Vacancy Postdoctoral Researcher (DFG-AHRC)

The Professorship of Digital History at the Otto Friedrich University of Bamberg has a vacancy for a

Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Digital History (m/f/d)

(24-month fixed-term contract, 100% of regular working hours, pay group 13 TV-L)

This is a two-year temporary position starting March 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.

We are seeking a highly qualified Postdoctoral Research Fellow to join our international research team. The postdoc will contribute to the „data upcycling“ process and its documentation as well as the digital analysis and enhancement of the London Customs Accounts (LCA).

The position is part of the DFG-AHRC-funded project „Unlocking Upcycled Medieval Data: North Sea Networks, People, and Commodities in the London Customs Accounts 1380-1560“, which is carried out in collaboration with the School of Advanced Study at the University of London. The London Customs Accounts (LCA) represent one of Europe’s largest surviving collections of medieval trade documents, comprising thousands of records with details about ships and commodities arriving from across Europe.

Our project aims to transform the recent transcriptions of these vital historical records into a FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) digital dataset while preserving their rich complexity. The project develops the methodological concept of „data upcycling“ to bridge the gap between traditional historical source editing and digital humanities approaches. Through this work, we will advance our understanding of late medieval trade, economy, and material culture, moving beyond monetary analysis to examine networks of people and commodities across national boundaries.

Your area of responsibility and application:

• You will be responsible for producing comprehensive documentation of the historical and contemporary processes of data genesis and information creation that occurred when the LCA were created, when the transcriptions were made, and during data upcycling.
• You will coordinate and contribute to the enrichment of the LCA, focussing on the linking of commodities, weights, and measures to external Linked Open Data resources and thesauri.
• Starting from the upcycled LCA, you will conduct independent research on pre-modern consumer economy in the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries
• You will contribute to creating a FAIR digital dataset from the transcribed LCA, to a source guide and tutorial for using the upcycled LCA
• You will disseminate your research results in peer-reviewed publications

Your profile:

• PhD in History or related field
• Demonstrated experience with Digital Humanities tools and methodologies
• Strong capability for self-organized research
• Excellent project management and documentation skills
• Strong academic track-record, evidenced by research publications, grants, awards, and scholarly recognition beyond PhD completion
• Knowledge of medieval or early modern economic history is desired
• Experience with historical data standardization and enrichment is an asset
• Familiarity with FAIR data principles is a plus
• Experience with collaborative research projects

We offer:

• Integration into an international research team
• Opportunity to contribute to a ground-breaking digital history project
• An international work environment with excellent career development opportunities

More information:

https://www.history.ac.uk/research/unlocking-upcycled-medieval-data

https://www.uni-bamberg.de/digihist/

General information

Where candidates are otherwise equally qualified, preference will be given to candidates with disabilities. We particularly welcome applications from under-represented communities and first-generation academics.

The University of Bamberg has been certified by the Hertie Foundation as a family-friendly university and is particularly committed to helping reconcile work and family life. The university promotes gender equality in the workplace and endeavours to increase the proportion of women in research and teaching. In the case of equal aptitude, qualifications and expertise, preference is given to women. The faculty aims to increase the proportion of women in research and teaching and therefore welcomes applications from female scientists.

All appointments will be made based on merit, according to the criteria outlined in this job description.

Application

Please send your application documents (cover letter, CV, copies of degrees) as one PDF document to digihist@uni-bamberg.de.

The application deadline is 07.01.2025.

If you have any questions, please contact Prof. Dr. Werner Scheltjens by e-mail: werner.scheltjens@uni-bamberg.de.