Herzog Ernst Scholarships

With the Herzog-Ernst scholarships at the Gotha Research Library and the Gotha Research Centre of the University of Erfurt as well as at theCentre for Transcultural Studies / Perthes Collection the academic study of the library's holdings and the historical collections of the Justus Perthes Gotha publishing house is promoted. The academic content of the programme aims to take account of the diverse holdings and the universality of the Gotha library. The programme has an open thematic and disciplinary character. In addition, the holdings of the Thuringian State Archives - Gotha State Archives and the Friedenstein Castle Gotha Foundation can also be included in the research programme. For orientation purposes, the following thematic focuses are mentioned here, which reflect the research library's particularly prominent collection areas:

• Culture of the European royal court using the example of Gotha
• Cultures of knowledge and science as a history of globalisation, transfer and interdependence, 16th to 20th centuries
• Reception and history of European literature, primarily 16th to early 19th century
• History of publishing and the book trade
• History of the religious cultures of classical antiquity, Protestantism and Islam
• Philosophy and history of the German and European Enlightenment
• Heterodoxy, dissidence and subversion
• History of science and knowledge in the humanities, e.g. numismatics, oriental studies, philology
• History of knowledge in the natural sciences, e.g. alchemy, astronomy and botany
• History of knowledge of space-orientated disciplines, e.g. geography, geology, ethnology, meteorology and statistics, 16th to 20th century
• Cartographic and colonial history (especially from the perspective of the history of Africa, Asia and Latin America), cartography and politics ("critical geopolitics", history of slavery, history of the oceans)
• Global history in personal testimonies (e.g. correspondence)
• Object history and historical research on material culture
• Collections and museum studies

The following scholarships are awarded for scholarly work on the Gotha collections:

1. Herzog-Ernst scholarships for doctoral candidates (amounting to 1,300 euros per month, plus a family allowance of 100 euros per month if applicable) for a maximum period of nine months;
2. Herzog-Ernst scholarships for postdoctoral researchers (amounting to 1,800 euros per month, plus a family allowance of 100 euros per month if applicable) for a maximum period of six months.

In 2024, the University of Erfurt was once again awarded the berufundfamilie / family-friendly university audit certificate, recognising it as a particularly family-friendly university. We help academics with children to find childcare options.

Depending on their focus, scholarship holders are assigned to the Gotha Research Centre at the University of Erfurt or to the Centre for Transcultural Studies / Perthes Collection collection. They participate in academic life on the Gotha campus and report on their research project in a public colloquium lecture. After completing their studies, they will also submit a report on the knowledge gained from the Gotha library collections and write a blog post about it. Residency in Gotha is compulsory for the duration of the scholarship. The earliest scholarship start date is 1 February 2025.

The programme is funded by the Ernst Abbe Foundation

To the application