Post-doc fellow Ibitéekerezo

Ghent University is a world of its own. Employing more than 15,000 people, it is actively involved in education and research, management and administration, as well as technical and social service provision on a daily basis. It is one of the largest, most exciting employers in the area and offers great career opportunities. With its 11 faculties and more than 80 departments offering state-of-the-art study programmes grounded in research in a wide range of academic fields, Ghent University is a logical choice for its staff and students.

WHAT IS THIS ABOUT?

The Ibitéekerezo are possibly the largest corpus of oral sources for the history of Central Africa. They have been collected by Jan Vansina in the 1950s, and they are part of the collection of the Africamuseum in Tervuren. However, notwithstanding their unparallelled importance for the (pre-colonial) history of Rwanda, they are not available for broader audiences. This is partly the result of their large volume, but also because of their complex nature: they require a combined expertise of mastery of Rwandan history and linguïstic capacities in Kinyarwanda and French and/or English to make them available to broader audiences beyond the archives.

YOUR TASKS

• You are working, together with Gillian Mathys, on a contextual source publication of the Ibitéekerezo.
• You make a selection from the source corpus for the critical edition, in collaboration with Gillian Mathys, and through consultation with other stakeholders researchers.
• You are responsible for new translations and additional historical research on the context of the collection of these Ibitéekerezo.
• You may be asked to conduct additional research in Rwanda.
• You are responsible for thinking about and organizing science communication about the Ibitéekerezo in Belgium, Rwanda and elsewhere.
• You actively contribute to the activities of the research group Economies, Comparisons, Connections (ECC) and of the History Department at UGent in general.
• You may be asked to participate in teaching tasks to a limited extent, but at least 80 percent of your work consists of research.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

• You have a Doctoral degree in history, with demonstrable experience in African history, or in African Studies.
• You have an excellent command of Kinyarwanda.
• You are able to communicate fluently in French and English
• You have preferably worked on the history of Rwanda (pre-colonial and/or colonial).
• You preferably have previous experience with doing research in Rwanda.
• You can demonstrate experience with publishing in academic outlets.
• You preferably have some experience with science communication.

WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU

• We offer you a contract of definite duration for the period of 1 year.
•  Your contract will start on 1/10/2024 at the earliest.
• Your remuneration will be determined by salary scale WM1 to WM4 (if you hold a Master’s degree) or salary scale PD1 to PD4 (if you hold a doctorate).  Click here for more information about our salary scales.
• All Ghent University staff members enjoy a number of benefits, such as a wide range of training and education opportunities, 36 days of holiday leave (on an annual basis for a full-time job) supplemented by annual fixed bridge days, bicycle allowance and eco vouchers. Click here for a complete overview of all the staff benefits (in Dutch).

INTERESTED?

Apply online through the e-recruitment system before the application deadline (see above). We do not accept late applications or applications that are not submitted through the online system.

Your application must include the following documents:

• In the field ‘CV’: your CV and an overview of your study results (merged into one pdf file)
• In the field ‘Cover letter’: your application letter in pdf format
• In the field ‘Diploma’: a transcript of the required degree (if already in your possession). If you have a foreign diploma in a language other than our national languages (Dutch, French or German) or English, please add a translation in one of the mentioned languages.

Note that the maximum file size for each field is 10 MB.

As Ghent University maintains an equal opportunities and diversity policy, everyone is encouraged to apply for this position.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information about this vacancy, please contact Prof. Gillian Mathys (gillian.mathys@UGent.be). Important: do NOT send your application by email, but apply online.

Do you have a question regarding the online application process? Please read the FAQ or contact us via selecties@ugent.be or +32 9 264 34 36