Job opening: Short-term research stay in digital humanities (Leibniz
Institute of European History, Mainz, Germany)

The Leibniz Institute of European History in Mainz, Germany has an
opening for a

short-term research stay (6 months, 50%)

in the area of

controlled vocabularies for historical research.

The Leibniz Institute of European History is a renowned independent research institution, which carries out and promotes historical studies on the foundations of Europe in Early Modern and Modern times. It is located in Mainz, Germany. The Institute is also actively working to create the foundations necessary for digitally-enabled research in history and theology. Among other projects, the Institute is a partner in the European DARIAH (Digital Research Infrastructure for the Arts and Humanities, http://dariah.eu/) initiative and its German component, DARIAH-DE (http://de.dariah.eu/).

In the context of DARIAH-DE, we are offering a six-month research stay, beginning (preferably) in June 2013. We are looking for a highly motivated individual to work in the interdisciplinary field of digital humanities. This position is located in a DARIAH sub-project concerned with the design and development of controlled vocabularies for historical research; in particular, you will be working on a controlled vocabulary for describing historical place types. You will also be involved in the organization of an international expert workshop on this topic.

You should either have a background in a computing-related field and an interest in historical research, or a background in a historically-oriented field of humanities with a strong knowledge of computing.

This is a 50% position; so it is ideally suited to use the other half of your time to prepare a PhD proposal or grant application in a related area, benefiting from feedback, discussions, and a stimulating research environment. In addition, you will be able to gain international experience in an interdisciplinary research institution.

Salary: Payment will be according to the German TV-L EG 13 pay scale.

Duration: Fixed-term contract for 6 months.

Application deadline: May 7, 2013.

Specific Requirements:

- The digital humanities are a highly interdisciplinary field, in which people with many different backgrounds are working together, and where there is more than one way to enter this field. Given the aims of this position, we expect that you have knowledge of computing in general and Semantic Web technologies in particular, and an interest in historical research. Preferably, you have some prior experience with controlled vocabularies, ontologies, or thesauri. You have a master's degree or are about to obtain one very soon. Potential backgrounds thus include computer science, computational linguistics, digital humanities, history, historical theology or church history, and library and information science.

- You are able to work in a highly interdisciplinary field and cooperate with researchers at the Institute, within DARIAH, and beyond.

- You are able to communicate in spoken and written English at a professional level. Knowledge of German is not required, but basic skills may be helpful for day-to-day life.

Please send inquiries and application documents (including list of publications, and copies of relevant certificates as a single PDF file) to

Dr.-Ing. Michael Piotrowski
E-mail: piotrowski@ieg-mainz.de
Phone: +49 6131 39-39043

IEG is an equal opportunity/affirmative-action employer. In case of equality of qualification and suitability of applicants, applications by female researchers will be given preferential consideration. We also encourage applications from disabled persons.