The Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics (MPIEA) investigates why and how people create art and how they perform, experience, and evaluate it. The Institute’s focus is on music, but we also engage with other arts such as literature, film, and dance.
The Research Group Cultural Evolution of the Arts invites applications for a Postdoctoral Position.
Responsibilities
The postdoctoral researcher will work with Dr. Sobchuk on researching the macroevolution of European literature between 1800 and 2000 across all major European languages. The position will focus on developing computational methods for analyzing and visualizing literary data. This includes developing new methods for inferring influence between authors and literary works, representing these influences through dynamic networks and directed graphs, and creating effective visualizations of large-scale literary networks. Using these inferred connections and networks, we will tackle big-picture questions about the evolution of European literature, such as why new genres emerge or disappear, why certain authors become famous while others do not, and how styles and topics are transmitted across time and space.
Essential Requirements
- Doctoral Degree in computational humanities, computational social science, or a related field;
- Willingness to participate in interdisciplinary research at the intersection of the humanities and social sciences;
- Fluency in written and spoken English;
- Strong teamwork skills;
- Proven ability to independently design and conduct computational studies;
- Interest in learning and developing new computational methods.
Desired Requirements
- Experience working with large datasets;
- Excellent computational analysis skills;
- Proficiency in R or Python;
- Solid knowledge of statistics;
- Experience in web development for interactive data visualization.
Position Details
The research will be conducted at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt am Main. The MPIAE offers a highly interdisciplinary and international scientific environment, with English serving as the primary language of communication. The position is available from the earliest possible starting date, is offered for a fixed term of two years with the possibility of extension, and has a working time of 39 hours per week. Compensation is based on the Collective Wage Agreement for the Civil Service (TVöD Bund E13) and includes an annual bonus.
The Max Planck Society is committed to diversity, equal opportunities, and inclusion. Applications from individuals with severe disabilities and women are explicitly encouraged.
Questions about the project may be directed to Dr. Sobchuk at job@ae.mpg.de.
Postdoctoral Position in Computational Humanities to Research the Macroevolution of European Li[...] Arbeitgeber: Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics
Das Max-Planck-Institut für empirische Ästhetik bietet eine inspirierende Arbeitsumgebung, die sich der Erforschung von Kunst und deren Wahrnehmung widmet. Mit einem interdisziplinären Ansatz fördert das Institut nicht nur die persönliche und berufliche Weiterentwicklung seiner Mitarbeiter, sondern legt auch großen Wert auf Vielfalt und Chancengleichheit. In Frankfurt am Main gelegen, profitieren die Mitarbeiter von einer dynamischen Stadt mit einem reichen kulturellen Angebot und zahlreichen Möglichkeiten zur Vernetzung.
Kontaktdaten:
Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics Recruiting-Team
