Matters of Making: Histories of the Making and non-European Technical Knowledge
Postdoctoral fellowship in the history of technology in the non-Western world at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences in Paris
The School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (École des hautes études en sciences sociales -EHESS) is an élite French graduate-only establishment and the home of the Annales School.
For the 2021-22 academic year, The School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences in Paris, France offers one postdoctoral fellowship in the history of technology in the non-Western world. Open to Ph.D. holders of exceptional promise, it affords a succesfull candidate an opportunity to engage with the recent Annales school scholarship in an interdisciplinary setting while they are turning their dissertation into a manuscript.
The postdoctoral fellowship Matters of Making: Histories of the Making and non-European Technical Knowledge is open to PhD holders working in history of technology, techniques, and/or material culture in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. The successful applicant will have a research interest in the history of artisanal, industrial, innovative processes, and modes of making that include transformation of matter and materials. To be eligible, PhD candidates must demonstrate a track record and/or capacity to work with primary sources in vernacular languages and local archives. Comparative perspectives welcome.
Priority will be given to candidates in dialogue with vernacular historiographies and local research communities. Selected research project are encouraged to contribute to questioning and nuancing traditional periodization in history of science and technology and work towards a more capacious and inclusive periodization and conceptualization of their research object.
We also welcome projects that can contribute to a better understanding of the knowledge of the hand (les savoirs de main), operational intelligence, and empirical knowledge which currently contribute to a dialogue between histories of knowledge production and labor history while shedding light on interactions between the world of the mind and the world of the matter.
Research projects attentive to the potential contribution of 1) non-written sources, 2) reconstitutions and chemical analysis, and 3) circulation of objects to the development of new methodological approaches to the study of material culture are welcome.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS:
Postdoctoral fellows are expected to reside in the Paris during the appointment term and actively participate in EHESS seminars and events. (October 2021-September 2022). Fellows have no teaching responsibilities.
ELIGIBILITY:Applicants must have defended their Ph.D. between January 1, 2018 and January 31, 2021.
The EHESS values diversity and is committed to gender parity. Women are particularly encouraged to apply.
FELLOWSHIP GRANT:
Start Date: October 1, 2021 Appointment: 12 months, beginning in October 1, 2022 Grant Amount: 2365 € (monthly salary); includes health insurance coverage for the grantee.
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:
Application deadline: March 8 (noon Paris time)
All applications must be summited electronically at: http://recrutement.ehess.fr/
Online Application form will require:
1) Curriculum Vitae with a list of publications
2) Scan of the Diploma or Certification of defense completion;
3) Letter of Motivation (Statement of Purpose) addressed to the President
4) Plan of Research (5 pages max) for the fellowship year with clear indication of how it fits with the fellowship theme (in English or French);
Confirmation email will be sent to all applicants.
*** Results available on May 27***
Research statement can be submited in French or English.
No recommendation letters required.
Candidates are expected to have basic functionality in French and a commitment to a improving their French language skills during their fellowship year.
For administrative question feel free to write to recrutement-admin@ehess.fr
Institutional webpage: https://www.ehess.fr/fr/recrutement/recrutement-10-post-doctorants-lehess-en-2021