[URBANTH-L]FUNDING: Europe in the Middle East - The Middle East in Europe

[Angela Jancius]

From: Georges Khalil <khalil at wiko-berlin.de>

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS 10 POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS FOR 
ACADEMIC YEAR 2007/2008

The Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences, the Fritz Thyssen Foundation
and the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin invite scholars to apply for ten
post-doctoral fellowships for the program

EUROPE IN THE MIDDLE EAST - THE MIDDLE EAST IN EUROPE

This research program seeks to rethink key concepts and premises that link
and divide Europe and the Middle East. The project draws on the
international expertise of scholars in and outside of Germany and is
embedded in university and extra-university research institutions in
Berlin. 'Europe in the Middle East - The Middle East in Europe' supports
historical-critical philology, rigorous engagement with the literatures of
the Middle East and their histories, the social history of cities and the
study of Middle Eastern political and philosophical thought (Christian,
Jewish, Muslim, and secular) as central fields of research not only for
area or cultural studies, but also for European intellectual history and
other academic disciplines. The program explores modernity as a historical
space and conceptual frame. The program puts forward three programmatic
ideas:

1) supporting research that demonstrates the rich and complex historical
legacies and entanglements between Europe and the Middle East 2)
reexamining genealogical notions of mythical 'beginnings', 'origins', and
'purity' in relation to culture and society 3) rethinking key concepts of
a shared modernity in light of contemporary cultural, social, and
political entanglements that supersede identity discourses as well as
national, cultural or regional canons and epistemologies that were
established in the nineteenth century.

The program 'Europe in the Middle East - the Middle East in Europe' is
funded by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation. It supports and builds upon the
following interconnected research fields:

CITIES COMPARED: COSMOPOLITANISM IN THE MEDITERRANEAN 
AND ADJACENT REGIONS

This research group is directed by Ulrike Freitag and Nora Lafi, both of
the Centre for Modern Oriental Studies (Zentrum Moderner Orient ZMO),
Berlin. It contributes to the debate on cosmopolitanism and civil society
from the historical experience of conviviality and socio-cultural, ethnic,
and religious differences in the cities around the Mediterranean

ISLAMIC DISCOURSE CONTESTED: MIDDLE EASTERN AND EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVES

This research group is directed by Gudrun Kraemer, Institute for Islamic
Studies, Freie Universitaet Berlin. It analyzes modern Middle Eastern
thought and discourses in the framework of theories of multiple or
reflexive modernities;

PERSPECTIVES ON THE QUR'AN: NEGOTIATING DIFFERENT VIEWS 
OF A SHARED HISTORY

This research group is directed by Angelika Neuwirth, Seminar for Arabic
Studies, Freie Universitaet Berlin, and Stefan Wild, Universitaet Bonn. It
situates the foundational text of Islam within the religious landscape of
late antiquity and combines a historicization of its genesis with an
analysis of its reception and perception in Europe and the Middle East;

TRAVELLING TRADITIONS: COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES ON 
NEAR EASTERN LITERATURES

This research group is directed by Friederike Pannewick, Oslo University,
and Samah Selim, IREMAM, Aix-en-Provence. It reassesses literary
entanglements and processes of canonization between Europe and the Middle
East.

TRADITION AND THE CRITIQUE OF MODERNITY: SECULARISM, 
FUNDAMENTALISM AND RELIGION FROM MIDDLE EASTERN PERSPECTIVES

Is a special forum, directed by Amnon Raz-Krakotzkin, Ben Gurion
University, that will accompany the four research groups. The idea is to
rethink key concepts of modernity like secularity, tradition, or religion
in the context of the experiences, interpretations, and critiques of Jews,
Arabs, and Muslims in the Middle East and in Europe.

PREREQUISITES AND APPLICATION PROCEDURE

The fellowships are intended above all for scholars of history,
literature, philology, political philosophy, religion and sociology from
the Middle East who want to carry out their research projects in
connection with the Berlin program. Fellows gain the opportunity to pursue
research projects of their choice within the framework of one of the
above-mentioned research fields and in relation to the program 'Europe in
the Middle East - the Middle East in Europe'. In Berlin, they will be
integrated into a university or non-university research institute. The
working language of the research program is English. Fellows will receive
a monthly stipend of 1.800 EUR (supplement for accompanying spouses: EUR
250) and are obliged to work in Berlin and to help shape the seminars and
working discussions related to their research field. As a rule, the
fellowships begin on 1 October 2007 and end on 31 July 2008. The
applicant's doctorate should have been completed no earlier than 1999.

An application should be made in explicit relation to one of the four
research fields and consist of a curriculum vitae, a 2 to 4 page project
sketch, a sample of scholarly work (maximum 20 pages from an article,
conference paper, or dissertation chapter) and a letter of recommendation
by one university instructor. The application should be submitted in paper
form, by fax or by E-mail in English and should be received by 15 January
2007, sent in to:

Europe in the Middle East - the Middle East in Europe 
c/o Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin 
Attn: Georges Khalil 
Wallotstrasse 19, 14193 Berlin 
Fax +49 30 - 89 00 12 00 
E-mail: khalil at wiko-berlin.de

For further information on the program 'Europe in the Middle East - the
Middle East in Europe' and for detailed information on the four research
fields, please see:

http://www.eume-berlin.de

 For information on the research institutions in Berlin participating in
the program, please visit:

Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences: http://www.bbaw.de/
Center for Literary Research: http://www.zfl.gwz-berlin.de/
Centre for Modern Oriental Studies (ZMO): http://www.zmo.de/
Institute for Islamic Studies: http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~islamwi/
Seminar for Arabic Studies: http://web.fu-berlin.de/semiarab/
Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin: http://www.wiko-berlin.de/