Functieomschrijving
Project description
The researcher will carry out research on Buddhist scriptures. This is part of the ERC-funded project, “The Composition of Buddhist Scriptures: Open Philology” headed by Professor Jonathan A. Silk. Details of the project may be found at https://leidenuniv.academia.edu/JASilk. The project is working to develop architectures for editing Buddhist scriptures which by their nature lack an Ur-text, and therefore cannot be edited in a traditional stemmatic fashion. Candidates are asked to familiarize themselves with the proposal before submitting an application.
The researcher will contribute to a database which will provide the materials for alignment of the Tibetan and Chinese translations of the Mahāratnakūṭa collection of sūtras, will work on this alignment itself, and will, normally, edit and critically study one or more of the sūtras in this collection. 30% of this appointment will be dedicated to teaching.
The postholder will have high level knowledge of the relevant Buddhist languages, optimally Chinese, Tibetan and Sanskrit.
Key responsibilities
- Study one or more sūtras of the Mahāratnakūṭa collection;
- Assist in alignment of the Chinese and Tibetan editions of the Mahāratnakūṭa collection;
- Cooperate in the supervision of PhD students;
- Carry out and publish original research;
- Facilitate joint activities and data sharing;
- Disseminate the project to non-academic parties and on social media.
- A PhD degree in Buddhist Studies or a related field. Candidates near completion of the degree will be considered;
- Excellent command of the relevant languages, ideally: Chinese, Tibetan and Sanskrit;
- High level of academic spoken and written English;
- Expertise in research on scriptures;
- A research and publication record that is commensurate with career stage;
- Commitment to high-quality research, publication, and dissemination;
- Ability to plan and execute tasks independently and punctually;
- Ability to work as part of and in support of a larger team.
Conditions
We offer a fixed-term post, for 38 hours per week, from January 2019 and run through December 2022. Other start dates are possible, but the project officially ends 31 December 2022. Salary range, depending on education and work experience, from €3,545 to €4,852 (pay scale 11 in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities) gross per month, based on a full-time appointment.
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.
Diversity
Leiden University is strongly committed to diversity within its community and especially welcomes applications from members of underrepresented groups.
Additional information
Enquiries can be directed to Jonathan Silk email, j.a.silk@hum.leidenuniv.nl.
Applications
Applications must be received no later than 31 August 2018. Applications should be in English, and be submitted vacatureslias@hum.leidenuniv.nl. Please ensure that you include in a single PDF document named ‘FAMILY NAME – Given name – vacancy number and in this order:
- A CV including education history and publications;
- Teaching evaluations, if available, and a sample syllabus for a course on some area of Buddhist Studies
- A letter of motivation;
- One sample publication or other piece of written work (e.g. thesis chapter);
- Names, positions and email addresses of two referees (no reference letters).
Enquiries from agencies are not appreciated.
