The research group Modernity and Society (MoSa) studies European and global responses to modernity and has a long track record of innovative research on European integration in its broader sense. As part of a Weave project funded by the FWO (Flanders) and the FNR (Luxembourg), MoSa has an opening for a PhD candidate in History in the framework of the collaborative research project Bureaucracy by Design? EU Office Interiors as an Interface Between Architectural „Hardware“ and Managerial “Software”, 1951–2002 (BUREU). The doctoral student will be a member of MoSa and the Department of History at the Faculty of Arts. Embedded in the discipline of history, the research project BUREU will investigate which design choices were made in relation to the interiors of EU office buildings in Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg for the period between the early 1950s and the early 2000s. More concretely, BUREU will seek to answer the question which managerial ideas were at the root of these office interior designs and in so doing will contribute to a new history of the EU. BUREU is a joint project of MoSa / the Department of History at KU Leuven (supervised by Prof. Martin Kohlrausch) and The Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C²DH) at the University of Luxembourg (supervised by Prof. Andreas Fickers). Next to two PhD positions (one in Leuven, one in Luxembourg), a postdoc researcher, based at the C²DH, will complement the research team.
Project:
- Writing a thesis in the domain of European history and history of design and architecture
- Realizing archival research and performing oral history interviews
- Participation in research workshops and academic conferences
- Academic publications among which at least one peer-reviewed journal article
- Collaboration with the other doctoral student and the postdoc working in the framework of BUREU at the C²DH
- Participation in the activities of MoSa and the Department of History at KU Leuven
The doctoral student will be enrolled in the Doctoral School for the Humanities and Social Sciences of KU Leuven. He/she will work under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Martin Kohlrausch.
Profile:
- Excellent command of English, at least very good passive knowledge of French. A good command of Dutch and/or German is an asset.
- You hold a Master's degree in History, Architecture or Design studies or a related discipline with excellent results and demonstrated ability to independently pursue research
- You have a strong interest and preferably experience in research on European integration and/or architecture & design
- You have a good digital literacy
Offer:
- We offer a full-time employment as a PhD researcher for one year, renewable till max. four years after positive evaluation. The position is remunerated in accordance with the salary range for doctoral students in FWO-Flanders-funded projects
- You will carry out your PhD as part of an international research project, facilitating your integration into the academic community
- You will complete the doctoral training program in History at the KU Leuven Faculty of Arts
Interested?
Candidates should submit the following documents: Motivation letter / Curriculum vitae (in English or Dutch), list of publications (if available) and the names and e-mail addresses of two referees using the KU Leuven's online application tool.
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