Postdoctoral Researcher Arab Sociology

Call for Applications
Berlin Graduate School Muslim Cultures and Societies (BGSMCS), Berlin, Germany
Application Deadline: November 18, 2024

The Berlin Graduate School Muslim Cultures and Societies investigates the plurality, changeability, and global connectedness of Muslim cultures and societies. The area of study includes Muslim societies in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, as well as Muslim communities in Europe and North America. Our researchers examine, in a systematic and comparative way, concepts, practices, and institutions variously understood as Islamic.

The call is open for recent postdocs (not more than four years after award of the doctoral degree) in the humanities and the social sciences.

Job Description

BGSMCS is seeking to appoint a postdoctoral fellow for four years (01.02.2025–31.01.2029).

They are interested in attracting an outstanding postdoctoral researcher engaged in work relevant to their research project “The socio-cultural life of sociological concepts: Arab contributions to global theory”, funded by the Einstein Foundation Berlin.

The project addresses the problem that key concepts used in sociological analysis have different meanings and histories in different world regions. Central concepts that are often assumed to be applicable across various societies emerged to standardize ways of organizing social observations globally.

This standardization often goes along with imposing concepts born in one specific time and place onto other regions. It moreover is underpinned by and perpetuates power asymmetries in the global production of knowledge.

Addressing these wider issues, the project more specifically explores how sociological concepts have been used in other times and places, and thus began to be understood in different ways.

The project is designed to produce a critical, historically informed, and comparative lexicon of 60 key concepts as used in Arabic, English and French—focusing on the Arab World and the two main colonial languages of the region. The lexicon is conceived as one infrastructure of global knowledge production and theory.

As such, the project will help those interested in global social theory to identify spectrums of meanings and establish thereby more saturated and nuanced conceptualizations and analyses.

The Postdoctoral researcher will coordinate the project together with the Einstein Visting Fellow Prof. Mohammed Bamyeh and the host, Prof. Florian Zemmin. Within the overarching project, they will be especially responsible for facilitating and editing the podcast series and the online lexicon.

In addition, they will work on a research project of their own conception which will result in a collection of articles or a monograph.

The successful applicant will be employed on salary scale (Entgeltgruppe) TV-L13. Berlin is an attractive location for families, as childcare and schooling is free of charge. Successful applicants are required to take residence in Berlin throughout their employment at Freie Universität Berlin.

Requirements

Completed university degree and completed doctoral degree in History, Islamic and Middle East Studies, Sociology or related fields (PhD)

Desirable

• Experience in working with Arabic texts and affinity to conceptual analysis
• Research projects situated in one of the following disciplines: Islamic and Middle East Studies; Sociology; Arabic Studies
• Excellent command of English in both writing and speaking
• Good knowledge of Arab societies and Arabic knowledge production
• Proven track record of publications, including Podcasts and, ideally, online publications.

For further information, please contact Prof. Dr. Florian Zemmin (application@bgsmcs.fu-berlin.de).

Applications should be sent by e-mail, together with significant documents:

• A brief cover letter (1 page)
• PhD certificate
• CV, including complete list of publications
• Description of their own research project (max. 3 pages)
• Reflections on how their own work relates to our project on “The socio-cultural life of sociological concepts: Arab contributions to global theory”,
• Names of 2 referees,

indicating the reference code “Postdoctoral researcher Arab sociology” in PDF format (preferably as one document) to Prof. Dr. Florian Zemmin: application@bgsmcs.fu-berlin.de or postal to Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin Graduate School Muslim Cultures and Societies, Prof. Dr. Florian Zemmin, Hittorfstr. 18, 14195 Berlin (Dahlem).

More information on: Berlin Graduate School Muslim Cultures and Societies