Two PhD vacancies: exploring the history of early childcare in Central and Eastern Europe – LU
The Leiden Institute for Area Studies (LIAS) is looking for two PhD candidates. These candidates will become part of a research team exploring a century of early childcare and the invisible work linked to the first 1,000 days of human life in modern central and eastern Europe led by Prof. dr. Sarah A. Cramsey. The positions are fully funded under the ERC Starting Grant scheme (project CARECENTURY). The expected starting date is 1 September 2025.
Project description:
How did caretakers rooted in families, communities and societies nurture very young children across historical time? And, how have care practices changed across different peoples, states and political economies in the dynamic 20th century? This ambitious project answers these important, yet mostly overlooked, questions with a comparative study of early childcare in central and eastern Europe from 1905 to 2004.
The late Habsburg Empire and, after 1918, six of its successor states offer an ideal laboratory to explore how the invisible work of caretaking was impacted by changing political, social and economic circumstances. In this ethnically and religiously diverse region, care continued during depressions, wars, genocides, displacements and revolutions. This project will be the first to study early childcare in this region systematically and conceptualize the history of private and public caretaking in early life more broadly.
To achieve this goal of defining and explaining care practices, this project has three objectives: (1) to show the nature and scope of the invisible work required during the first 1,000 days of life using unexamined voices, spaces and things; (2) to use insights from sociological and economic literatures to conceptualize and theorize the caretaking regimes of central and eastern Europe and explain continuities and discontinuities of caretaking within one diverse region, and (3) to examine the afterlife of caretaking regimes after 1989 and European Union expansion, while also exploring the legacies and debates about caretaking which endure today.
This project hypothesizes that caretaking regimes–a collection of medical beliefs, moral assumptions, new technologies and advances in material culture–interacted with changing political economies and inherited religious and ethnic sensitivities. Variations across this interaction explain how and why caretakers utilized some early childcare practices and not others within this illuminating milieu.
PhD Projects
We are looking for candidates to focus on one of the following two overarching themes: the history of playgrounds and play spaces in central and eastern Europe; and the history of the materiality of early childcare more generally in central and eastern Europe. The PhD projects may focus on any part of the former Habsburg Empire and its successor states (former Czechoslovakia, former Yugoslavia, Romania, Poland, Hungary and Austria). Relevant language competencies (especially in Slavic languages, Hungarian, Romanian, German, Yiddish, Hebrew and Arabic) is strongly preferred.
Key responsibilities:
- Completion of a PhD thesis within four years;
- Participation in meetings of the project research group;
- Presentations of intermediate research results at workshops and conferences;
- Participation in the training programme of the Graduate School;
- Co-organizing workshops and conferences related to the project and to the Austria Centre Leiden.
Requirements:
- An RMA or MA in History, Area Studies or Religious Studies, held by time of appointment, with an MA thesis of high quality. If the degree is not yet obtained at the time of application, please include a statement by the applicant’s thesis advisor which confirms that it will be obtained by time of appointment;
- A demonstrable affinity with the history of central and eastern Europe along with a documented interest in any of the following histories: childhood, children, materiality, space, gender, labor and/or medicine;
- Well-developed archival and research skills;
- Ability to work both independently and as part of an (international) team;
- Excellent command of English and at least one additional language. Ability to speak or willingness to learn Dutch;
- Strong writing skills.
Information about application
For more information on how to apply for these PhD positions, please visit this website. The deadline for applications is 11 April 2025.
