Universität Hildesheim

Stiftung des öffentlichen Rechts

As of April 1, 2025 at the Faculty of Cultural Studies und Aesthetic Communication the following positions are to be filled on a temporary basis :

Research assistants (m/f/d) - 10 doctoral positions
(TV-L E 13, 65%)

in the framework of the DFG Research Training Group 2477 “Aesthetic Practice”. The term of the positions is 36 months (01.04.2025 until 31.03.2028).

The Research Training Group

The Research Training Group “Aesthetic Practice” is a structured doctoral education program at the University of Hildesheim, funded by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) with funds from the German federal and state governments. The Research Training Group combines the fields of philosophy, art studies, literary studies, theatre studies, musicology, cultural studies, and sociology. It started its research work in April 2019, in 2023 its funding was extended following a positive assessment. The successful candidates for the advertised positions will form the third cohort of PhD students.

The Research Training Group examines the experience and practice of being aesthetically active, expanding the scope of traditional aesthetics and art studies to include a practice theory component. Since the introduction of the concept of aesthetics in the 18th century, discourse on art has concentrated mainly on aesthetic experience, perception, and judgment. With our focus we propose a praxeological shift in the very questions of aesthetics toward forms of practice and performance that function as creative processes in their own right, since they enable and generate – though neither necessarily nor mechanically – the production and reception of works of art. The members of the Research Training Group are studying these processes both in the context of classical European art institutions as well as in everyday and “non-Western” aesthetic practices.

The research work of the Research Training Group in the second funding period is directed towards the following priorities:

1. Focusing on the potential of critique – f. ex. of reified forms of practice and life as well as the corresponding epistemic orders of justification – associated with the performative sense of aesthetic practice.
2. Exploring the possibilities of decolonizing aesthetics in order to critically analyse the manifold colonial entanglements of the European art world as well as the theoretical foundations of Western aesthetics that have neglected practice.
3. Deepening the methodological question of how practice can be adequately observed and, above all, described as such (descriptology of practice).

A transversal thematic focus will be on aesthetic practices in the context of digitalization.

Within this framework, the Research Training Group offers the doctoral candidates a program of scientific events as well as qualification and training for subject-specific, interdisciplinary and transferable skills, which consists of obligatory as well as optional courses. In addition to working on a thematically relevant doctoral project, regular participation in the program as well as active engagement in its organisation are expected. This requires a suitably high level of presence on campus.

Possible topics (examples) for dissertations in the different disciplines could be:

• Aesthetic practices in modern Japan and the question of the order of the “arts” (Philosophy)
• Aesthetic Practice – between Dewey and Adorno (Philosophy)
• The fundus as a colonial archive – postcolonial perspectives on costume design in the theatre (theatre studies)
• The materiality of rehearsal. Post-anthropocentric perspectives on working in the theatre (theatre studies)
• Child and youth participation in theatre as an aesthetic and political practice (theatre studies)
• “Challenging and changing the way we look at American History”: Kara Walker's contemporary history paintings as controversial visual-practical analyses of US-American racism and African-American identity (Art Studies)
• Darmstadt again and again. – On the Discourse of Decolonization in “New Music” (Musicology)
• Translingual Poetics (Literary Studies)
• Between Consumption and Art: Aesthetic Genealogies in the Consumer Culture of the 20th Century (Cultural Studies)
• On the social and aesthetic formation of comments in platform communication (Youtube, Twitter, etc.) (Sociology)

Application Requirements:

The Research Training Group is designed for German and international graduate students who distinguish themselves in the selection process by their subject-specific academic profile and an out-standing concept for a research project which demonstrates interdisciplinary compatibility and which is feasible within the time frame of the funding.

The prerequisite for application is an excellent academic degree that entitles the applicant to pursue a doctorate. During their studies, applicants must have acquired relevant specialist and methodological knowledge in the field, which enables them to develop and successfully complete their own research project. In addition to the academic qualifications, participation in the Research Training Group requires the ability to self-motivation and to work in a structured manner as well as openness to interdisciplinary cooperation, excellent communication skills and the ability to work in a team; active participation in the further development of the activities of the Research Training Group is expected. Relevant aesthetic-practical experience is also desirable.

Application Documents:

• Proof of academic university degrees (certified translation, if applicable).
• Curriculum vitae with a detailed description of the applicant’s academic career.
• Letter of motivation documenting personal suitability for the research and training program and outlining how the applicant intends to contribute to the interdisciplinary work of the group.
• A letter of recommendation from a university professor providing information on the applicant's professional and methodological expertise and academic potential (one page).
• Outline of the dissertation project (synopsis) of max. ten pages (in German or English), incl. timetable.
• For graduates from foreign universities, the equivalent of the respective German degree and proof of German language skills at B2/DSH 1/TestDaF 3 level or equivalent are required.

The job interviews are expected to be held in calendar week 50.

For more information on the Research Training Group please visit:
https://www.uni-hildesheim.de/grk-2477

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the spokesperson of the Research Training Group, Prof. Dr. Jens Roselt, by e-mail: roselt(at)uni-hildesheim.de or by phone: +49 5121 883-20702.

As a family-friendly university, we offer a varied, interdisciplinary range of tasks, flexible working hours, regular further and advanced training and a special annual payment within the framework of TV-L. In joining the university, you will become part of a dynamic, committed and open-minded team.

The University of Hildesheim has adopted a mission statement that places great importance on gender equality and diversity.

The University of Hildesheim particularly wants to promote the professional equality of women and men. Therefore, it aims to increase the proportion of employees of the gender that is underrepresented in the respective area.

In the case of equal qualification and suitability, applications from applicants with severe disabilities will be given preferential consideration. (Proof of disability must be enclosed.)

We look forward to receiving your application by October 27, 2024 under the reference number 2024/105-114 via our career portal https://bewerbung.uni-hildesheim.de/

This is a translation. The original job posting in German is authoritative and available under https://bewerbung.uni-hildesheim.de/jobposting/c0eaa93ccbad71ccc010048508401846261f5ce70