Job description

A Doctoral Research Fellowship (SKO 1017) in Musical and Poetic Creativity in the Western Christian Liturgy, c.1000-1500 is available at the Department of Musicology, University of Oslo.

The Department of Musicology at The University of Oslo invites applications for a PhD Research Fellowship as part of the €2m European Research Council-funded project, BENEDICAMUS: Musical and Poetic Creativity for A Unique Moment in the Western Christian Liturgy, c.1000-1500 (further details here).

The successful candidate will work as part of a team lead by Principal Investigator Catherine A. Bradley, alongside postdoctoral researchers, an international Advisory Board, and the performing ensemble Sequentia.

More about the position

We seek a candidate whose work would intersect with at least one of the specialised areas of the BENEDICAMUS project as well as its broader themes. BENEDICAMUS pursues a transformative focus on creative practices surrounding a particular moment in the Western Christian liturgy: the exclamation Benedicamus Domino (“Let us Bless the Lord”), which sounded in song several times a day from c.1000 to 1500. BENEDICAMUS undertakes the first longue durée study of musical and poetic responses to an exceptional liturgical moment, using this innovative perspective to work productively across established historiographical and disciplinary boundaries. The project encompasses half a millennium of musical and ritual activity, hundreds of musical compositions, poetic texts, and manuscript sources. It engages with the beginnings of musical and poetic genres and techniques that were crucial in shaping practices still current today, reflecting on music’s enduringly complex relationship with spirituality, ritual, and the sacred.

The successful candidate may have a disciplinary background in musicology, cultural studies, history, Latin language and/or literature, liturgy, medieval studies, renaissance studies, ritual studies, or theology.

Candidates are asked to provide a Project Description, in which they outline how their research record, interests, and skills align with the BENEDICAMUS project. The Project Description should explain exactly how candidates would undertake one of the specific PhD projects sketched in the BENEDICAMUS proposal. Candidates may suggest ways in which they would tailor or adapt one of these PhD projects to better suit and develop their existing expertise. Alternatively, candidates are free to design a wholly new project that covers any part of the historical period 1000–15000. This project may differ in the specific methodology, reportorial focus, or disciplinary orientation of the doctoral projects stipulated in the BENEDICAMUS proposal, but it must still fall within the purview of and further the overall aims and outputs of either Work Package 1, 2, or 3.

The Doctoral Research Fellow will be affiliated with the research training programme at the Faculty of Humanities. The fellowship will result in a doctoral thesis that will be defended at the Faculty of Humanities with a view to obtaining the degree of PhD. The successful candidate will be integrated within the BENEDICMAUS team, the lively research community at the Department of Musicology, and the broader interdisciplinary research network of scholars in Medieval and Renaissance Studies in the Faculty of Humanities. Read more about the doctoral degree.

The appointment is for a duration of 3 years. All PhD Candidates who submit their doctoral dissertation for assessment with a written recommendation from their supervisor within 3 years or 3 ½ years after the start of their PhD position, will be offered, respectively, a 12 or 6 month Completion Grant.

Qualification requirements

• A Master's degree or equivalent in musicology, cultural studies, history, Latin language and/or literature, liturgy, medieval studies, renaissance studies, ritual studies, theology, or any other fields that can be demonstrated to offer a solid foundation for research into Musical and Poetic Creativity in the Western Christian Liturgy, c.1000-1500. The Master's degree must have been completed before August 31st 2021
• Fluent oral and written communication skills in English
• Personal suitability and motivation for the position.

To be eligible for admission to the doctoral programmes at the University of Oslo, applicants must, as a minimum, have completed a five-year graduation course (Master’s degree or equivalent), including a Master’s thesis of at least 30 ECTS. In special cases, the Faculty may grant admission on the basis of a one-year Master course following an assessment of the study programme’s scope and quality.

In assessing the applications, special emphasis will be placed on:

• The scholarly merit and relevance of the research proposal
• The applicant's track-record and their potential to complete the proposed project within the time frame
• The applicant's willingness and ability to complete research training
• The applicant’s communication and collaboration skills and ability to participate in interdisciplinary academic communities

Applicants who are recent graduates with excellent results may be given preference.

We offer

• Salary NOK 482 200 – 526 000 per annum depending on qualifications
• A professionally stimulating working environment
• Membership in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• Attractive welfare benefits

How to apply

The application must include:

• Application letter describing the applicant’s qualifications and motivation for the position
• Curriculum Vitae (with a list of education, positions, teaching experience, administrative experience and other qualifying activities, including a complete list of publications)
• Transcript of records of your Bachelor’s and Master's degrees. Applicants with education from a foreign university must attach an explanation of their university's grading system
• Project description, including a detailed progress plan for the project (3 - 5 pages, see Template for project descriptions)

Please note that all documents must be in English language.

Educational certificates, master theses and the like are not to be submitted with the application, but applicants may be asked to submit such information or works later.

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system, please follow the link “Apply for this job”.

Short-listed candidates will be invited for an interview.

Formal regulations

Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Research Fellowships at the University of Oslo.

No one can be appointed for more than one PhD Research Fellowship period at the University of Oslo.

According to the Norwegian Freedom of Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.

The University of Oslo has an Acquisition of Rights Agreement for the purpose of securing rights to intellectual property created by its employees, including research results.

The University of Oslo aims to achieve a balanced gender composition in the workforce and to recruit people with ethnic minority backgrounds.

Contact information

• Head of Department Peter Edwards, e-mail: peter.edwards@imv.uio.no, phone number: +47 99526475
• Project Leader Associate Professor Catherine Anne Bradley, e-mail: c.a.bradley@imv.uio.no, phone number: +47 22854760
• HR Adviser Hilde Kristine Sletner, e-mail: h.k.sletner@hf.uio.no

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