比利时鲁汶大学中国史&全球史方向招收博士生

At the Group of Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts of KU Leuven, there is currently a vacancy for a 4-year PhD position, starting on 1 October 2022, as part of the ERC AdG TRANSPACIFIC (The Structure and Impact of Trans-Pacific Trade, 16th to 18th Centuries: The Manila Galleon Trade Beyond Silver and Silks), supervised by Angela Schottenhammer.

Duties/Responsibilities
Research: The PhD will examine documentation on the use and circulation of plants, herbs, medicines, and diseases imported from the ‘New World’ into coastal China (Fujian, Guangdong), including the socio-cultural and (ethno-)medical impacts on local societies and the development of cross-cultural scientific knowledge transfer. Targeted research may also touch upon the impacts of crops (e.g. maize, chili peppers, sweet potato), vegetables, spices into Chinese coastal societies.
Database: Active engagement in and contribution to our project database is required.Further activities/fieldwork: Active participation in the team’s international and research dissemination activities as well as preparedness for archival fieldwork are expected.

Publications: The completion of a PhD dissertation and the publication of at least one A1/A2 article is obligatory.

Required degree and qualification
Master degree in History or a comparable master’s degree in another discipline, with a focus on Chinese or Asian history, the history of science, (ethno-)medicine or (ethno-)botany.
You possess an excellent command of pre-modern and modern Chinese and are fluent in English. Good skills in IT and GIS technology, basic competencies in Japanese and/or one additional European language (such as Spanish, Dutch, or French), and proficiency in the history of Chinese medicine and/or botany are a plus.

Applications from students holding a degree in botany, medical anthropology, or another related subject are also welcome, if the potential candidate can demonstrate experience in the fields of Chinese and/or Southeast Asian history, and the history of sientific knowledge transfer in the early modern world.
General background knowledge of the Spanish Manila galleon trade is highly recommended.

The successful candidate must be open for new methodological approaches and is closely cooperating with other team members of the TRANSPACIFIC project. Working language will be English. Further information on our research, activities, and publications is available under https://crossroads-research.net/projects/erc-adg-transpacific/.

Applications, including cv, diplomas, two reference letters, a research plan (approx. 1 page), in which the applicant introduces his/her research and demonstrates how he/she plans to contribute to the TRANSPACIFIC project in the framework of the advertised vacancy, should be sent electronically to angela.schottenhammer@kuleuven.be via the internal KU Leuven website form – a link will open automatically.

KU Leuven seeks to foster an environment where all talents can flourish, regardless of gender, age, cultural background, nationality or impairments. If you have any questions relating to accessibility or support, please contact us at diversiteit.HR@kuleuven.be.