Full title of the project: Global Economies of Salvation – Art and the Negotiation of Sanctity in the Early Modern Period
Positions: one post-doctoral researcher (60-80 %), and one doctoral (PhD) position (60 %)
Application deadline: 15 April 2021
Institution: Institute of Art History, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
This research project investigates how artworks were employed in the process of negotiating sanctity with the Roman Curia in the age of Iberian hegemony (1500–1700). As the cult of the saints was among the key conceptual battlegrounds in the conflict between the Catholic church and the Protestants, in the post-Tridentine period, saints came to fulfill spiritual, ideological and propagandistic purposes. Art history has paid heightened attention to the adherence of artworks to the models of sanctity formulated by the Tridentine church, leading to an overall neglect of competing local constructions of sanctity, a shortfall particularly momentous with regard to blesseds and saints connected in different ways to the process of European expansion, specifically to the Iberian empires.
In the scope of this research project Institute of Art History at the University of Zurich invites applications for two positions (one PhD position, one postdoc) focusing on Asia.
Post-doctoral Researcher Position
Post-doctoral researcher pursues their own research agendas in the context of the project, examining cases of failed attempts at beatification or canonization connected to the context of early modern mission in South or Southeast Asia. Work on the project involves traveling. Participation in all of the project’s activities, including support for project-related research, organizational and administrative tasks, and residency in Zurich are expected. The post-doc disseminates the results of their research by presenting at academic conferences and by publishing in top outlets.
The position starts at the earliest possible mutually agreed date. Please submit your application by April 15, 2021, indicating which post-doctoral position you are applying for (the one centering on the Viceroyalty of Peru or on early modern mission in South or Southeast Asia). Please send your application electronically as one pdf-file comprising your motivation letter, a detailed CV, list of publications (if applicable), copies of obtained degrees, a writing sample (a chapter of the PhD dissertation or an article) and the contact details of two references. For more information on this position, please see the website here.
Doctoral (PhD) Position
The PhD candidate writes their dissertations within the project’s thematical scope: One focusses on the visual construction of sanctity relating to the Jesuit St. Francis Xavier, which involves carrying out research in Rome, Portugal and India. Participation in all of the project’s activities, including support for project-related research, organizational and administrative tasks, and residency in Zurich are expected.
The position is preliminarily assigned for 12 months; upon extension, the positions may be held for a total of 48 months per PhD candidate, starting at the earliest possible mutually agreed date. Please submit your application by April 15, 2021, indicating which of the doctoral positions you are applying for. Please send your application electronically as one pdf-file comprising your motivation letter, a detailed CV, information on publications (if applicable), copies of obtained degrees, a writing sample (a chapter of the MA thesis or an article) and the contact details of two references. For more information on this position, please see the website here.
