Δύο θέσεις διδακτορικού για κλασικές σπουδές στο Leiden University

The Faculty of Humanities hosts a wealth of expertise in fields including philosophy, history, art history, literature, linguistics, and area studies, covering practically the entire world. The Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society (LUCAS) is one of seven research institutes within the Faculty of Humanities. LUCAS focuses on the study of art, literature and culture through various media. The PhD students will work within a research programme funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO VIDI Grant), entitled:

Greek Criticism and Latin Literature. Classicism and Cultural Interaction in Late Republican and Early Imperial Rome.

Supervisor of this research programme is Dr. Casper C. de Jonge (Classics, LUCAS).

Description of the VIDI research programme and the two PhD projects:  

This NWO VIDI programme will examine the intriguing relationship between Greek literary criticism and Latin literature in Rome (first centuries BC and AD). It will focus on the connections between the Greek treatises of Dionysius of Halicarnassus and Roman works of rhetoric (Cicero, Quintilian) and Latin poetry (Virgil, Horace). In his critical works, Dionysius studies the classical literature of the Greek past. His activities, however, are firmly based in the literary and rhetorical culture of the Roman present. Dionysius knows Latin, teaches Roman students and participates in a network of Greek and Roman intellectuals. The works of Dionysius and his Greek colleagues (Caecilius, Longinus, etc.) have traditionally been studied as part of the Greek tradition of literary criticism, whereas the interaction between Greek critics and contemporary authors of Latin texts has received little attention. This project will argue that Greek scholars and Roman writers participate in a continuous dialogue, contributing to a discourse of poetics, rhetoric and literary criticism. By drawing attention to the intercultural dialogue between Greek criticism and Latin literature, this research project aims to present a new vision of rhetorical and literary culture in Late Republican and Early Imperial Rome.

PhD project 1:  Dionysius and Cicero: Greek and Roman Stylistic Theory in Rome Vacancy number: 13-266

Many Greek rhetoricians were active in Rome, and there was a close interaction between Greek and Roman rhetorical teaching. This PhD project will be the first comparative study of the two most important (extant) rhetoricians of the period, Cicero (106-43 BC) and Dionysius (active in Rome from 30 BC). Scholars are starting to acknowledge that there was not only Greek influence on Roman ideas (the traditional model), but also Roman influence on Greek views. This may help us to understand the relationship between the discussion of Atticism in Cicero and Dionysius. But these two authors do not only share a classicizing interest in the Attic orators. Both rhetoricians present an elaborate theory of literary composition (synthesis,compositio, collocatio). Striking correspondences between Dionysius’ On Composition and Cicero’s discussion of composition in his Orator include detailed discussions of euphony, rhythm and poetic prose. A systematic study of composition theory in Cicero and Dionysius will cast light on the intercultural dialogue between Greek and Roman rhetorical teaching in Rome.

PhD project 2: Dionysius and Quintilian: Mimesis and Imitatio in Greek and Roman Literature Vacancy number: 13-267

The literature of classical Greece plays a central role in the cultural interaction between Greeks and Romans in Rome. Both Dionysius and his Roman successor Quintilian (35-100 AD) offer an extensive canon of Greek poets, orators and historians who form the models for creative imitation (mimêsis or imitatio). Dionysius’ list of Greek models (in On Imitation) can be regarded as contributing to the formation of Greek cultural identity under Rome, whereas Quintilian’s adaptation (in Institutio Oratoria book 10) presents Rome as a worthy successor of Greece. This PhD project will concentrate on Dionysius and Quintilian and their views on Greek literature.  The project will not only examine the relationship between the Greek and the Roman reading lists and their use of the important concepts of mimêsis andimitatio, but also place these texts within the wider context of Greek and Roman classicism. Relevant ancient discussions of literary imitation include passages from Seneca, Longinus, Dio Chrysostom and Hermogenes. The project will cast light on the significance of classical Greek literature for the formation of Greek and Roman identity in Rome.

Duties and responsibilities

The candidates are supposed to carry out the following tasks:

• Writing a Ph.D. thesis.

• Submitting research results for publication in peer-reviewed academic journals.

• Submitting research results for incorporation in a synthetic publication to be written by the programme director.

• Presenting papers at (international) conferences.

• Some teaching in the second and third year of the appointment.

• Co-organizing workshops and an international conference together with the supervisor of the programme.

• Participating in the PhD training programme of the National Research School of Classics OIKOS.

• Participating in reading and discussions groups, seminars and workshops within the VIDI-grant group, within the Classics Department, the Research Institute LUCAS, as well as the wider Faculty of Humanities.

Requirements

• The applicant has a Master’s or equivalent degree in Classics, and has obtained this degree no longer than five years ago. The MA-thesis must be of high quality, with a grade of at least 8.0 on a ten-point scale, or comparable assessment;

• The applicant’s MA thesis testifies to well-developed research skills, including the ability to formulate relevant and creative research questions and hypotheses, descriptive and analytical skills, and a clear and persuasive style of writing;

• The applicant’s CV illustrates familiarity with and experience in research into the study of Greek and Latin literature, preferably with interests in rhetorical theory and literary criticism;

• The applicant has a good reading competence in Greek, Latin, French, Italian and German in addition to an excellent command of English in reading, writing and speaking;

• The applicant is able to work both independently and as part of a team;

• The applicant undertakes to finish the proposed Ph.D. research within 4 years;

• The Ph.D. research should result in a doctor’s degree from the Faculty of the Humanities of Leiden University under the primary supervision of Prof. dr. Ineke Sluiter.

What we offer

The successful applicant is initially appointed for a period of 12 months, with the preferred starting date of February 1st 2014. After positive evaluation of capabilities and compatibility and if progress is satisfactory, the appointment will be extended by another 3 years. The appointment must lead to the completion of a Ph.D. thesis. Appointment will be under the terms of the CAO (collective labour agreement) of the Dutch Universities.

The gross monthly salary is set on € 2.083,- in the first year up to € 2.664,- gross per month in year four. This is based upon a fulltime employment and in conformity with current salary scales under the collective employment agreement (CAO) for Dutch Universities.

An appointment with Leiden University includes a pension build-up and facilitates other benefits such as an annual holiday premium of 8% and an end-of-year premium of 8,3%. Candidates from outside the Netherlands may be eligible for a substantial tax break.

Further information

For more information, please contact Dr. Casper C. de Jonge: e-mail:c.c.de.jonge@hum.leidenuniv.nl and for information about LUCAS seehttp://hum.leiden.edu/lucas/.

How to apply

Please submit your application letter (with the vacancy number) and Curriculum vitae before 10 October 2013, tovacaturesLUCAS@hum.leidenuniv.nl and c.c.de.jonge@hum.leidenuniv.nl. You are also requested to ask two scholars familiar with your work to send reference letters to the same addresses. We may also contact these referees directly in case we need more information. 

Please add to your application the following appendices: the MA thesis, a copy of relevant course assessments and the MA degree certificate, and other relevant documentation such as certificates of relevant language courses. 

Note that the procedure will include interviews. Selected candidates will be invited for an interview in Leiden. They will also be asked to submit a short research proposal concerning the topic of one of the PhD positions. Interviews are scheduled to take place 1-5 November 2013.

Further Information

Application Deadline : 10 October 2013

Download this Call as PDF

Please give reference of Scholarships-Links.com when applying for above scholarship.