Deadline: 1st Mar 2026
The Chair for Sinology with a focus on the Intellectual and Cultural History of China — Institute for Near Eastern and East Asian Languages and Civilizations — at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg (Germany) invites applications for the position of a PhD student (f/m/d) with an interest in modern or contemporary history of the sciences in China, the transregional history of science, or the global history of mathematics.
The position is associated with the interdisciplinary project “The Language of Algorithmic Mathematics” funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Although this project has a digital humanities component and mathematics expressed in natural language, we also welcome research that focuses on small corpora of texts, specific mathematical domains, or the history of modern symbolic mathematics in China. Together with the other project members the applicant will conduct research on the history of mathematics in China in a global/transregional perspective and contribute to the following activities:
- Coordination of research activities in the project (research seminar, fellow invitations)
- support for the organization of conferences and project related publications
The successful candidate is expected to have the following qualifications:
- a Master degree in Chinese studies, mathematical sciences or computational linguistics,
- an understanding of mathematical concepts,
- preferably research experience in China, Hong Kong and/or Taiwan,
- experience in interdisciplinary and international academic contexts,
- excellent knowledge of working languages English and Chinese.
We provide an innovative and supportive environment with a yearly travel budget to allow for archival research, field work, and international conference participation. The position is to be filled at latest by October 1st, 2026.
FAU is a family-friendly employer and intends to increase the number of women in research and teaching positions and, therefore, strongly encourages female researchers to apply. In its pursuit of academic excellence, FAU is committed to equality of opportunity and to a proactive and inclusive approach, which supports and encourages all under-represented groups, promotes an inclusive culture and values diversity.
Please apply by submitting a letter of motivation, a CV, a project description (ca. 1000 words) and contact information (incl. email addresses) for two academic references by March 1st, 2026 to Prof. Dr. Andrea Bréard andrea.breard@fau.de. Inquiries concerning the position may be directed to the project leader beforehand.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Andrea Bréard 白安雅 教授
Chair of Sinology with a focus on the Intellectual and Cultural History of China (Alexander von Humboldt-
Professor)
Department of Classical World and Asian Cultures
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Artilleriestraße 70
D-91052 Erlangen
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