Applications are invited for two three-year fellowships (36 months) to undertake doctorates in the context of ForSEAdiscovery, a large research project funded by the European Union (Call identifier: FP7-PEOPLE-2013-ITN) with fourteen participating academic institutions from nine countries (see forseadiscovery.eu). Two PhD candidates will be based at the University of Groningen.

ForSEAdiscovery (in full: Forest Resources for Iberian Empires: Ecology and Globalization in the Age of Discovery) focuses on the construction of ocean-going ships of the Iberian Empires during the Age of Discovery and European Expansion. Large-scale shipbuilding made unprecedented demands on Iberian forests for the supply of construction timber. Forestry and sea power became inextricably linked, creating new geopolitical tensions, alliances and forest regulations. Key questions in this context are: could Iberian forest resources sustain the increasing demand of sound timber, or was the wood imported from elsewhere? If so, how were the trade networks organized? And did the lack of raw material force the technological changes that occurred in shipbuilding in the 16th century, or were they a result of exchange between Mediterranean and Atlantic shipbuilding traditions?

The candidates will work in an international and interdisciplinary environment involving regular participation in workshops and courses abroad.

In the course of the fellowship the candidates will be seconded for a few weeks at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa in Lisbon, Portugal, and at the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) in Madrid, Spain.

The candidates will use the Danish Sound Toll Registers and Dutch sources such as the Amsterdam notarial archives. Alternatively, we welcome the study of similar sources kept in archives in other countries, for instance in the Baltic and North Sea regions, depending on the applicant’s language skills.

Applicants are requested to briefly outline their specific research proposals. For further details see below under ‘application.’

One PhD candidate will:

• collect in the historiography, existing databases and archival sources quantitative information concerning the timber trade and transport between Northern Europe and Atlantic Iberia (1500-1800) and analyze and explain that information
• produce (1) a database containing information about the volume of timber trade and transport between Northern Europe and Atlantic Iberia (1500-1800) and about Northern European areas supplying timber for shipbuilding in Atlantic Iberia (1500-1800) and (2) a dissertation in which this information is studied

The other PhD candidate will:

• collect in the historiography, existing databases and archival sources information about networks of merchants involved in the timber trade and transport between Northern Europe and the Iberian Peninsula serving the Atlantic Iberian shipbuilding industry (1500-1800) and analyze and explain the mechanisms of these networks
• produce (1) a database containing information about the merchant networks in the timber trade and transport between Northern Europe and the Iberian Peninsula serving the Atlantic Iberian shipbuilding industry (1500-1800) and about Northern European areas supplying shipbuilding timber to Atlantic Iberia (1500-1800) and (2) a dissertation in which this information is studied

Qualifications

• MA degree in Early Modern (Economic or Social) History, History of the European Expansion, Global History or World History
• languages: English is indispensable, Dutch an asset, a basic working knowledge of Spanish and/or Portuguese useful, any other language necessary depending on the sources you propose to use
• basic ability to read early modern handwriting
• ability to work independently and as part of a team

In accordance with the criteria set out by Marie Curie Innovative Doctoral Program, the candidates must not have resided or carried out main activity (work, study, etc.) in The Netherlands for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to taking up the fellowship. At the time of recruitment the candidates must not yet have been awarded the doctoral degree and must not have worked for longer than four years in scientific research.

For full details and to apply, please visit: http://www.rug.nl/about-us/work-with-us/job-opportunities/overview?details=00347-02S00047TP

Applications close 3 October 2014.

The Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Technische Universität Berlin offer six scholarships for a PhD in History at the International Max Planck Research School for Moral Economies of Modern Societies (IMPRS Moral Economies).

The PhD program of the IMPRS Moral Economies supports research projects that investigate the values, emotions, and habits that informed and inspired modern social formations, particularly in Europe, North America, and South Asia. The relationship between modern history of emotions and the development, consolidation and transformation of morals stands at the center of the research focus.

Highly motivated M. A. (respectively M. Phil. or equivalent) graduates in History or a related field (e.g. Cultural Studies, Anthropology, Sociology, Political Science, Literature) with an outstanding academic record and a strong interest in the relevant topics are encouraged to apply.

Application deadline: December 1, 2014.

Please see www.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/imprs-mems for details regarding the application process and admission. For further queries please contact Monika Freier at moral.economies@mpib-berlin.mpg.de

The PhD scholarships will commence on October 1st, 2015. Candidates admitted to the IMPRS Moral Economies receive a monthly grant to cover their living expenses, presently set at 1,365€. The funding is initially for two years, with consecutive extensions up to a maximum of four years, pending successful progress evaluations.