Alexander von Humboldt Final-Year Dissertation Fellowships in Islamic Intellectual History

Alexander von Humboldt Final Year Dissertation Write-Up Fellowships in Thirteenth to Sixteenth Century Islamicate Intellectual History

Applications are invited for Final Year Dissertation Write-up Fellowships at the Alexander von Humboldt Kolleg for the Islamicate Intellectual History of the Later Middle and Early Modern periods at the University of Bonn, to commence on 1 October 2019 for nine months. Three grants are available for doctoral candidates who are in the process of completing a dissertation on a topic relevant for the thirteenth to sixteenth century Islamicate intellectual history (Philosophy, Theology, Sufism, legal theory, the history of science as well as the so-called occult sciences, political thought, historiography, and adjacent areas). The Fellowship provides a stipend that is intended to permit full-time work on the dissertation, without reliance on part-time employment. Fellows will be expected to deliver a termly presentation on their research in progress at the Alexander von Humboldt colloquia at the University of Bonn as part of a research group under the leadership of Professor Judith Pfeiffer.

Candidates must have, by the time of the appointment, completed all course work (ABD) and must have sufficiently advanced in researching their thesis in a relevant field of study to be able to complete the dissertation during the nine months of their fellowship.

The Fellow will have a strong command of at least one of the languages Arabic, Persian, or Turkish, and reading knowledge of a second, and should preferably have a reading knowledge of at least one European language other than English; a thorough understanding of the social and political history of the period; sufficient palaeographical skills to work with Islamic manuscripts; good written and oral communication skills; good skills and experience in teamwork; and good planning and time management skills. The criteria for selection are outstanding performance and scholarly promise, and the likelihood that the candidate will complete his/her dissertation within 9 months of the start date of the fellowship.Applications are welcome from students both at Bonn University and at any other accredited international institution of higher education. The working language at the Alexander von Humboldt Kolleg is English. Applicants from other institutions may apply for a recognized student status at Bonn University, but will continue to work with their main supervisor and dissertation committee throughout the fellowship, and will submit their thesis to their home university. As per the stipulations of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Fellowship holders are required to acknowledge the support of this grant appropriately in their dissertation and ensuing publications.

All candidates are expected to pay student fees at the regular rates. Successful non-Bonn candidates will be required to pay the relevant fees (currently 287 € per semester/six months), and international students must be able to obtain a student visa, for which they will receive support from the Alexander von Humboldt Kolleg. These fellowships cannot be held in conjunction with DAAD, DFG, AHRC, or equivalent grants.

Grant value: 1.350,– Euro/Month, plus travel support.
Start date: 1 October 2019.
Fellows are expected to reside in Bonn for the duration of the fellowship.

To apply for this Fellowship, please submit the application material listed below to fellowships@avh-islamicate.uni-bonn.de.
– Curriculum vitae;
– Cover letter with a research proposal;
– Title and Table of contents of the thesis with a proposed timeline indicating which chapters will be completed during the tenure of the Fellowship;
– 2 letters of reference, one of which must be by the main thesis supervisor. The letter of the main supervisor ought to comment on the current state of the thesis, and the dates by when it is expected to be completed, as well as the date when it is expected to be defended.

Short-listed candidates will be asked to submit a piece of sample writing, which can be a published article, a chapter of the thesis, or another relevant writing sample.

For further information, see https://uni-bonn.academia.edu/JudithPfeiffer/Dissertation-Fellowships

Closing date for applications is 12 noon on Monday, 3 June 2019.

Prior questions are welcome and may be directed to judith.pfeiffer@uni-bonn.de.