Friedenstein Fellowship for Early Modern Research

Job advertisement reference number FZG_01/2025

The Gotha Research Centre of the University of Erfurt is awarding for the academic year 2026/27 (1 April 2026 to 31 March 2017) a 

Friedenstein Fellowship for Early Modern Research (f/m/d) (remunerated up to salary grade W3)

The Gotha Research Centre (FZG) is a research institute of the University of Erfurt. It initiates and coordinates interdisciplinary research projects on the cultural and intellectual history of the 16th to early 19th centuries, organises international conferences, workshops and lectures, and enables international early career researchers, postdocs and senior scholars to conduct research based on the Gotha collections through several research fellowships. The FZG cooperates with scholars and research institutions in Germany and across the world and is involved in academic teaching at the University of Erfurt. Together with the Gotha Research Library, it publishes the series ‘Gothaer Forschungen zur Frühen Neuzeit’.

Area of Responsibility

During your time in Gotha, you will focus on a long-term research project in the area of early modern studies, preferably with reference to the universal holdings of the Gotha Research Library and/or the collections of the Friedenstein Foundation Gotha and, if applicable, the Gotha States Archives.

You will work with the current scholars and chair the bi-weekly colloquium. In this function, you will foster interdisciplinary collaboration with scholars from different regions, cultures and generations who are conducting research in Gotha. 

Supported by the Managing Director of the FZG, you will participate in planning the centre's academic programme, provide impulses for future research projects and collaborations, and conduct a workshop or conference on a topic of your choice, ideally connected to your long-term research project while in Gotha. This includes the responsibility for the content and editing of the project’s publication.

In addition, you will be expected to communicate any results of your fellowship in Gotha to the scientific community and the wider interested public in an appropriate form, for example through lectures, publications, newspaper articles, interviews, podcasts, etc.

What we expect

• doctorate and preferably additional academic achievements, proven by a postdoctoral qualification (habilitation or equivalent) or an assistant/junior professorship

• excellent research on the early modern period• experience and a strong interest in interdisciplinary research

• academic curiosity and willingness to engage in dialogue 

• openness to discussion and cooperation with the other Gotha based institutions

• on-site presence in Gotha for the greater part of the week and active participation in the research centre's academic events.

What we offer

With the universal collections of the Friedenstein Foundation Gotha, the Gotha Research Library and the holdings of the Thuringian State Archives – State Archive Gotha, as well as several research institutions – Gotha is one of the outstanding centres for collections and research on the cultural history of the early modern and modern periods in Germany. This makes the Gotha campus of the University of Erfurt a stimulating research and working environment.

The fellowship can be taken for 6 or 12 months (summer semester 2026 and winter semester 2026/27) which makes it very suitable for someone taking a leave of absence from a professorship or other academic position. The type of contract and remuneration (up to grade W3) depend on the personal qualifications of the candidate.

The fellowship includes budget of up to EUR 5,000 for holding the workshop or conference and the subsequent publication of the conference contributions in the ‘Gothaer Forschungen zur Frühen Neuzeit’ by Franz Steiner Verlag Stuttgart. The Research Centre will provide editorial support for the publication process as well as actively support the planning and implementation of the event.

The Research Centre's office facilities will provide the necessary space, technical and personnel infrastructure and associated support (office, IT, secretarial services, student assistants). Furthermore, a fully equipped guest apartment will be available for private use free of charge for the duration of the fellowship in Gotha (subject to availability).