Interfaculty Fellowship at the Erich Auerbach Institute for Advanced Studies

The Erich Auerbach Institute for Advanced Studies invites applications for the summer semester 2024

• for a two-month Senior Fellowship or
• for a Junior Fellowship of up to three months

at the interface to the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. The fellowship is awarded to an external researcher from the field of humanities and cultural studies in cooperation with a host from

• the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences
• the Faculty of Medicine
• the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
• the Faculty of Law or
• the Faculty of Human Sciences

The Auerbach Institute offers faculty members the space to develop innovative research concepts in collaboration with international colleagues, to explore interdisciplinary interfaces and to discuss and present them in the research context of the Auerbach Institute and its Fellows.

Fellowships

The Call is addressed to the group of 

• full-time professors and
• employees with a doctorate

at the University of Cologne who apply together with

• an outstanding experienced researcher (Senior Fellow) or
• an ambitious young scholar after the doctorate (Junior Fellow)

Fellows with whom a cooperation already exists or a more intensive cooperation is intended are addressed. The Fellowship period should be within the Cologne lecture period from April 8 to July 19, 2024.

In addition to project-related research with the recruiting colleague, the fellows will give a lecture as a part of a public lecture series at the Auerbach Institute. The fellowship offers the freedom to advance the respective project and to establish and expand contacts with colleagues of the faculty. For this purpose, the fellows will have their own workspace and the opportunity to organize their own workshops and conferences.

Research Focus

Collaborative project outlines should be within the horizon of the main topic “World,” in which interdisciplinary approaches to the conceptual field, which has become ubiquitous especially through the globalization discussion, are welcome. In contrast to the material correlate “earth,” world is a culturally and historically changeable concept. The concept spans the relationship between nature and culture by addressing both geographically mappable spaces and the human societies situated in these spaces and their ideas. In this respect it also complements the economically influenced concept of the “globe” and the “global,” for example in the direction of a “planetary” thinking or a “mondialization”. Accordingly, the annual theme is intended to contribute to the discussion of different disciplinary approaches and their use of the concept of the world, in order to more clearly contour aspects of globalization such as ideas of exchange, networking, mobility, mediality, but also the drawing of borders, (re)territorialization, marginalization and exclusion. Projects with an affinity to the arts that are based on an expanded concept of knowledge and/or that have an effect on the public are also particularly encouraged. Based on an expanded concept of knowledge, projects with an affinity to the arts and with a relation to the public are also particularly encouraged.

Elegibility

The selection criteria for the Fellowships are academic qualification and originality of the proposed joint project, as well as the contribution of the project to the development of sustainable international relations. The selection is made by the Advisory Board of the Auerbach Institute.

Application

Applications consist of:

• a 1- to 2-page cover letter (with information on the preferred period of residence)
• a curriculum vitae of the proposed fellow
• a list of publications of the host and the planned fellow
• a proposal for a joint research project of max. 2000 words
• a summary of max. 200 words, which illustrates the significance of the project, even for those not familiar with the subject

The application deadline is October 15, 2023.

Please send applications in digital form to the Associate Director of the Auerbach Institute, who will also be available to answer any questions you may have:

PD Dr. Martin Roussel
martin.rousseluni-koeln.de