For the International Institute for Social History we are looking for

a postdoctoral fellow in

the spatial and network analysis of material infrastructures

(full time, 38 hr/w)

General description

The postdoc position is part of a project on the social history of material infrastructures. This project examines how large-scale infrastructures such as roads, city walls, and bridges contributed to regional and empire-wide integration, but equally why and how processes of integration regularly broke down, and how large-scale infrastructure projects contributed to countervailing trends including local tensions, local autonomy, and cross-border regional formations. Read the project abstract here: The Lives and Afterlives of Imperial Material Infrastructure in Southeastern China

The postdoctoral fellow will be mainly responsible for 1) the spatial and network analysis of historical and archeological data provided by other team members; 2) analysing and modelling archaeological and textual data in relation to each other; 3) (co-)authoring of articles with other team members on the regional history of infrastructures; 4) collaborating with other team members and international partners on the design of a spatial analysis platform.

Job requirements

• PhD in the field of digital archaeology, digital history, digital humanities, spatial analysis or comparable;
• demonstrable advanced knowledge of GIS, network analysis, and statistics;
• a strong interest in and ideally experience with comparative historical research;
• a cooperative attitude and willingness to engage in collaborative research;
• excellent presentation and writing skills in English;
• reading skills in Chinese is a plus but not required.

Fixed-term contract: 1 jaar.

Terms of employment
Depending on education and experience the minimum salary is €2.846,- and the maximum salary is € 4.490,- gross per month for a full-time appointment (scale 10 cao Nederlandse Universiteiten/KNAW). This is exclusive of 8% vacation allowance, 8.3% year-end bonus, travel allowance, internet allowance, home working allowance and pension accrual with ABP. The KNAW offers its staff an excellent package of secondary benefits. A package that meets the different needs of employees depending on their stage of life, lifestyle or career ambitions. For example, by working an extra two hours a week, it is possible to increase the number of days off from 29 to 41 days a year (with full-time employment).For a complete overview of the terms of employment, please refer to the web page: werken bij de KNAW.

Additional information

For more information please contact Professor Hilde De Weerdt: hilde.de.weerdt@iisg.nl

How to apply

Your application should include:

• A letter of interest explaining how your background matches the criteria and how you aim to contribute to the project;
• a CV;
• a sample data analytical writing project (ideally with link(s) to project data);
• a copy of your diploma and authorized grade transcript;
• two letters of recommendation to be sent to infrastructurelives@iisg.nl.

KNAW HuC IISH

About the IISG
The International Institute of Social History (IISG-KNAW) is an Academy research institute. IISG is one of the most prestigious social history research institutes worldwide. It examines how work and labour relations have developed globally over time. To support its research, it collects archives and data from all over the world. The relationship between its research and its data and archive collections contributes substantially to the institute's unique nature.