PhD Research Fellowship, University of Bergen

There is a vacancy for a PhD position at the Department of Foreign Languages, University of Bergen, within the research project “The English Cult of St. Birgitta of Sweden: Reception and Influence, 1380-1530”. The position is for a fixed-term period of 4 years starting 1 August 2018 or as agreed, at an annual salary of US$56,000/ £36,000 .

The Department of Foreign Languages spans nine different languages, and teaching and research are conducted in the disciplines language/linguistics, literature, cultural studies and didactics (http://www.uib.no/en/fremmedsprak). The Department has around 50 permanent academic staff members, along with four post-docs, around twenty PhD candidates and twelve administrative members of staff.

The position is associated with the research project The English Cult of St. Birgitta of Sweden: Reception and Influence, 1380-1530, directed by principal investigator Associate Professor Laura Saetveit Miles. This project explores how Birgitta’s Revelations and other Birgittine texts came to have a profound effect on the literary and religious cultures of late-medieval England, reflecting complex ideas of gender, authority, and authorship. To enable this new analysis, Latin and Middle English translations of texts related to Birgitta will be tracked using an innovative database and network graphing tool, in conjunction with producing digital and print editions of unedited texts. 

Within the parameters of the larger project, the candidate should propose their own preliminary project topic (the “project proposal” listed in the application materials). The topic and project will then be developed further as the first task after hiring, in close collaboration with the PI, Associate Professor Miles.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Manuscript circulation / early print production of Birgittine texts
  • Translation-based / literary analysis of the Revelations and its adaptations
  • Birgitta in relation to other visionary women / women readers
  • Monastic / lay interest in Birgitta
  • Scholastic / political interest in Birgitta
  • Any relevant combination of the above topics

For further information on the fellowship and how to apply: https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/150040/phd-research-fellowship-within-the-research-project-the-english-cult-of-st-birgitta-of-sweden-reception-and-influence-1380-1530

Application deadline: 30 April