S 10 POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS FOR ACADEMIC YEAR 2009/2010

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10 POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS FOR ACADEMIC YEAR 2009/2010

The Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences, the Fritz
Thyssen Foundation and the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin
invite scholars to apply for ten post-doctoral fellowships
for the research program

EUROPE IN THE MIDDLE EAST - THE MIDDLE EAST IN EUROPE

This research program seeks to rethink key concepts and
premises that link and divide Europe and the Middle East.
The project draws on the international expertise of scholars
in and outside of Germany and is embedded in university
and extra-university research institutions in Berlin.
'Europe in the Middle East ? The Middle East in Europe'
supports historical-critical philology, rigorous engagement
with the literatures of the Middle East and their histories,
the social history of cities and the study of Middle Eastern
political and philosophical thought (Christian, Jewish, Muslim,
and secular) as central fields of research not only for area
or cultural studies, but also for European intellectual
history and other academic disciplines. The program explores
modernity as a historical space and conceptual frame. The
program puts forward three programmatic ideas:
1) supporting research that demonstrates the rich and
complex historical legacies and entanglements between
Europe and the Middle East;
2) reexamining genealogical notions of mythical 'beginnings',
'origins', and 'purity' in relation to culture and society;
and
3) rethinking key concepts of a shared modernity in
light of contemporary cultural, social, and political
entanglements that supersede identity discourses as well
as national, cultural or regional canons and epistemologies
that were established in the nineteenth century.
The program 'Europe in the Middle East - The Middle East
in Europe' is funded by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation.
It supports and builds upon the following interconnected
research fields:

CITIES COMPARED: COSMOPOLITANISM IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AND
ADJACENT REGIONS
This research group is directed by Ulrike Freitag and
Nora Lafi, both of the Centre for Modern Oriental Studies,
Berlin. It contributes to the debate on cosmopolitanism
and civil society from the historical experience of
conviviality and socio-cultural, ethnic, and religious
differences in the cities around the Mediterranean;

ISLAMIC DISCOURSE CONTESTED: MIDDLE EASTERN AND EUROPEAN
PERSPECTIVES
This research group is directed by Gudrun Kraemer, Institute
for Islamic Studies, Freie Universitaet Berlin. It analyzes
modern Middle Eastern thought and discourses in the framework
of theories of multiple or reflexive modernities;


PERSPECTIVES ON THE QUR'AN: NEGOTIATING DIFFERENT VIEWS
OF A SHARED HISTORY
This research group is directed by Angelika Neuwirth,
Seminar for Arabic Studies, Freie Universit?t Berlin, and
Stefan Wild, Universitaet Bonn. It situates the foundational
text of Islam within the religious landscape of late
antiquity and combines a historicization of its genesis
with an analysis of its reception and perception in Europe
and the Middle East;

TRAVELLING TRADITIONS: COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES ON NEAR
EASTERN LITERATURES
This research group is directed by Friederike Pannewick,
Centrum fuer Nah- und Mitteloststudien, Philipps-Universitaet
Marburg, and Samah Selim, IREMAM, Aix-en-Provence. It
reassesses literary entanglements and processes of
canonization between Europe and the Middle East.

TRADITION AND THE CRITIQUE OF MODERNITY: SECULARISM,
FUNDAMENTALISM AND RELIGION FROM MIDDLE EASTERN PERSPECTIVES
This a special forum, directed by Amnon Raz-Krakotzkin,
Ben Gurion University, that attempts to rethink key
concepts of modernity like secularity, tradition, or
religion in the context of the experiences, interpretations,
and critiques of Jews, Arabs, and Muslims in the Middle
East and in Europe.

PREREQUISITES AND APPLICATION PROCEDURE

The fellowships are intended above all for scholars of history,
literature, philology, political philosophy, religion and
sociology who want to carry out their research projects in
connection with the Berlin program. Fellows gain the
opportunity to pursue research projects of their choice
within the framework of one of the above-mentioned
research fields and in relation to the program 'Europe
in the Middle East - the Middle East in Europe'. In Berlin,
they will be integrated into a university or non-university
research institute. The working language of the research
program is English.
Fellows will receive a monthly stipend of 1.800 Euro (supplement
for accompanying spouses: 250 Euro), and are obliged to work in
Berlin and to help shape the seminars and working discussions
related to their research field.
As a rule, the fellowships begin on 1 October 2009 and end
on 31 July 2010. The applicant's doctorate should have been
completed no earlier than 2001.
An application should be made in explicit relation to one of
the research fields and consist of 1.) a curriculum vitae,
2.) a 2 to 4 page project sketch,
3.) a sample of scholarly work (maximum 20 pages from an article,
conference paper, or dissertation chapter) and
4.) a letter of recommendation by one university instructor.

The application should be submitted by e-mail as word document
or PDF File in English and should be received by 11 January 2009,
sent in to:

E-mail: eume@wiko-berlin.de
Europe in the Middle East - the Middle East in Europe
c/o Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin
Attn: Georges Khalil
Wallotstrasse 19, 14193 Berlin
Fax +49 30 - 89 00 12 00
E-mail: khalil@wiko-berlin.de

For further information on the program 'Europe in the
Middle East - The Middle East in Europe' and for detailed
information on the research fields, please see:
www.eume-berlin.de


For information on the research institutions in Berlin
participating in the program, please visit:
Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences:
www.bbaw.de/
Center for Literary Research:
www.zfl.gwz-berlin.de/
Centre for Modern Oriental Studies:
www.zmo.de/
Institute for Islamic Studies: userpage.fu-berlin.de/~islamwi/
Seminar for Arabic Studies: web.fu-berlin.de/semiarab/
Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin:
www.wiko-berlin.de/