Doctoral Researchers/Postdoctoral Researchers (m/f/d)

The Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe (GWZO) conducts comparative research into the history and culture of the region between the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea and the Adriatic from late antiquity to the present day. The GWZO, which has been based in the centre of Leipzig since 2010, employs around 90 staff from Germany and abroad. Starting this year, in 2025, it will also have an office in the centre of Prague.

For the new Prague-based »Knowledge and Participation« department (headed by Dr. Michal Frankl), we are looking to recruit, as of 1 September 2025, a total of four researchers:

• two doctoral researchers (m/f/d): reference number: 25_01_A4

These two positions are initially for a fixed term of three years. The institute’s personnel development plan allocates four years for internally financed doctoral positions. The fourth year is budgeted and will be granted, provided that previously defined milestones have been met.

• two postdoctoral researchers (m/f/d): reference number: 25_02_A4

These two positions are initially for a fixed term of four years. Subject to a positive evaluation and if budgetary conditions permit, they can be made permanent.

The place of work is Prague. However, postholders will be expected to travel to Leipzig to participate in major Institute events. Employment is governed by Czech labour law and remunerated in accordance with local salary scales.

The department »Knowledge and Participation« examines the multifaceted and sometimes tense relationship between academic and non-academic knowledge. The focus is on participation in knowledge production and science in Central and Eastern Europe, both in the present and in the past – an area and field of activity that has gained prominence in recent years as citizen science.

The department’s research is divided into two main thematic strands: »Marginalised Knowledge« and »Digital Participation«. On the one hand, the department’s work focuses on actors from marginalised groups historically and today. Among other things, it asks how knowledge »on the margins« is articulated, heard, stored or interpreted. Drawing on approaches from postcolonial studies, the department’s projects aim to critically reflect on hierarchies and exclusions present in archives created and organised by the state. Additionally, a crucial focus is on the impact of new digital tools on the production of scientific knowledge. The starting point here is how digital technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), are transforming the way knowledge is created and disseminated.

Future postholders’ research should fit within this scope. Possible projects include explorations of marginalised knowledge and the effects of different forms of participation and crowdsourcing. We particularly welcome projects that deal with migrant, dissident, feminist or queer archives; collaborative platforms such as Wikipedia; or digital memory projects in Central and Eastern Europe. We are also interested in research on the effects of AI on minor languages and in non-academic, participatory contexts and projects with their own citizen science component.

Your tasks:

For researchers (m/f/d) working on their doctorate:

• to develop a historical, cultural or literary studies-based doctoral thesis within the thematic scope of the »Knowledge and Participation« department, to be supervised by either the head of department, Dr. Frankl, or colleagues from the GWZO;
• to support the department’s ongoing work, for example, by organising lectures and conferences;
• involvement in citizen science projects;
• to link your project with the research conducted in the »Knowledge and Participation« department and at the GWZO in general in other disciplines;
• to participate in promoting the GWZO, its publications and research results among Czech and Central and Eastern European audiences and to help develop new modes of communication at the intersection of academic research and public engagement.

For postdoctoral researchers (m/f/d):

• to conduct independent historical, cultural studies or literary research within the scope of the research carried out in the »Knowledge and Participation« department, published at an international level in peer-reviewed journals and with renowned publishers (usually a second book/habilitation);
• involvement in citizen science projects;
• to link one’s project with the research conducted in the department »Knowledge and Participation« and at the GWZO in general in other disciplines;
• to participate in central departmental tasks, including the organisation of lectures and conferences and the conception of applications for third-party funding;
• to participate in the further development and ongoing adaptation of the department’s research agenda, with which the department maintains international visibility as a methodological laboratory for citizen science and as an important location for research into the history of knowledge in Central and Eastern Europe;
• to participate in promoting the GWZO, its publications and research results to the Czech and Central and Eastern European audiences and to help develop new modes of communication at the intersection of academic research and public engagement.

Your profile:

For doctoral researchers (m/f/d):

• university degree (MA) in one of the cultural studies or humanities disciplines represented at the GWZO;
• willingness to engage in interdisciplinary research;
• very good English skills and very good knowledge of at least one language from the region under investigation;
• good communication skills and ability to work in a team;
• willingness to travel regularly to Leipzig;
• willingness to engage in regular further training.

For postdoctoral researchers (m/f/d), in addition tothe above criteria:

• above-average doctorate in one of the cultural studies or humanities disciplines represented at the GWZO;
• high-level, relevant international publications;
• at least initial experience in third-party funding and science communication;
• willingness to learn German to ensure smooth communication with the entire GWZO in the long term;
• experience in the field of Digital Humanities is desirable.

We offer:

• appropriate salary; 
• 30 days of annual leave;
• a creative and motivating work environment, flat hierarchies;
• a lively social culture, openness and trusting cooperation;
• an opportunity for individual scientific profiling and further qualification; 
• a workplace in the centre of Prague and in the heart of Leipzig, in the immediate vicinity of Leipzig University’s campus.

If you are interested in one of these positions, please send your application in English or German with the relevant documents, including a project synopsis of 2-3 pages, quoting the corresponding reference number 25_01_A4 or 25_02_A4by 9 May 2025 to the director of the GWZO (Prof. Dr. Maren Röger, Reichsstr. 4-6, 04109 Leipzig) or by email to: bewerbung(at)leibniz-gwzo.de. For the postdoc positions, two additional published papers must be submitted. Submitting an application via email has implications for data protection. The applicant bears full responsibility for this.

The interviews are expected to take place on 17 and 23 June in Prague and/or digitally.

For further information, please contact the designated head of department, Dr. Michal Frankl (Michal.Frankl.ext(at)leibniz-gwzo.de).

Since July 2021, our institute has been awarded the TOTAL E-QUALITY award for equal opportunities. Applications from women are particularly welcome and will be given preferential treatment if their qualifications and suitability are equivalent, as the positions to be filled are part of a structural unit in which women are underrepresented. Applications from individuals with severe disabilities are expressly encouraged and will be given priority if their qualifications are equivalent.

Further information about the GWZO can be found on our website www.leibniz-gwzo.de.

Information on data protection

Your personal data contained in the application documents or obtained during the interview will be processed exclusively for the purpose of the selection procedure for this position. The legal basis for the data processing is § 11 Abs. 1 Sächsisches Datenschutzdurchführungsgesetz i. V. m. EU-Datenschutz-Grundverordnung (DS-GVO). The person responsible for the application process is the addressee of the application stated at the top of this advertisement. As part of the application process, your personal data will be shared within the institute with

• the members of the selection committee,
• the human resources department,
• the equal opportunities officers,
• the inclusion officer and
• the works council,

within the scope of their organisational or legal responsibilities.

Your personal data will be deleted no later than six months after the end of the selection process. According to the GDPR, you have the following rights vis-à-vis the addressee of the application, provided that the corresponding legal requirements are met: Right of access (Art. 15 DS-GVO), right to rectification of inaccurate personal data (Art. 16 DS-GVO); right to erasure (Art. 17 DS-GVO), right to restriction of processing (Art. 18 DS-GVO) and right to object to processing (Art. 21 DS-GVO). If you have any questions, please contact the GWZO data protection officers. Furthermore, there is a right of appeal. The supervisory authority responsible for the GWZO is the person commissioned by the Saxon State Parliament for data protection.