عقد عمل في هولندا اخر اجل للتسجيل 25 غشت 2024
عقد عمل في هولندا اخر اجل للتسجيل 25 غشت 2024
PhD Candidate: The Conceptual History of Ethics in Modern Arabic
Employment 1.0 FTE
Gross monthly salary € 2,770 - € 3,539
Required background Research University Degree
Organizational unit Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies
Application deadline 25 August 2024
Are you fascinated by the history of ideas in the Arab world? By how the Arabic language developed in the modern age? By its discourse on ethics and how it has affected society? In this funded PhD position, you will research the modern history of the concept of ethics in Arabic. You will be mentored by a team of experts, gain access to university-wide, Dutch, and EU grant opportunities, and network with scholars across the globe.
The concept of ethics has played a pivotal role in modern Arabic discourse: from politicians invoking it as ’the primary deciding factor’ of national progress, to philosophers claiming it as the essence of Islamic ‘reason’, to TV shows instructing the public about ethical conduct. In this project you will study the development of the modern Arabic concept of ethics (akhlāq), investigating the history of moral terms and their use in intellectual, political, literary and other fields. Understanding this history is vital to understanding how ethics was articulated and, more broadly, how conceptualisations and re-conceptualisations of ethics were spread and transformed through educational, religious and political discourses to lay the groundwork for different conceptions of modern subjectivity.
The primary resources envisioned for this study are the Arabic journals and newspapers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries (circa 1870-1950) which were a hotbed of intellectual and linguistic innovation. The main theoretical and methodological lens of the project is that of conceptual history. The concept of ethics is very broad, however, and within these bounds you are free to explore different research questions – e.g. focusing on how the concept of ethics was articulated in different religious and political discourses, how ethical terminology was translated, or how concepts of ethics were disseminated. You are also free to argue which journals, during which era are most appropriate for your project and you may suggest other sources as supplements. We are especially eager to receive proposals that suggest innovative interdisciplinary and interlinguistic approaches and make use of the growing opportunities offered by digital conceptual history.
Vivienne Matthies-Boon, professor at the Department of Philosophical Ethics and Political Philosophy, will be your promotor. Your daily supervisor will be Dr Harald Viersen, Assistant Professor at the Department of Islam, Politics and Society (IPS), who specialises in the modern history of ideas in the Middle East. A third supervisor will be assigned depending on the nature of the project.
The project will be funded by a Starter Grant awarded by the Faculty of Philosophy, Theology, and Religious Studies to dr. Harald Viersen. You will have a 10% teaching task.
Profile
You have an MA degree in Islamic Studies, Arabic, History, Philosophy, or another discipline related to your project.
You have a demonstrated interest in conceptual history or Arabic intellectual history.
You have the necessary knowledge of conceptual historiographical theory and method and other background knowledge necessary to complete your proposed project.
You have an excellent command of written and spoken English, an excellent command of written Arabic, and preferably command of additional languages relevant to the field.
You have a clear and persuasive style of writing.
You have excellent research and analytical skills.
You are able to work independently and as a member of a team.
We are
You will be embedded in the Department of Islam, Politics and Society, the Center for Religion and Contemporary Society (CRCS); and the Graduate School of Humanities (GSH) of the Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies. We are a small, but very active and tight-knit department. We organise research seminars where our members and invitees are given the opportunity to present and discuss their work on a regular basis and we very much encourage interdisciplinary cooperation, both within and outside our faculty.