Postdoctoral position: History of Interwar Czechoslovakia

Your position

As a postdoctoral researcher, you will contribute to the overall project through an autonomous study on the history of policing and/or surveillance in interwar Czechoslovakia, providing a crucial complement to the examination of political prosecution conducted by other team members. In their efforts to defend the state, the Czechoslovak government and judiciary relied heavily on the security apparatus to monitor the population and verify its loyalty. Possible postdoctoral projects could focus on the institutional history of such organs as the police, gendarmerie, army, or border guard; on everyday practices of policing and surveillance; on cultural perceptions and representations of the security apparatus; or on international security cooperation.

You will be expected to

• conduct independent research and complete either your first monograph or 2–3 peer-reviewed articles (depending on your career stage);
• actively participate in advancing the project’s overall research goals, participate in team meetings and the first-year reading class, and collaborate closely with your team mates;
• help with administrative tasks, conference organization, communication tasks.

You will be encouraged to

• take on a co-mentoring role for the project’s two doctoral students;
• teach one or two courses at the Department of History;
• communicate the results of your research to a broader audience (through blogs, podcasts, social media etc).

Your profile

• You must hold a PhD (or equivalent) in History.
• You should have previously worked on the modern history of East Central Europe.
• You must be fluent in English, our team’s working language, and have good working knowledge of Czech, the main administrative language of interwar Czechoslovakia. Additional relevant language proficiency, especially in German, is very welcome.
• You should be eager to participate in team work culture and contribute to the overall project goals.
• Finally, you are flexible to travel for the project, and you are able to be present in Basel in term time during the contract period.

We offer you

• A fully funded postdoctoral position (3 years) at the History Department at the University of Basel, Switzerland.
• A motivated team that will support your ideas, research, and career in a stimulating, welcoming and multicultural environment.
• Salary and social benefits are provided according to Swiss standards and University of Basel rules.
• Generous travel funding for all team members is included in the project grant.