The Institute for History at the University of Leiden invites applications for:
1 Postdoc Position (0,8 fte): ‘Imperial Monetary Flows’
The postdoc will become part of the OCW startersbeurs-funded project ‘Reevaluting Conceptions of Imperial Monetary Flow: New Methodologies and Frameworks’, led by Dr. Liesbeth Claes (PI) and Dr. Isaac Scarborough (co-PI). The expected starting date is 1 September 2025; the postdoc position will last for 2 years and 4 months (ending on December 31, 2027).
Project description:
This project suggests a reconceptualisation of pre- and non-capitalist imperial monetary policy, arguing that the existing literature about imperial financial flows has unnecessarily privileged ideas of largesse and seemingly chaotic monetary distribution. Using the divergent cases of the Roman Empire and the Soviet Union, however, this project argues that by tracking existing monetary flows (in the form of issued coinage in the Roman Imperial period and tax balance sheets in the Soviet 1950s-1980s), a more complex picture appears. This new framework for imperial monetary policy includes clear intentionality and directed investment, problematising the existing literature and expanding knowledge about how financial flows and monetary policy have been directed in imperial contexts. The project aims to foster new cross-imperial comparative methodologies to better understand imperial financial flows, monetary agencies, trade balances, and modes of economic development.
We are looking for a postdoctoral candidate to work directly on these methodologies and models: to consider the broad scope of Roman finances, Soviet budgetary policy, and other imperial monetary unions, and consider places of overlap, conceptual synergy, and largescale similarity. The postdoctoral fellow will work closely with a wide variety of quantitative and qualitative data from many different imperial settings, and should be comfortable extrapolating and abstracting from individual contextual settings to larger theoretical arguments. The postdoctoral researcher is expected to bring a critical eye to existing narratives of imperial economic development and finance, and to work with the PI and co-PI to consider how novel models of finance in such settings may reframe global histories of empire.
Key responsibilities:
- Conducting research on the overlap between imperial systems of finance and trade;
- Collating research data and evaluating nodes of methodological comparison between models of imperial monetary flow;
- Teaching one or two relevant courses at Leiden University per year;
- Writing articles, in collaboration with the PI and co-PI, elaborating on new methodologies and comparative findings;
- Giving research-based presentations at workshops and conferences, including those organized by the project;
- Assisting in the organization of conference panels and/or workshops;
- Collaborating with the PI and co-PI on the development, editing, and publishing of an edited volume of papers expanding on the project themes and outcomes.
Requirements:
- A PhD degree, preferably in the field of history, economic history, colonial or imperial history, economics or a related discipline.
- If the degree is not yet obtained at the time of application, the date of the PhD defence should be set before 1 September 2025. A confirmation of this is required from your university or institute.
- Research experience working with imperial financial data, trade balances, or the historical economic outcomes of empires;
- Strong research and writing skills;
- Ability to work both independently and as part of an (international) team;
- Excellent command of English;
- Reading knowledge of Russian and/or Latin are not required but are considered assets:
- Willingness to relocate to the Netherlands.
Information
More information can be found on the project website: https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/research/research-projects/humanities/reevaluating-conceptions-of-imperial-monetary-flow. For more detail, including a full description of the project, contact Dr. Liesbeth Claes ([email protected]).
About our organisation
Since its founding in 1575, Leiden University has acquired an international reputation for excellent teaching and research. With its staff of over 800, the Faculty of Humanities provides 26 Bachelors and 27 Masters programmes for over 7,200 students based at locations in Leiden and The Hague.
The Institute for History is the home of a vibrant community of researchers and lecturers with outstanding track records and successful in attracting national and international research grants.
Under the label ‘Global Questions, Local Sources’ scholars affiliated to the Institute combine a deep knowledge of global interactions and of specific localities, regions and states in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. They use comparative, connective and entangled approaches and resort to qualitative and quantitative research methodologies.
All researchers of the Institute for History are connected to one of the six research specializations: The Unification of the Mediterranean World (400 BC – 400 AD), Collective Identities and Transnational Networks in Medieval and Early Modern Europe, 1000-1800, Political Culture and National Identities, Colonial and Global History, Cities, Migration and Global Interdependence, and History and International Relations. For more information on the Institute for History: https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/humanities/institute-for-history/phd-programme.
Diversity and Inclusion
Leiden University’s Institute for History embraces diversity and seeks candidates who will contribute to a climate that supports students and staff of all identities and backgrounds. We strongly encourage individuals from underrepresented and/or marginalized backgrounds to apply.
Terms and Conditions
We offer a 0,8 fte position for initially one year. After a positive evaluation of the progress of research, personal capabilities and compatibility the appointment will be extended by a further 1 year and 4 months. The salary will be between €4060 and €4537 gross per month for a full appointment (scale 10.4 - 11.0) in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities).
Leiden University offers an attractive benefits package with additional holiday (8%) and end-of-year bonuses (8.3 %), training and career development and sabbatical leave. Our individual choices model gives you some freedom to assemble your own set of terms and conditions. For international spouses we have set up a dual career programme. Candidates from outside the Netherlands may be eligible for a substantial tax break. More at https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/working-at/job-application-procedure-and-employment-conditions
Applications:
Applications should be submitted in English and include a:
- Cover letter;
- Short research essay. In place of a research proposal, we ask that you write a short essay (around 1000 words) responding to the following prompt, considering both the broad contours of our research project and your own perspective on historical economic development.
Prompt: Steven Landsburg, drawing on the work of Angus Maddison, has famously quipped that between the founding of human civilisation and 1800 ‘nothing happened’ in economic terms. J.K. Galbraith has equivalently argued that until the late 17th century, ‘there was little that, as economics is now regarded, needed describing’. By and large, the history of economics has privileged modern market systems as the drivers of growth, with most non- and pre-capitalist economic and financial systems judged at a disadvantage. How would you respond to this viewpoint? What avenues for research and/or theoretical reconsideration could you imagine by pushing back against this discourse? - Curriculum vitae, including publications (if applicable).
Applications should be submitted no later than 15 May 2025 via the blue button in our application system. Please quote the vacancy number in your application. All requested documents should be sent in PDF format.
An interview with the search committee is part of the procedure. The names of two referees (with their email addresses and phone numbers) will be requested at a later stage if candidates are selected for the interview. References do not need to be submitted at this stage.
