Stellenticket Technische Universität Dresden

The advertised positions are part of the DFG-funded project “Cultural and Economic Extractivism. Archaeology, Museum Formation, and Resource Extraction in the Middle East, 1901–1946.” The project investigates the historical entanglements of archaeology, the oil industry, and museum collecting practices in the Middle East during this period. At its core is the question of how infrastructural, economic, and epistemological logics overlapped within extractive economies and shaped the production of museum knowledge. The aim is to systematically analyze these largely unexplored intersections and to contribute to a global history of museums and knowledge production.

The two positions involve collaboration in the collective research project and the complition of a doctoral dissertation in one of the following thematic areas:
Thematic Area 1 focuses on European actors and constellations, particularly archaeological institutions and museums, oil companies, as well as diplomatic missions and mandate administrations. Central to this area is the question of how archaeological research, resource exploration, and museum collecting policies were interconnected through infrastructural, financial, and personnel networks. These entanglements are to be reconstructed also from the perspective of local actors, for example, how they perceived, negotiated, and actively shaped the European presence.
Thematic Area 2 is dedicated to U.S. American institutions and networks. The focus lies on forms of cultural extraction that were less embedded in imperial museum and administrative structures and more closely linked to private-sector and philanthropic networks. Analogous to Thematic Area 1, the project will investigate concrete connections between archaeological enterprises, economic interests, and museum representation, while also incorporating the perspectives of local actors.

• Completed university degree (Master’s, Diplom or equivalent) in a relevant field (e.g., art history, history, archaeology, museum studies, geography)
• A doctoral project related to the research project
• Strong teamwork and communication skills, and an interest in interdisciplinary and international collaboration
• Good command of German and/or English; willingness to acquire the respective missing language skills
• Basic knowledge of an additional project-relevant language (depending on regional and thematic focus, particularly Arabic, Turkish, Persian, as well as European academic and administrative languages such as French, English, and German) desirable
• Experience in working with archival materials and historical sources desirable
• Knowledge of provenance research or collection history desirable
• Familiarity with global history approaches desirable
• Experience with digital research tools (e.g., databases, mapping, annotation) desirable

Applicants must submit a proposal for a doctoral project in the form of a short exposé (total 3,000 characters with spaces: 1,000 characters outlining the research question and 2,000 characters on the state of research related to the chosen topic). The proposal should be assigned to one of the two thematic areas; applicants are free to define their own focus.

Content-related enquiries should be directed to
Prof. Dr. Bénédicte Savoy
Office: office@kuk.tu-berlin.de

Please send your application with relevant documentation, in digital format as a single pdf file, stating the reference number to Prof. Savoy’s assistant: office@kuk.tu-berlin.de.

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To ensure equal opportunities between women and men, applications by women with the required qualifications are explicitly desired. Qualified individuals with disabilities will be favored. The TU Berlin values the diversity of its members and is committed to the goals of equal opportunities. Applications from people of all nationalities and with a migration background are very welcome.