Professur für Umwelt- und Technikgeschichte I - englische Fassung bei Universität Passau

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The University of Passau owes its strong visibility and good repute to excellent research,
innovative teaching and its tight-knit international academic networks. Some 11,000 students
and 1,300 staff study and work on our University campus, which is located a stone’s throw
from the historical Old Town of Passau and combines state-of-the-art technical infrastructure
with award-winning architecture. Internationally successful high-tech companies and a
vibrant start-up scene, coupled with a rich culture and Lower Bavarian traditions, give
Passau and the surrounding area a special appeal that makes it a great place to live and
work.

The Professorship of Environmental and Technology History at the University of Passau
invites applications for the position of

Graduate Research Assistant (doctoral candidate)

starting 1 April 2024.

This is a part-time position, amounting to 0.65 full time equivalent (FTE) based on a fixed-
term contract with a term of four years.

Duties and responsibilities

• Collaborate on the DFG-funded research sub-project “Bells, Drums and Muezzins –

Colonial (In)Tolerance of Religious Sounds” as part of the DFG Research Unit “The
Difficulty and Possibility of Tolerance: The Multifaceted Challenges of the Concept and
Practice of Tolerance” (University of Kiel)
Project summary: Modern colonial empires were multi-ethnic and multi-religious
formations that partly legitimated their conquests and overrule by the alleged need to
‘pacify’ the so-called ‘uncivilised’ peoples by offering them religious freedom and
tolerance. This project tackles the contradictions of this history of religious (in)tolerance
within colonial societies of the British Empire by focusing on practices and negotiations of
(inter)religious sound tolerance. Social concepts of in-group and out-group are key to
understanding disapproval or acceptance of sounds in a multi-religious colonial context.
When colonial urbanisation led to a confrontation of different religious rules and
performances regarding noise in public spaces, religious authorities complained to
colonial police stations about ‘noise pollution’ by profane groups or other religious
communities. At the same time, neighbouring residents of churches, mosques or
traditional African initiation societies demanded that the Muslim call to prayer, church
bells or drumming at night be banned. The project analyses the technical, political and
judicial measures by which the British colonial governments navigated these local
conflicts. The project includes the selected colonial metropolis(es) Accra (Ghana) and/or
Mombasa (Kenya).

• Conduct your own doctoral research within this DFG project.

Person specification

• Must have a master’s degree (or equivalent) in history and/or ethnology, Islamic or

religious studies

• Bachelor’s dissertation, master’s thesis and/or doctoral project abstract in the research

areas of tolerance/colonial/global/sound/technology/legal history or missionary history

• Interested in archival research, travel, teamwork and interdisciplinary cooperation

What we offer you

• Remuneration in accordance with pay grade E13 (pro rata at 65%) of the German public-

sector collective agreement TV-L; the salary step depends on your qualifications and
experience.

• A rewarding, diverse and challenging academic position in an interdisciplinary research

unit.

• A great work climate in a family-friendly environment.

The University of Passau wishes to increase the proportion of its female staff and expressly
encourages women to apply for the position.

This position is suitable for candidates who are registered disabled. Persons with disabilities
are given preference over non-disabled applicants who do not otherwise have statutory
preferential status if their overall personal aptitudes, skills and qualifications are equal.

If you have any further questions about this position, please contact Professor Stephanie
Zehnle by e-mail (stephanie.zehnle@uni-passau.de).

To apply, please send your full application, including all supporting documents (such as your
curriculum vitae and school, training and work certificates) as a single pdf file to
libuse.dekretova@uni-passau.de (secretary) by no later than 30 November 2023. E-mailed
applications are kept on file for six months after the conclusion of the appointment procedure,
whereupon they are deleted from our systems.

Please visit www.uni-passau.de/en/university/current-vacancies for our data privacy