Seven Phd Candidates

The DFG Research Training Group “East Asian Futures: Visions and Realizations on National, Transregional and Global Scales” (GRK 2833) at the Ruhr University Bochum and the University of Duisburg-Essen is looking for
- The interdisciplinary research training group GRK 2833 solicits doctoral dissertations for research on East Asian projections and conceptions of the future: how they emerged, on what premises they were based, and how they have been and continue to be applied to the paradigmatic fields of (1) language, religion, and ideology, (2) self and society, (3) resources and technology, and (4) sovereignty and governance.

The temporal focus is on the modern and contemporary periods. The relevant fields of research are
- Area studies: Sinology/Chinese Studies, Japanese Studies, Korean Studies
- and/or further disciplines with a strong focus on East Asia, such as Social Sciences (Political Science, Economics, Sociology), History, Religious Studies, Linguistics, Literary Studies.

**extent**:

- part-time

**duration**:

- temporary, until 30.09.2029

**beginning**:

- 01.10.2025
- 31.01.2025

**Your tasks**:

- Conducting doctoral research, including fieldwork in East Asia
- Submitting a doctoral thesis after max. four years.
- Active participation in the structured, English-language doctoral curriculum of the research training group GRK 2833.
- Active participation in the outreach activities of the research training group.

**Your profile**:

- You hold an above-average Master’s degree (or equivalent qualification) in a discipline relevant to the chosen project.
- You command the ability to formulate an original research question independently and to plan a research design to answer the question.
- You are highly motivated to work in an interdisciplinary research environment
- You have excellent written and oral skills in English and a high command of at least one East Asian language (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tibetan, classical and/or modern).
- You are willing to conduct academic research also in a non-European context.
- You have a strong interest and an initial idea for a doctoral project in the research programme East Asian Futures, relating to one or several of the four subthemes.

**Our offerings**:

- You will benefit from being a member of the AREA Ruhr with its wide research network and of the respective graduate centres Research School at RUB and Graduate Centre Plus at UDE under the umbrella of the Research Academy Ruhr (RAR), which provide research and learning environments with structured guidance on academic skills training, support for attending conferences, and manifold opportunities for networking and career development.
- Team-oriented cooperation in a committed, international and appreciative team
- employment at one of the largest universities in Germany within the University Alliance Ruhr
- Support in balancing family and career/academia (including childcare arrangements, vacation offers, mobile nursery)
- Callenging and varied tasks with a high level of personal responsibility

**Additional information**:
The doctoral studies will be conducted at the Faculty of East Asian Studies at the Ruhr University Bochum (RUB) and the Institute of East Asian Studies at the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE), respectively its constituting faculties, with periods of field work and archival / library research in East Asia. The participating researchers cooperate and coordinate their activities in the Alliance for Research on East Asia (AREA) Ruhr.

GRK 2833 is supported by a grant of the German Research Foundation DFG funded by the German federal government and the federal states. For further information on the research programme and the curriculum for doctoral researchers, please refer to the GRK 2833 website.

All interviews will be conducted online.

If the position is funded by third-party funds, the employee has no teaching obligation.

German language courses are offered by the University Language Center (ZfA) in the field of German as a Foreign Language (DaF).

Simone Kortung, Phone: +49234 32 12279
Nora Brasse, Phone: +49234 32 12116

Travel expenses for interviews cannot be refunded.