CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
ERC Advanced grant 2020 AGRELITA
FOUR POST-DOCTORAL POSITIONS
The ERC (European Research Council) Advanced grant project AGRELITA “The reception of ancient Greece in pre-modern French literature and illustrations of manuscripts and printed books (1320-1550): how invented memories shaped the identity of European communities”, led by Prof. Catherine Gaullier-Bougassas (Principal Investigator), is now accepting applications for 4 postdoctoral positions (100%), starting on 01/10/2021.
AGRELITA is based at the University of Lille and funded for five years by the ERC (2021-2026). Travel in France and abroad is to be expected.
Contract duration: 3 years, with a possible renewal of 2 years.
PROJECT
Until now the reception history of ancient Greece in pre-modern Western Europe has focussed almost exclusively on the transmission of Greek texts. Yet well before the revival of Greek’s teaching, numerous vernacular works, often illustrated, contained elaborate representations of ancient Greece. AGRELITA will explore a large corpus of French-language literary works (historical, fictional, poetic, didactic) produced from 1320 to the 1550s in France and Europe, before the first direct translations from Greek to French, as well as the images of their manuscripts and printed books. The study of these works and their illustrations (text and image’s dialogue and powers of each) will allow to analyse the representations of ancient Greece from the unexplored perspective of the elaboration of a new memory. They thus will be studied in relation to their political, social and cultural context, as well as in relation to works in related European literature and their illustrations. Situated at the frontiers of literary studies, book and art history, visual studies, cultural and political history and memory studies, AGRELITA proposes a re-evaluation of the role played by ancient Greece in the processes of identity formation in Western Europe. The project also aims to contribute to a general reflection on the formation of memories, legacies and identities.
TASKS
Four post-doctoral fellows will be recruited, two with a predominantly “textual analysis” profile and two with a predominantly “image analysis” profile; all of them will share the study of the links between texts and images. The post-doctoral fellows will work in a team with the Principal Investigator, the project manager, the associate researchers and the visiting researchers.
Main Tasks :
– The analysis of an already identified corpus of texts from the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries and the identification of new texts that contain representations of ancient Greece (texts available in the form of modern editions or from 14th – 16th centuries manuscripts and prints)
– The collection of data and the drafting of notes on the texts, authors, artists, manuscripts, prints, and Greek data present; their entry into a database already begun
– The scientific analysis of textual and visual representations of ancient Greece, of the links between texts and images
– The regular production of original scientific articles, which will appear in the collective volumes of AGRELITA and in specialised journals, in French and in English
– Representing the AGRELITA project at external conferences and workshops in France and abroad, and publishing the papers
– Contributing to an anthology of texts and images (in collaboration with the whole team)
– Participating in all AGRELITA activities: weekly team meeting in Lille, monthly seminar in Lille, bi-annual workshops in Lille, two conferences…
– Contributing to the scientific organisation of these seminars, workshops, conferences; identifying colleagues to be invited, making contacts…
– Contributing to the reception of invited researchers
– Contributing to the editing of the planned collective volumes (rereading, correction, formatting of manuscripts sent to publishers)
– Contributing to the website and the blog
– Contributing to the reflection on the implementation and development of AGRELITA
QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIRED SKILLS
– PhD in French literature of the Middle Ages and/or the Renaissance, in history of art of the Middle Ages and/or the Renaissance (manuscripts and illuminations, early prints, paintings and engravings), or in cultural and/or political history of the 14th-16th centuries.
– Good analytical skills of texts and images, as well as the relationships between texts and images
– Good knowledge of Middle French and Renaissance French
– Palaeographic skills for reading and transcribing manuscript and printed texts from the 14th-16th centuries
– Knowledge of Latin and Ancient Greek
– Ability to master a large corpus and to conduct comparative studies
– Ability and taste for interdisciplinary studies
– Experience and/or willingness to work in a team
– Sense of initiative
– Proficiency in scientific writing in French and also in English.
– Ability to maintain a website and blog
WORKING CONDITIONS AND MODALITIES
– Location: University of Lille. The four positions are based at the University of Lille and are attached to the ALITHILA Literary Analysis and history of language, located on the Pont de Bois campus in Villeneuve d’Ascq. Weekly team meeting in Lille, monthly seminar in Lille, as well as bi-annual workshops and two conferences. Some travel is required in France and abroad.
– Employer: University of Lille
– Type of contract: fixed-term contract
– Duration of the contract: 3 years, with a possible renewal of 2 years
– Working time: 100%
– Estimated starting date of the contract : 1st October 2021
– Remuneration: depending on experience
Contact: catherine.bougassas@univ-lille.fr
RECRUITMENT PROCEDURE
Application file to be sent in digital format (pdf) by 15 June 2021 at the latest to the following address
catherine.bougassas@univ-lille.fr
The file should include
– A Curriculum Vitae (Education, Experience, Publications)
– A letter of motivation, which explains and presents the interest for the reception of Antiquity
– A pdf of the thesis and a pdf of the thesis report
– The names and contact details of two referees, at the end of the CV file.
The selected candidates will be auditioned at the end of June/beginning of July, in person if possible, if not by video. Response by 15 July 2021 or end of July.
