For more detailed information see website Charles University.
Letter of Reference: written even by the supervisor in the PhD programme or a by a researcher/head of establishment, where the applicant completed the doctoral study.
Professional Curriculum Vitae, including the commented list of up to 5 most important publications. Please specify your research contribution and input to each publication (all together max. 2 pages A4)
Copy of University Diploma or Provisional certificate of completion of PhD studies or another official confirmation, that the applicant has been awarded PhD Degree
1) EARLY MODERN EUROPEAN CULTURAL HISTORY – THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF WARTIME VIOLENCE - Department of Historical Studies
Description of the project:
The project will build on the dynamic historical-anthropological understanding of culture and explore the reconfigurations of early modern cultural history. The primary focus of this research is the material culture of wartime violence, with a particular emphasis on symbolic violence and the Post-Reformation changes in the approach to visual culture. The post-doctoral scholar will explore the interplay between gender, violence and agency in early modern Central Europe, analysing the narrative strategies of ascribing agency, feminity, masculinity, as well as their correlation with the military imagination and with social hierarchies. The project will include a digital humanities component involving the creation of a database of violent incidents that targeted artefacts and fuelled meaning-making processes.
The researcher will be entrusted with the task of writing a chapter for the proposed Oxford Handbook of Early Modern Cultural History (OUP), working closely with their supervisor. The early career scholar will publish another study in a high-impact academic journal and will contribute to broadening the English-language curriculum at the Faculty of Humanities.
What do we offer? :
We offer a two-year contract with a competitive salary in a supportive, interdisciplinary and inclusive academic environment. The position carries with it the exceptional opportunity for the successful candidate to prepare and publish a chapter in the planned Oxford Handbook of Early Modern Cultural History (OUP) which is being co-prepared by the Faculty of Humanities senior scholar, Veronika Čapská. The holder of the Junior Fund support will gain the time to work on an independent research project under under the expert supervision of Veronika Čapská and will gain experience in teaching in our diverse English language courses (one course jointly with the supervisor, and one independently). The Faculty of Humanities will also provide guidance and support to the postdoctoral fellow in the preparation of a follow-up project.
Profile of an ideal candidate:
We are looking for a post-doctoral researcher with a robust interdisciplinary background in the early modern European cultural history and a proven track record of publishing with high-quality academic publishers. The possession of excellent English language skills is an indispensable prerequisite. A good command of German, French and Latin is regarded as a significant asset.
Faculty: Faculty of Humanities
Department: Department of Historical Studies
Supervisor: Doc. Veronika Čapská, Ph.D.
E-mail:
Deadline date: July 31, 2025
Position available from: January 1, 2026
Submit applications with all other documents to Research Administration Office: (CC: )
2) TRANSNATIONAL QUEER EPISTEMOLOGIES AND BIOPOLITICAL IMAGINARIES IN EAST CENTRAL EUROPE UNDER STATE SOCIALISM AND BEYOND - Department of Historical Studies
Description of the project:
This project invites a postdoctoral researcher (male, female, other) to critically examine the entanglements of queerness, health governance, and state power in East Central Europe during the late socialist period and early post-socialism. It seeks to foreground queer experiences not as marginal footnotes to political history, but as key sites of epistemic and affective negotiation, where norms of visibility, risk, intimacy, and identity were contested and reconfigured.
Projects that explore how queer subjects were imagined, regulated, pathologized, or mobilized within broader regimes of public health, surveillance, and moral discourse are particularly welcome.
Possible topics could include, but are not limited to, the visual and discursive regulation of queer bodies in late socialist public culture; state-sponsored narratives of hygiene and morality; the politics of sexual representation under censorship; the entanglement of medical and moral vocabularies in health education; or the HIV/AIDS crisis as a transnational point of reference. Projects that explore how queerness was framed at the intersection of biopolitics, cultural production, and Cold War geopolitics are especially welcome.
This research is expected to engage with transnational archival sources and contribute to the emerging field of queer post-socialist studies. While projects may adopt a broad regional or comparative perspective, preference will be given to proposals that include at least a portion of their primary source base located in Prague or the Czech Republic. Applicants are encouraged to draw on interdisciplinary methodologies, from oral history to discourse analysis, from critical archival studies to queer theory.
The project should contribute to decentering Western-centric historiographies of sexuality and health, while offering new insights into how queer lives were governed, resisted, and remembered across the region.
The fellow will be affiliated with the Department of Historical Studies, closely collaborating with faculty members working in queer history, contemporary history, and oral history.
Additional synergies are expected with research clusters on gender and sexuality across the Faculty of Humanities, including possible engagement with teaching in undergraduate and graduate programs.
What do we offer? :
The Faculty of Humanities offers a vibrant intellectual environment with strong expertise in queer and post-socialist histories, supported by both local and international research networks. The selected postdoctoral fellow will benefit from access to archival resources, opportunities for academic publication and conference participation, and the chance to contribute to faculty-led initiatives such as lecture series and workshops in queer cultural history. The position also includes mentoring in research development and support for future funding applications, including MSCA or ERC schemes.
Profile of an ideal candidate:
PhD in History, Gender Studies, Cultural Studies, or a related discipline
Research experience in queer history, HIV/AIDS history, history of sexuality, or state-socialist governance
Familiarity with East Central European contexts and archival materials
Strong interdisciplinary orientation and commitment to conceptual innovation
Fluency in English; reading knowledge of at least one regional language (Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Polish, or German) is highly desirable
Faculty: Faculty of Humanities
Department: Department of Historical Studies
Supervisor: PhDr. Jaromír Mrňka, Ph.D.
E-mail:
Deadline date: July 31, 2025
Position available from: January 1, 2026
Submit applications with all other documents to Research Administration Office: (CC: )
Oddělení pro vědu a výzkum
Univerzita Karlova
Fakulta humanitních studií
Pátkova 2137/5
182 00 Praha 8 - Libeň
E-mail:
