The Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin (MPIWG) offers a limited number of two-month pre- and postdoctoral fellowships for outstanding junior scholars in the final stage of completing their dissertations or within 4 years of having received the doctorate. Dissertation topics should be related to the ongoing research project in Department II “Learned Practices of Canonical Texts” (Organizers: Anthony Grafton, Glenn Most); project description at http://www.mpiwgberlin.mpg.de/en/research/projects/DeptII_GraftonMost_Canonical.

This research project examines historically and comparatively the scholarly practices associated with canonical texts especially in the following linguistic traditions: ancient Greek; Latin; Hebrew; Arabic; the languages of the Indian subcontinent; Chinese. Approximately six senior and six junior scholars (the positions advertised here are for the latter six) will constitute a Working Group at the MPIWG in Berlin from 6 July 2012 to 17 August 2012. Each participant will arrive with a preliminary version of a chapter on one aspect of this topic for a collective publication, to be presented to and discussed by the other members of the group. All participants will then spend those six weeks working together to turn these chapters into a more unified book. The topic of the dissertation or postdoctoral research project must be pertinent to the research project and should come from the linguistic traditions indicated. Applicants working on non-European topics are especially encouraged to apply.