Call for Applications

VISIONIS: VISUALITY IN THE QUR’AN AND EARLY ISLAM

THREE POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS

The European Research Council (ERC) project Visionis: Visuality in the Qur’an and Early Islam at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem directed by Dr. Hannelies Koloska is offering 3 Post-Doctoral research positions starting October 1, 2022. Scholars who have received their Ph.D. in the last five years (after October 1 st  2017) are eligible to apply.

Outstanding scholars can apply to join the research project for one of the following research areas:

1. Vision and Visuality in Early Islamic Law and/ or Theology
2. Vision and Visuality in Early Islamic Hagiography and/ or Historiography
3. Vision and Visuality in Arabic Poetry and/ or Early Islamic Rhetoric

VISIONIS analyses the interplay of discourses, practices and artefacts connected to vision, sight and seeing in the Qur’an and early Islamic texts and their cultural contexts (7^th – 11^th century C.E.) in order to develop a holistic perspective on use and meaning of visual practices of seeing and concepts of the sense of sight in Early Islamic textual and material cultures.

In this framework, we offer the post-doctoral positions. Holding a relevant PhD/DPhil by the start of the position, the successful candidates will possess a very good command of classical Arabic and have very good literacy in pre-modern Islamic religious or literary or historiographic scholarship. They must be able to undertake innovative research and be willing to acquire and adopt interdisciplinary approaches to their topics. They will manage their own academic research and publications and they are expected to participate in all academic aspects of the project, collaborate in the preparation of the project’s other publications and workshops, participate and present their research and the project at meetings or conferences, and acting as a source of advice and information to other members of the project. Additional knowledge of Arabic-language scholarship and modern research languages other than English, would be welcome; alternatively, some relevant courses are on offer in Jerusalem.

The VISIONIS team will be constituted of five research positions; and is hosted by the Faculty of Humanities at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and will involve close collaboration with different departments at the university, as well as with an international network of scholars. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem offers a vibrant scholarly community with expertise in Arabic and Islamic studies, Material Culture Studies and Visual Culture Studies. 

We are seeking to build an international and diverse team of scholars. In addition to the key requirements laid out above, we are looking for team players that are eager to learn from others and contribute to an ongoing mutual exchange of research findings by all team members.

The positions are full time positions for 3 years, with a monthly scholarship of approx. 11.000 NIS.

Interested applicants are asked to submit the following materials:

• Cover Letter (2-3 pages in total) describing your academic experience and motivation for participating in the project. The letter should also include a description of your planned research program (up to 500 words).
• Curriculum Vitae
• Abstract of your PhD dissertation
• Writing sample (up to 30 pages). 
• Two recommendation letters, to be submitted directly to visionis@mail.huji.ac.il.

Please send all required documents in one file to visionis@mail.huji.ac.il. The deadline for application is March 15, 2022. The preferred starting date for the project is October 1^st 2022 (with some room for flexibility due to the current health situation).

Please feel free to contact us with any relevant question you may have, write to Hannelies Koloska or Yael Sutton via visionis@mail.huji.ac.il.