The Faculty of Catholic Theology at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU), Germany, is inviting applications for two Doctoral Researcher Positions.
The positions will be available to start April 1st 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter and will be fixed-term for an initial period of three years, with the possibility of extension for up to one and a half years after successful evaluation. The position is part-time (65%). Remuneration will be based on the collective agreement for the public service of German federal states (Tarifvertrag für den öffentlichen Dienst der Länder, TV-L). The position is part of the interdisciplinary Junior Research Group “Ancient Antisemitism”.
The Junior Research Group is devoted to the study of antisemitic and anti-Jewish source material of Hellenistic and Roman pagan and early Christian times as well as their conscious implementation in scholarship of the Altertumswissenschaften during the decades of 1870 and 1920. Special attention shall be given to the motives, agendas, argumentations and political consequences of this Jew-hatred.
The two PhD theses belong to the part of the project researching Antiquity. From a classical studies perspective one of the following fields should be investigated:
– Jewish strategies against antisemitism
– Egypt and Alexandria as hot spots
– Bishops’ treatment of Jewish (Diaspora) communities
– Christian adversus Iudaeos and pagan de Iudaeis texts
The group is led by Dr. A. Judith Göppinger and is part of a collaboration of the Faculties of Catholic Theology and Philosophy. The group is funded by the programme “Excellent Ideas II”.
Duties/responsibilities:
• participation in the research and teaching projects of the Junior Research Group
• teaching interdisciplinary courses amounting to three weekly hours per semester
• conducting an individual doctoral project in the research field of the Junior Research Group (based at the Graduate School of the Humanities)
Qualifications:
• an above-average university degree in the fields of Ancient History, Theology, Classical Philology, Jewish Studies or any other classical study relevant to the subject (required)
• expertise or interest in study of Antisemitism, Second Temple or Hellenistic Judaism and ancient Jewish history (required)
• proficiency in Latin and/or Ancient Greek and/or Hebrew (desirable)
The JMU aims to reduce the underrepresentation of women and therefore explicitly encourages qualified women to apply. Severely handicapped applicants will be given preferential consideration in the case of broadly equal suitability, ability and professional achievements.
The following documents need to be sent by 20.03.2026 to theologie-dekanat@uni-wuerzburg.de as one PDF-document: cover letter, curriculum vitae, degrees, writing sample (ca. 10 pages), project draft.