Research Assistants – Byzantine Greek Philology

The Greek Section of the Departments of Literary Studies and Linguistics at Ghent University (Belgium) is seeking two well-qualified collaborators for the “Database of Byzantine Book Epigrams” (DBBE, www.dbbe.ugent.be). They will be part of a team of pre- and postdoctoral scholars within the project “Poetry from the Margins. Literary, linguistic, philological and cultural-historical analysis of a new corpus of Byzantine book epigrams (800-1453)”, related to DBBE. The director of this project is Professor Kristoffel Demoen and the project is generously supported by the Research Fund of Ghent University (within the “Concerted Research Actions” program).

The successful applicants will start employment at their earliest convenience. Candidates who are only eligible or available after the current academic year (i.e. after the summer of 2018) are also encouraged to apply.

Successful applicants are expected:

1. to create and maintain the textual records that form the core of the digital database, relying on primary sources and existing publications;
2. to consult Greek manuscripts, both online and in situ, by visiting important libraries and research institutions that preserve medieval Greek manuscripts;
3. to contribute to the scholarly activities of the research group (e.g. by organizing events in collaboration with the other members of the team and participating in co-publications);
4. to come and live in Belgium, work closely together with the other team members, and contribute to a pleasant and stimulating atmosphere.

Envisaged profile: the successful candidates will have

1. an MA degree in classical languages (with an emphasis on Greek) or in Byzantine philology. In order to be eligible, candidates must have obtained their MA degree at the time of application or demonstrate convincingly that they will have that degree in hand by the summer of 2018;
2. excellent knowledge of classical Greek, and at least good notions of medieval Greek;
3. very good knowledge of Greek paleography and editorial techniques as evidenced by their curriculum studiorum (courses, subject of papers and dissertations, summer schools, etc.);
4. very good knowledge of English and at least good reading skills of several other languages relevant to the field (primarily German, Italian, French, Modern Greek);
   1. the attitude to contribute to a research team.

Οffered:

1. a contract for one year of full-time employment (renewable) with a status equivalent to that of a doctoral bursary;
2. a competitive salary that corresponds to the salary scales for PhD students as established by the Flemish government (ca 2,000€ net / month);
3. a substantial allowance for travel and other research purposes in addition to the salary;
4. office space at the University, full membership of both the Department of Literary Studies (http://www.letterkunde.ugent.be) and the DBBE research team and a solid and engaging academic working environment with a strong international profile.

The project is related to the academic interests of several other tenured staff members at Ghent University and the successful candidates will be able to interact with scholars and students affiliated with various departments and research institutes at the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy, such as the Department of Literary Studies, the Department of Linguistics, the Ghent Institute for Classical Studies, and the Pirenne Institute for Medieval Studies. The University offers professional support for those applying to the many funding organizations at the local, regional and European levels.

Applications should include a full curriculum vitae (including accurate information on grades and study results), a motivation letter, and the name and contact details of two referees. Applications must be sent electronically (preferably as pdf) to Professor Kristoffel Demoen (kristoffel.demoen@ugent.be), no later than February 28, 2018.

The shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview in Ghent or a Skype interview.

Please address any queries to the director of the project, Professor Kristoffel Demoen (kristoffel.demoen@ugent.be).

Ghent is an attractive medieval town, with a strong economic base and lively cultural scene. Just 30 minutes by train from Brussels, two hours from Paris and Amsterdam and two and a half hours from London, it is ideally situated at the heart of European intellectual life.