PhD positions with almost nothing after them, so that brilliant students were encouraged to finish their PhDs, but had little to apply for after it. However, this tendency is also an evidence of how the life of scholars in the fields of Classical South Asian studies, the Classics, History of Philosophy and the like is becoming more and more precarious. It is hardly the case, now, that one can hope to find a permanent position after one has only completed one's PhD.
In my personal experience, I am enjoying my Post-Doc status,  but what do you think?

Anyway, in case you like Post-Docs (or in case you cannot find any permanent position), here is another, interesting place to apply:



Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) in Munich is one of the leading ​E​uropean universities with a tradition reaching back more than 500 years. The university has established the Graduate School "Distant Worlds: Munich Graduate School for Ancient Studies", which has been funded by the German Excellence Initiative since November 1st, 2012. As part of its doctoral study and postdoctoral training programme, the Graduate School combines research from a broad spectrum of disciplines within the field of ancient studies. 

The Graduate School invites applications of young researchers specializing in Classics, Chinese or Indian Studies as well as the Ancient Near East for the following positions:


3 ​p​ost- ​doc​ positions
​​Salary Grade 13 TV-L / 100%
The starting date will be November 1, 2013.
The positions are limited to two years; they may be extended by a third year
Each of the positions will coordinate a junior research group. The research groups are orientated towards one of the seven focus areas of the School.

​​Responsibilities
Successful candidates will conduct an independent research project contributing to one of the seven focus areas, to be chosen by the candidates themselves. In pursuing their research, candidates will be supported by mentors.

They will collaborate with doctoral students in an interdisciplinary junior research group and coordinate the activities of that group.

They will develop new research perspectives in the field of ancient studies together with the members of the Münchner Zentrum für Antike Welten.


Requirements
In order to apply, candidates will need to have completed their doctorate in the field of ancient studies with outstanding results. Applicants will need to submit a proposal for an independent research project. They should demonstrate their willingness to work in an interdisciplinary context as well as an interest in basic and theoretical questions. We are especially interested in candidates whose research projects relate to the following focus areas: "Organisation of coexistence", "Organisation of exchange", "Organisation of elites".

The School offers the scope for developing new perspectives in an inspiring research environment.


​Disability and equal opportunities
​Applicants with disabilities possessing essentially equal qualifications will be given preference. LMU Munich is an equal opportunity employer committed to excellence through diversity and therefore explicitly encourages women to apply.


Application process
​For further information see:   ​​www.mzaw.uni-muenchen.de/dw

Applications must be submitted electronically in German or English ​ ​by September 23, 2013 to mzaw@lmu.de​


2 comments:

Niranjan Saha said...

Dear Scholars,

Namaste! I (BA Hons in Phil, Calcutta University, 2001; M.A, department of Philosophy, University of Madras, 2004; MPhil, department of Philosophy, University of Madras, under the guidance of Professor G. Mishra, 2005) have submitted my PhD dissertation on a topic entitled 'Philosophy of Advaita Vedanta according to Madhusudana Sarasvati's Gudharthadipika' (a commenatry on the Bhagavadgita) under the intitial supervision of Professor Angelika Malinar and later Dr Theodore Proferes at SOAS (University of London) and await the examiners' reports shortly.

Could you guide me finding out prospect of further studies/research/publication/career/teaching position etc. I did contact the University Munich earlier, but their research orientation focuses on Kingship, Tibetian Buddhism etc., differing from my area of research, e.g. Vedanta, Advaita (other schools of Indian philosophy inclusive).

With best rgs,
Sincerely yours,
Niranjan Saha, Kolkata, India

elisa freschi said...

Dear Niranjan,

congratulations for your accomplishments!
1) Check on this blog all posts labelled as "opportunities and projects". In many cases, you should be able to reframe your research in order to have it fit within a certain framework (it is hardly the case that one will look for "an expert on Madhusudana Sarasvati's Gudharthadipika", so that you'll have to learn to reframe your project).

2) You do not say WHERE you would like to work, WHAT you want to do and WHAT experience you already have/. If you are ready to move to the US, have some teaching experience and would be ready to have a heavy teaching duty (say, 3 classes/semester), it should not be difficult for you to find a position in the US. For instance, the University of Pennsilvania is now looking for a lecturer in Sanskrit (I will post further info in September, but you could also find it in the archive of Indology.info).

3) If you only want to do research and want to be in Europe, consider contacting a professor in whose work you are interested and submitting a project for researching with her/him. The European Community finances such projects through Marie Curie Fellowships (see the interview to Michela Clemente on this blog) and several other countries have also national funding bodies for the same purpose.

Good luck!

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