Up to ten PhD opportunities available

An exciting opportunity exists for potential PhD students to fill up to ten positions by January 1, 2010 in the Graduate School within the interdisciplinary Cluster of Excellence for “Religion and Politics in Pre-Modern and Modern Cultures” at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster–University of Münster, Germany.

The Cluster involves a large number of academics from the areas of History, Catholic and Protestant Theology, Jurisprudence, as well having capacity in the areas of Islamic Studies, Philosophy, Philology, Ethnology, Political Science, and the Sociology of Religion. Projects in the Cluster are grouped around four themes: Normativity, Staging, Integrative Procedures, and Violence.
Further information about specific projects

Each of these positions is attached to a stipend based on half an E13 TV-L position (approximately € 900 per month). Initially the positions are available for two years, with an extension of up to one year possible. Besides from working on their own projects, PhD students are expected to participate in the planning and organization of conferences as well as the running of workshops within the Graduate School. These workshops are expected to cover such areas as theory, methods, and the interpretation of source material.
Information about the study program of the Graduate School

We are seeking students who have demonstrated exceptional ability in the Humanities, Cultural Studies, Social Sciences, Law/Jurisprudence, or Theology/Religious Studies. Furthermore we are particularly interested in attracting students who have demonstrated high competence in interdisciplinary studies, have proven their ability to communicate their research to a variety of forums, and have the potential to establish themselves in international arenas. In order to facilitate communication and collaboration within the Graduate School, applicants who are not proficient in German will be encouraged to attend German language courses. Applicants are kindly requested to provide a five page description of their intended project (including a bibliography). It is expected that the project will complement the research aims and also one or more of the themes of the Cluster.

We explicitly encourage women to apply. The applications of women with equal aptitude, qualification and academic achievements will be given priority, provided there are no prevailing reasons to the contrary. Handicapped candidates with equal qualifications will be preferentially favoured.

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Please send your application (including cover letter, CV, copies of transcripts, a project description, and two academic references) by September 30, 2009 to the Coordinator of the Graduate School in the Cluster of Excellence, preferably by email (with an attached PDF file):

Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster
Graduate School in the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics in Pre-Modern and Modern Cultures“ – Ms Julia Simoleit
Johannisstraße 1-4
D – 48143 Münster, Germany

Please direct any further enquiries to Julia Simoleit.