The Institute for Mediterranean Studies is recruiting two doctoral students for the ERC Consolidator Grant 2017 project titled “GHOST: Geographies and Histories of the Ottoman Supernatural Tradition: Exploring Magic, the Marvellous, and the Strange in Ottoman Mentalities” (Action number: 771766), funded by the European Research Council and led by Dr. Marinos Sariyannis. Candidates must hold a Master’s or equivalent degree in Ottoman history or literature, and have a strong interest in the topic of occult sciences, practices and beliefs in the Ottoman Empire. The positions start on 1st January 2019 at the earliest or upon agreement. Tasks include academic and administrative assistance, and production of academic papers. The candidates will join a research team working on aspects of Ottoman occult and natural sciences, Ottoman philosophy and theology, and beliefs concerning nature, preternatural and supernatural phenomena in Ottoman culture.

The successful candidates will start their dissertations in Ottoman history jointly at the University of Crete (Department of History and Archaeology) and the Institute for Mediterranean Studies (under the provision that their proposal will be accepted by the Special Inter-Ιnstitutional Committee for the joint supervision of Ph.D. dissertations, nominated by the two institutions), and they will receive a grant of €۹۰۰ per month. The subject of the Ph.D. dissertation will be proposed by the candidate and discussed with the Principal Investigator of the project; it will concern occult beliefs and practices (magic, divination, alchemy, astrology, and so forth) in the Ottoman period before the 19^th century. Candidates will be working at the Institute of Mediterranean Studies in Rethymno (Crete, Greece). Grants will be annual and may be renewed for up to 48 months.

Requirements: degree of History or other humanity or social science, MA in History, very good command of Ottoman Turkish language and paleography, and of English. Knowledge of French and/or German, as well as of classical Arabic (reading) is advantageous. Research experience in Ottoman literature and science and/or Ottoman Turkish and/or Arabic manuscripts of the Ottoman period are an additional asset.

Application Submission

Interested candidates who meet the aforementioned requirements are kindly asked to submit their applications, containing a letter of motivation including a description of their proposed research, a detailed curriculum vitae including two academic referees, copies of all university transcripts, and a sample of academic paper (e.g. their M.A. dissertation) no later than the ۲۳th November 2018, ۱۶:۰۰ local Greece time to the address info@ims.forth.gr, with cc to sariyannis@ims.forth.gr. The application form may be downloaded from http://www.ims.forth.gr/index_main.php?c=17&l=e&i=583

Evaluation procedure

Applications will be evaluated by a three-member evaluation committee. In case of interview procedure, candidates will be invited to participate in person.

Selection Announcement

The result of the selection will be announced on the website of IMS-FORTH (www.ims.forth.gr).

Candidates have the right to appeal the selection decision, by addressing their written objection to the IMS secretariat within five (5) days since the results announcement on the web. All the above information related to the selection procedure will be available at the secretariat of IMS-FORTH in line with the Hellenic Data Protection Authority.

The selected candidates will be notified personally regarding the success of their application and will be requested to submit certified copies of their degrees. In the event that the documents submitted to not agree with the original application the candidate will be dismissed.

In case the degrees will need a ratification by the Hellenic National Academic Recognition Information Center (www.doatap.gr), concerning their being issued by a recognized university from the part of the Hellenic Republic, the grant will begin after the end of the procedure.

Contact

For information and questions regarding the application and selection procedure, candidates are asked to contact the IMS secretariat (gaia@ims.forth.gr), tel. +30 28310-27281.

For additional information on the specific research subject, candidates may contact Dr. Marinos Sariyannis at sariyannis@ims.forth.gr.