The project explores the life-worlds of nature experts who killed animals in order to keep and study them in the long nineteenth century. Team members will research the practices, people, and objects of this endeavor in multiple places in the world:

Case study 1: Birds in the tropical dry and moist forests of Northern South America
Case study 2: Fish and mollusks in the shallow and deep waters of the Southwestern Pacific
Case study 3: Large mammals in the mixed wood and grasslands of Southern Africa (done by the PI)

We seek researchers interested in: 1) daily practices in the field, manual skills and techniques of capturing, shooting, skinning, and preserving animals, 2) the men and women, indigenous and intruder alike, involved in the business of collecting animals-turned-specimens, and/or 3) the specimens, trophies, and marketable commodities they produced. Our goal is to account for the complexities of human curiosity and the many different and culturally specific histories of violence against nonhuman and human life within the broader framework of colonial subjugation and its politics of difference.

Your position

As a PhD candidate you will research the collection of birds in the tropical forests of Northern South America in the second half of the nineteenth century. You will investigate the hunt for those colorful feathers and difficult-to-reach, fleeting specimens in the context of post-independence states and their remote indigenous forest communities. Your research can build on preliminary work done by the PI and her collaboration partners in Ecuador on the history of German-speaking Jesuits, Creole and indigenous Ecuadorians who captured specimens together in the forests surrounding Quito, sometimes as far as the Galápagos Islands.

You will be expected to

conduct independent archival research and complete the dissertation within the funding period;
actively participate in advancing the project's overall research goals, collaborate closely with your teammates;
help with administrative tasks, conference organization, communication tasks, webpage content management.

You will be encouraged to

conduct fieldwork, seek contact and respectfully collaborate with local experts in the geographical area of your work package;
publish one peer-reviewed article or book chapter;
present your findings at international conferences.

Your profile

You must hold a Master's degree (or equivalent) in History or a related discipline.
You must be fluent in English, our team's working language. Additional language proficiencies relevant to your work package, notably Spanish, are very welcome.
You must take residence in Basel during your entire contract period and be able to travel for the project's field research.
You should have some experiences in archival research and a familiarity with the historiography of South America's (post-)colonial past.
You should be keen to learn, open to creative, experimental work, and eager to actively participate in the team effort.

We offer you

A fully funded PhD position (4 years) at the History Department at the University of Basel, Switzerland.
A motivated, interdisciplinary team that will support your ideas, research, and career in a stimulating, welcoming and multicultural environment.
You pursue your dissertation project within a collaborative framework, affiliated as a member of the Basel Graduate School of History.
Salary and social benefits are provided according to Swiss standards and University of Basel rules.

Application / Contact

Please submit your complete application documents including a letter of motivation, CV, publication list (if existent), relevant diplomas, sample of writing (max. 10 pages), contact details of two references.

Application deadline is September 15th, 2024.
All applications must be submitted through the University of Basel Employment Portal.
Interviews will be held in person or via Zoom on October 8th and 9th, 2024. The expected starting date is April 1st, 2025.

If you have any questions, please contact Prof. Dr. Marie Muschalek (marie.muschalek@unibas.ch). You can also find out more about us at https://dg.philhist.unibas.ch/de/.

The project explores the life-worlds of nature experts who killed animals in order to keep and study them in the long nineteenth century. Team members will research the practices, people, and objects of this endeavor in multiple places in the world:

Case study 1: Birds in the tropical dry and moist forests of Northern South America
Case study 2: Fish and mollusks in the shallow and deep waters of the Southwestern Pacific
Case study 3: Large mammals in the mixed wood and grasslands of Southern Africa (done by the PI)

We seek researchers interested in: 1) daily practices in the field, manual skills and techniques of capturing, shooting, skinning, and preserving animals, 2) the men and women, indigenous and intruder alike, involved in the business of collecting animals-turned-specimens, and/or 3) the specimens, trophies, and marketable commodities they produced. Our goal is to account for the complexities of human curiosity and the many different and culturally specific histories of violence against nonhuman and human life within the broader framework of colonial subjugation and its politics of difference.

Your position

As a PhD candidate you will research the collection of fish and mollusks in the Southwestern Pacific, which was the stage of sustained and intense seafaring exploration and multi-imperial penetration throughout the entire nineteenth century. Possibly including the collectors of Hamburg's Godeffroy Museum, you will follow those naturalist journeys that crossed the vast seas between islands, littorals, archipelagos in search for marine life, while critically relying on indigenous navigation and fishing skills and animal knowledge.

You will be expected to
conduct independent archival research and complete the dissertation within the funding period;
actively participate in advancing the project's overall research goals, collaborate closely with your teammates;
help with administrative tasks, conference organization, communication tasks, webpage content management.

You will be encouraged to
conduct fieldwork, seek contact and respectfully collaborate with local experts in the geographical area of your work package
publish one peer-reviewed article or book chapter
present your findings at international conferences

Your profile

You must hold a Master's degree (or equivalent) in History or a related discipline.
You must be fluent in English, our team's working language. Additional language proficiencies relevant to your work package are welcome.
You must take residence in Basel during the entire contract period and be able to travel for the project's field research.
You should have some experiences in archival research and a familiarity with the historiography of the Southwestern Pacific's (post-)colonial past.
You should be keen to learn, open to creative, experimental work, and eager to actively participate in the team effort.

We offer you

A fully funded PhD position (4 years) at the History Department at the University of Basel, Switzerland.
A motivated, interdisciplinary team that will support your ideas, research, and career in a stimulating, welcoming and multicultural environment.
You pursue your dissertation project within a collaborative framework, affiliated as a member of the Basel Graduate School of History.
Salary and social benefits are provided according to Swiss standards and University of Basel rules.

Application / Contact

Please submit your complete application documents including a letter of motivation, CV, publication list (if existent), relevant diplomas, sample of writing (max. 10 pages), contact details of two references.

Application deadline is September 15th, 2024.
All applications must be submitted through the University of Basel Employment portal.
Interviews will be held in person or via Zoom on October 8th and 9th, 2024. The expected starting date is April 1st, 2025.

If you have any questions, please contact Prof. Dr. Marie Muschalek (marie.muschalek@unibas.ch).
You can also find out more about us at https://dg.philhist.unibas.ch/en/.

The project explores the life-worlds of nature experts who killed animals in order to keep and study them in the long nineteenth century. Team members will research the practices, people, and objects of this endeavor in multiple places in the world:

Case study 1: Birds in the tropical dry and moist forests of Northern South America
Case study 2: Fish and mollusks in the shallow and deep waters of the Southwestern Pacific
Case study 3: Large mammals in the mixed wood and grasslands of Southern Africa

We seek researchers interested in: 1) daily practices in the field, manual skills and techniques of capturing, shooting, skinning, and preserving animals, 2) the men and women, indigenous and intruder alike, involved in the business of collecting animals-turned-specimens, and/or 3) the specimens, trophies, and marketable commodities they produced. Our goal is to account for the complexities of human curiosity and the many different and culturally specific histories of violence against nonhuman and human life within the broader framework of colonial subjugation and its politics of difference.

Your position

"Material Genealogies of Animal Specimens: Science, Art & Craftsmanship":
As a postdoctoral researcher you will engage in uncovering naturalist field practices by working closely on the collected artefacts themselves, that is, on a selection of specimens with provenance from one of the geographical foci of the overall project. Paying attention to the different materials, surface textures and interiors, colors, and any traces of handling, you will seek to understand violent practices of humans towards other animals as an activity which connected science with art, material techniques and craftsmanship with intellectual thought processes and knowledge production.

You will be expected to
conduct independent research and complete two peer-reviewed articles/ book chapters or a short monograph within the funding period;
actively participate in advancing the project's overall research goals, collaborate closely with your team mates;
help with administrative tasks, conference organization, communication tasks, webpage content management.

You will be encouraged to
take on a co-advising role for one of the project's two doctoral students, teach courses;
act as liaison with colleagues in other disciplines at the University of Basel and beyond, notably in Art History, Media Studies, Cultural Anthropology;
work closely with natural history museums.

Your profile

You must hold a PhD (or equivalent) in Art History, Material Culture or Museum Studies, or a related discipline.
You must be fluent in English, our team's working language. Additional language proficiencies relevant to your work package are very welcome.
You should have expertise in working with natural history specimens and bring some practical skills with digital tools for handling museum collections.
You should have some experience working in mid-size research teams and be eager to help the PI shape the team's work culture and the overall project goals.

We offer you

A fully funded postdoctoral position (4 years) at the History Department at the University of Basel, Switzerland.
A motivated, interdisciplinary team that will support your ideas, research, and career in a stimulating, welcoming and multicultural environment.
Salary and social benefits are provided according to Swiss standards and University of Basel rules.

Application / Contact

Please submit your complete application documents including a letter of motivation, CV, publications list, relevant diplomas and PhD certificate, sample of writing (max. 10 pages), contact details of two references.

Application deadline is September 15th, 2024.
All applications must be submitted through the University of Basel employment portal.
Interviews will be held in person or via Zoom on October 15th, 2024.
The expected starting date is April 1st, 2025.

If you have any questions, please contact Prof. Dr. Marie Muschalek (marie.muschalek@unibas.ch). You can also find out more about us at https://dg.philhist.unibas.ch/de/.