[spectre] STIP: 2 PhD Positions, Research Centre for East European Studies, Bremen

Sat Dec 10 15:15:28 CET 2022

From: Isabel Wünsche
Date: Dec 8, 2022
Subject: STIP: 2 PhD Positions, Research Centre for East European 
Studies, Bremen

Bremen, Mar 1, 2023–Feb 28, 2026
Application deadline: Jan 10, 2023

The joint research training group of the Research Centre for East 
European Studies at the University of Bremen (FSO) and the Russian Art & 
Culture Group at Jacobs University has a vacancy for

2 Doctoral Researcher Positions, part-time (65%) (f/m/d)

in the research project
 From the Avant-Garde to Nonconformism: Soviet Artists and their 
Alternative Practices between Thaw and Stagnation, funded by the German 
Research Foundation, for a period of 3 years.

This is a fixed-term contract for scientific qualification as defined in 
section 2, paragraph 1, of the German Academic Fixed-Term Contract Act 
(Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz – WissZeitVG). Accordingly, only those 
applicants who are still eligible for qualification under these rules 
can be considered.

The research group focuses on the activities of alternative artists and 
artist couples of the Lianozovo and Uktus schools in Moscow, Sverdlovsk, 
and Leningrad and their roles as independent social actors in the Soviet 
Union from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The goal is to analyze their 
diverse artistic practices and re-situate their artistic legacy in the 
history of Russian/Soviet art in the second half of the twentieth century.

Research Project 1 – Reference Number: 1/FSO
The historical PhD study will analyze subject constitution processes of 
artists’ couples such as Ry Nikonova/Sergey Sigey and Oscar 
Rabin/Valentina Kropivnitskaya in order to gain new insights into the 
lives and everyday practices of the Soviet people in the decisive 
transitional phase between thaw and stagnation. It will explore the 
ideas and discourses fundamental to their self-perception and their 
relationship to the state and society in the declining thaw, but also 
the interactions and connections of the mentioned actors within other 
(alternative) milieus.

Research Project 2 – Reference Number: 2/JUB
The PhD project in art history will examine artistic practices and the 
related reception and transfer processes during the period between the 
1962 Manege and 1974 Bulldozer exhibitions. The position of the artists 
of the “thaw generation” between the first—the historical—Russian 
avant-garde and the second Russian avant-garde, which is usually used to 
describe Moscow conceptualism of the 1980s, will be explored further by 
not only considering the term “dissident modernists,” coined by 
Margarita Tupitsyn, but, in particular, Matthew Jesse Jackson’s thesis 
that before the mid-1980s only a few nonconformist artists considered 
themselves members of a movement to revive the historical avant-garde.

The projects are characterized by interdisciplinary collaboration 
between researchers in the fields of Eastern European history and art 
history. The doctoral students will work together under the supervision 
of Prof. Dr. Susanne Schattenberg, University of Bremen, and Prof. Dr. 
Isabel Wünsche, Jacobs University. In their research, they will draw on 
material from the archive of the Research Centre for East European 
Studies at Bremen University and the Nancy and Norton Dodge Collection 
of Nonconformist Art from the Soviet Union at Rutgers, The State 
University of New Jersey, as well as sources from other state and 
non-state archives and museums. The project start date in both cases is 
March 1, 2023.

As equal opportunity employers, both universities follow an equal 
opportunity and diversity strategy. They strive to increase the number 
of women in academia and strongly encourage applications from female 
candidates. International applications are explicitly welcome. Disabled 
persons with the same professional and personal qualifications will be 
given preference.

We invite applications from candidates with a broad academic grounding 
in the research field and a master’s degree (or equivalent) in history 
and art history. Potential candidates with a degree in related 
disciplines are also welcome to apply. Candidates for either project 
must be fluent in English and Russian and have a working knowledge of 
German. For institutional reasons, residency in Bremen is required for 
the duration of the program.

We offer: - excellent opportunities for interdisciplinary research in a 
lively academic environment - access to the Research Centre for East 
European Studies’ library and archive, specializing in the history of 
Soviet dissents and nonconformism
- travel grants for field work
- optional courses for acquiring advanced research skills and 
professional training
- secure employment in academia, competitive salary, a student ticket 
for public transit

Your application should include the following items:
1. letter of application outlining your motivation 2. brief description 
of your interest in and suitability for the proposed research project 
(max. 2–3 pages, PDF). 3. curriculum vitae (with list of publications, 
if available)
4. copies of university certificates and proof of language competence
5. for project 1: a scanned copy of your master’s thesis
6. for project 2: two academic letters of reference; these should 
specifically discuss the applicant’s academic qualifications and 
suitability to conduct research on the proposed topic. Referees should 
send their letters directly to i.wunsche at jacobs-university.de and cc 
fso at uni-bremen.de

Please submit all your documents (with the exception of the reference 
letters) together in one pdf file to both fso at uni-bremen.de and 
i.wunsche at jacobs-university.de by January 10, 2023. Be sure to include 
the reference number of the project you are applying for.

For additional information please contact:
  Prof. Dr. Susanne Schattenberg
Forschungsstelle Osteuropa an der Universität Bremen
Klagenfurter Strasse 8
D-28359 Bremen
Tel: +49 421 218 69624
Fax: +49 421 218 69607
schattenberg at uni-bremen.de
www.forschungsstelle.uni-bremen.de

Prof. Dr. Isabel Wünsche
Jacobs University Bremen gGmbH
Campus Ring 1, Research IV
D-28759 Bremen
Tel. +49-421-200-3311
Fax: +49-421-200-49-3311
E-Mail: i.wunsche at jacobs-university.de
http://iwuensche.user.jacobs-university.de

Reference / Quellennachweis:
STIP: 2 PhD Positions, Research Centre for East European Studies, 
Bremen. In: ArtHist.net, Dec 8, 2022. <https://arthist.net/archive/38114>.

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