Job Advertisement: Research Assistant

Position in the field of Jewish Studies under the direction of the Alexander von Humboldt Professor

The University of Münster (Germany) wishes to appoint a two year half-time or full-time (depending on the qualifications of the applicant)

Research Assistant

in the field of Jewish Studies under the direction of Prof. Dr. Katrin Kogman-Appel, at the Department of Philology. Katrin Kogman-Appel has recently been elected a recipient of the “Alexander von Humboldt Professorship – International Award for Research in Germany” that has been endowed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

The assistant position is scheduled to start on January 1st, 2016, and will run until December 31st, 2017. It may be extended to a third year. According to the German collective labour agreement for public sector employees (TV-L E 13), the gross salary for the position starts at approximately 3.438 € (full-time) respectively 1.719 € (half-time) per month during the first year. The regular working hours amount to 39 hours and 50 minutes per week which equates to 19 hours and 55 minutes per week half-time.
The post can, as a rule, also be filled as part-time position if there are no compelling work-related reasons against doing so.

The Alexander von Humboldt Professorship for Jewish Studies  professorship focusses on medieval Jewish Art, Sephardic Judaism and Jewish cultural history of the Middle Ages. It will be set up in the Department of Philology and, together with the professorship for Jewish Studies which already exists and which considers in particular Rabbinic Judaism and Jewish intellectual history, it will establish an Institute of Jewish Studies there.

Standard duties:

  • Participation in research project “The Visual in Medieval Jewish Culture”
  • Teaching (4 hours/weekly) in a field relevant to Jewish cultural history: art history, book culture, archaeology, material culture, manuscript culture (codicology and palaeography) etc.

Research fellows are expected to pursue their academic career (doctoral thesis, post-doctoral publications) in conjunction with the duties pertaining to the position.

Qualifications, knowledge and experiences:

  • Above-average higher education diploma  or PhD in Jewish Studies or related disciplines (with an expertise in the Middle Ages)
  • Profound knowledge of medieval Jewish primary sources and reading skills in Hebrew and Aramaic texts from late antiquity and the Middle Ages (both Ashkenazic and Sefardic); paleographic skills towards the study of manuscript sources
  • Interest in medieval Jewish culture, halakhah
  • Practical experience in handling late antique and medieval primary sources in Hebrew and Aramaic; paleography; Talmud and halakhic sources; basic knowledge of philosophy and ethical texts; some experience in mystical sources would be an advantage. 

The University of Münster is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to increasing the proportion of women academics. Consequently, we actively encourage applications by women. Female candidates with equivalent qualifications and academic achievements will be preferentially considered within the framework of the legal possibilities.

Among applicants of equal qualifications and equal position-relevant skills, disabled candidates will be given preference unless other candidate-related reasons prevail.

Applications should include a cover letter, CV, statement of research and teaching interests, and names/addresses of two referees within a single PDF document, and to be submitted by October 15, 2015 to:

Prof. Dr. Katrin Kogman-Appel
Geschäftsstelle des Exzellenzclusters „Religion und Politik“
Johannisstr. 1-4
D-48143 Münster
Julia.Lingens@uni-muenster.de

Inquiries regarding this position should be directed by email to Julia Lingens (Julia.Lingens@uni-muenster.de).