Description of the project: Does knowledge production contribute to the development of gender equality activism? What knowledge about women’s problems in labor, housework, and health was created by women experts in post-war Central and Eastern Europe? How did their research uncover existing gender inequalities and stereotypes about women’s roles? Which solutions did female experts propose to improve the situation of women in society? Did the knowledge they created prompt them to participate in the public debate on women’s issues? How did the knowledge circulate among female experts from different countries? Who were the women who devoted their research careers to women’s issues? Under the conditions of the communist state, which restricted the possibility of association, did networks of women experts play a role in feminist activism?

In an international team, we seek answers to these questions by conducting historical research on the biographies and expertise of selected female experts in three communist countries of East Central Europe: Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Hungary. We are interested in those female experts whose research raised issues related to women’s work and health. Our research will focus on medicine, sociology, psychology, and law. It explores three threads: 1. Expert discourses about women. 2. Women experts’ biographies and international and transnational contacts between female experts. 3. Knowledge dissemination and activism. As a result, the project will contribute significantly to the knowledge of women’s roles in science in post-war East Central Europe. The project will result in scientific articles and an online dictionary of female experts containing entries in English and national languages. An international team of experts on the 20th-century social and cultural history of Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Hungary will conduct the research.

Scope of work:

- preparing a doctoral dissertation related to the project topic on women experts in one of the studied countries (Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary) within 4 years as part of the training program at the Anthropos Doctoral School
- participating in research team meetings online and in person (in Prague and Warsaw)
- conducting archival research in the country of study and in international archives
- participating in international conferences
- preparing at least one scientific article and submitting it to an international journal
- supporting the project manager in organizational matters (such as maintaining the project’s social media page)

Eligibility criteria:

- candidates must hold an MA degree in humanities or social sciences
good knowledge of the post-war social history of the selected country (Czechoslovakia, Hungary, or Poland)
- interest in women’s and gender history
- experience in working with published and archival sources of the second half of the 20th century
- very good knowledge of Polish, Czech, Slovak, or Hungarian (depending on the chosen research area) and excellent command of spoken and written English
- willingness to acquire new skills and work in a team
- motivation to prepare your research project and develop an international academic career

We offer:

- work in an international research team
- financing of trips to archives and academic conferences
- access to necessary literature
- PhD supervision and support in the development of academic skills
support in the development of an academic career
- a possibility to do part of the work remotely and an individualized PhD program

Applications should contain:

- recruitment form (to be downloaded)
- letter of motivation
- in separate files:
ID-sized photograph of the candidate
copy of a master’s thesis or its equivalent (in PDF format)
for non-EU applicants: certified diploma or certified translation, or a recognition statement provided by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA)
- confirmation of transfer of enrolment fee. The enrolment fee is PLN 150. Candidates should make payment to the account number of the Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences: 04 1130 1017 0020 1463 2420 0002 (Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, SWIFT code: GOSKPLPW), and in the title of the payment write “Anthropos admissions” as well as your first and last name.

Documents should be sent electronically by October 31, 2024 to:

szkola.anthropos@ihpan.edu.pl (subject: PhD student OPUS LAP IH PAN)
njarska@ihpan.edu.pl (subject: PhD student OPUS LAP IH PAN)

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered for the selection process. The submission of documents should be understood as their receipt by the entities indicated in the announcement.

Candidates who successfully pass the evaluation of the submitted documentation will be admitted for an interview. The interviews will be held in English via Zoom.

Starting date: January 3, 2025. The contract is for a maximum of 48 months. Monthly stipend is 4276.07 PLN gross for the first two years before the mid-term evaluation and 5340.90 PLN gross after this evaluation (gross amounts from which Social Security contributions of the PhD student are deducted). Inquiries can be addressed to szkola.anthropos@ihpan.edu.pl and njarska@ihpan.edu.pl

For downloading the application form please go to https://ihpan.edu.pl/en/phd-position-at-the-project-women-experts-and-feminist-knowledge-production-in-post-war-east-central-europe-1945-1989/

Institute of History Tadeusz Manteuffel of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw announces a competition for the position of adjunct – postdoctoral trainee (post-doc) – contractor of the research project entitled “Women experts and feminist knowledge production in post-war East Central Europe (1945–1989)”, commissioned by the National Science Center under the OPUS LAP scheme (project no. 2023/51/I/HS3/02044) under the supervision of Dr. Hab. Natalia Jarska, in collaboration with Dr. Annina Gagyiova (Institute of History, Czech Academy of Sciences) under the WEAVE initiative.

Abstract of the research project: Does knowledge production contribute to the development of gender equality activism? What knowledge about women’s problems in labor, housework, and health was created by women experts in post-war Central and Eastern Europe? How did their research uncover existing gender inequalities and stereotypes about women’s roles? Which solutions did female experts propose to improve the situation of women in society? Did the knowledge they created prompt them to participate in the public debate on women’s issues? How did the knowledge circulate among female experts from different countries? Who were the women who devoted their research careers to women’s issues? Did, under the conditions of the communist state, which restricted the possibility of association, networks of women experts play a role in feminist activism?

We want to seek answers to these questions by conducting historical research on the biographies and expertise of selected female experts in three communist countries of East Central Europe: Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Hungary. We are interested in those female experts whose research raised issues related to women’s work and health. Our research will focus on medicine, sociology, psychology, and law.

Our research focuses on three threads: 1. Expert discourses about women. 2. Women experts’ biographies and international and transnational contacts between female experts. 3. Knowledge dissemination and activism. As a result, the project will contribute significantly to the knowledge of women’s roles in science in post-war East Central Europe, which, in contrast to Western countries, is still understudied. The project will result in scientific articles and an online dictionary of female experts containing entries in English and national languages. An international team of scholars of the 20th-century social and cultural history of Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Hungary will conduct the research.

The tasks of the trainee will include:

- search, collection, and analysis of the source material for the Hungarian, international, and transnational part of the project
- writing and publishing scholarly articles
- preparing entries for an online biographical dictionary on women experts
- presenting papers at international conferences
- participation in team meetings with the Polish and Czech teams (online and in person)
- participation in public engagement activities
- supporting the PI in project management tasks

Eligibility requirements. The candidate should:

- hold a doctoral degree in humanities or social sciences
- have research experience and scientific achievements in 20th-century Hungarian social and cultural history and women’s history
- have a track record of relevant publications and conference presentations in the areas mentioned above
- have advanced knowledge of spoken and written English
- declare consent to be included in the number of employees conducting research during the employment period, i.e. in the number N for the algorithm for allocating the base subsidy to statutory activity.

Employment:

from 03/01/2025 for 3 years, full-time. Yearly gross salary 140.000 PLN.

Detailed terms of employment (in line with the recommendations of the National Science Center) will be specified in the employment contract for a closed period, concluded between the adjunct-trainee and the Director of the Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

Candidates are requested to submit the following documents:

- Application for employment addressed to the director of the Institute
- Curriculum Vitae with a list of publications
- A letter of motivation
- A copy of the doctoral diploma
- Sample of one English language publication
- Candidate’s declaration that in the event of winning the competition, IH PAN will be the primary place of work.
- Consent to be included in the number of employees conducting research activity during the employment period, i.e. the number N for the purposes of the algorithm for allocating the base subsidy for statutory activity (link to the form https://ihpan.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Oswiadczenie_wskazanie_do_wniosku_od-2018.pdf ).

Documents should be submitted to the Secretariat of the Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences or sent by post to the following address: Rynek Starego Miasta 31, 00-272 Warsaw and their scans should be sent to the address ihpan@ihpan.edu.pl with the annotation “Competition for the position of a trainee in the OPUS LAP project – “Women experts and feminist knowledge production in post-war East Central Europe (1945–1989)”. Selected candidates will be invited for an interview (online).