Closes: 21st August 2023

The Music Department at King’s College London invites applicants for a 3-year position as a Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA) to work with Professor Emma Dillon and two further PDRAs on the project Musical Lives: Towards an Historical Anthropology of French Song, 1100-1300 [MUSLIVE] (a UKRI Frontier Research Grant, previously ERC). For this post we seek a candidate with background in literary studies, including comparative literary studies, or related fields. The candidate should have experience working with medieval Arabic and/or Hebrew literature. (Please refer to the other vacancies for the backgrounds sought for the two further PDRA positions).

MUSLIVE develops a new methodology for the study of medieval song and poetry within the framework of historical anthropology, drawing practices of historians, musicologists and literary scholars into closer dialogue to better understand how peoples’ lives were shaped by their music. The project centres around a corpus of songs and poetry from the medieval French repertory of trouvère song, c. 1100-1300, and a selection from contemporary traditions including, but not limited to, Arabic and/or Hebrew poetry, as well as an archival investigation of the people associated with these traditions. A team of three PDRAs from diverse disciplinary backgrounds will work with Professor Dillon to build two substantial knowledge-bases dealing with, respectively, songs/poems and people. The evidence generated will be the basis of on-going critical assessment by the team, on occasion working with musicians, to develop new approaches to song and poetry as it pertains to concepts of ‘identity’ (coupling musical evidence with a prosopography-orientated study of makers and performers), ‘itinerary’ (relocating French song in a transnational context, particularly in a Mediterranean context, with focus on the juxtaposition or intersection with other song traditions) and ‘sonic networks’ (examining networking in musical/poetic practice in the context of social networks from Western Europe to the eastern Mediterranean). 

The candidate for this post will be ambitious, imaginative, and accustomed to working both independently and as part of a team. They will divide time between two main research activities. First, an independent research project, demonstrably related to the themes of MUSLIVE. Second, they will work collaboratively with the PI and two other PDRAs on the development of an interdisciplinary methodology for the study of medieval song/poetry as a social practice. To that end, they will continually contribute to the project’s investigation of poetic traditions in the Mediterranean, with a focus on medieval Arabic poetry and/or medieval Hebrew poetry c.1100-1300, ideally in areas including, but not limited to, Al-Andalus, France, Sicily, and/or the Levant. Candidates with additional comparative linguistic expertise, especially including medieval French and/or Latin, are welcomed. They will further advance and share research through travel to UK and international libraries and archives; through regular team collaborations with project musicians; through contribution and design of workshops, seminars and conferences; through publishing both independently and in collaboration with the core team and through public presentations. 

The MUSLIVE team is based in Music at the Strand campus in London. The postholder will join a dynamic and international community, with opportunities for career development and training. They are required to live in/near London for the duration of their employment and be able to undertake some travel for conferences and archival work. 

Deadline: 21^st August, 2023, interviews mid-September.  

Start date: 1st January, 2024 or soon after.  

Duration: fixed-term for 36 months, full-time.  

Source : Jobs.ac.uk