Organisation/Company : Université Marie et Louis Pasteur
Research Field : History » Medieval historyResearcher
Starting Date : 1 Oct 2026

Offer Description

LAURA Project (2026–2030)

Objective: Knowledge base enrichment from uncertain medieval prosopographical data

Project Director: Cédric du Mouza (Full Professor, CNAM)

CLF Principal Investigator: Thierry Kouamé (Full Professor, UMLP)

Partners: CEDRIC (CNAM), National Archives, CLF (Université Marie et Louis Pasteur), LAMOP (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne), LEM-CERCOR (Université de Saint-Étienne), LIP6 (Sorbonne Université), LIX (École Polytechnique), Università degli studi di Perugia

Number of researchers involved: 24 (faculty members, researchers, and curators)

Number of contract staff recruited: 6 (doctoral students and engineers)

The LAURA Project focuses on the enrichment and utilization of prosopographic databases covering the medieval period, for which data are often scarce, fragmented, and uncertain. Medieval individuals may indeed be referred to by various names and associated with different places, roles, or events, depending on the source used to document these facts. Due to this uncertainty, many identification rules remain poorly explained, even by historians themselves.

This project therefore aims to bring together historians, archivists, and computer scientists to collaborate on this identification process, based on the prosopography of a medieval population, from data extraction to the enrichment of the knowledge base and its utilization. In this context, the CLF research engineer will be responsible for building a prosopographic database using artificial intelligence, which he/she will refine and train at each stage of development in order to achieve automation of the identification process.

Responsibilities of the research engineer

• Correct and validate the HTR for the documents digitized by the National Archives

To support the digitization project led by the National Archives, the engineer will be responsible for quality control and proofreading of HTR transcriptions of documents from the medieval archives of a Parisian university college.

• Tag named entities in OCR-processed documents to enable their retrieval and analysis

The engineer will identify and tag named entities (places, institutions, roles, people’s names, etc.) suggested by the AI in the OCR-processed documents. The goal of this task is to transform these primary sources into a searchable database that can be used for historical research and prosopographic studies.

• Help coordinate the network and promote the project’s scientific findings

The engineer will play an active role in the scientific coordination of the LAURA Project by organizing workshops and seminars with partners and disseminating the research findings through scientific publications.

Where to apply

E-mail : thierry.kouame@univ-fcomte.fr

Requirements

Research FieldHistory » Medieval historyEducation LevelPhD or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

Knowledge of medieval Latin; knowledge of Latin and French paleography; knowledge of the institutions of medieval France, particularly academic, civil, and religious institutions; proficiency in office software (Microsoft Office suite).

Specific Requirements

Be able to work with a database (data manipulation and extraction); be able to locate, catalog, analyze, and critically evaluate data; be able to formalize techniques and methods; be able to implement a quality assurance process; be able to write reports and document the process.

Experience participating in a digital humanities project is preferred.LanguagesFRENCHLevelMother TongueResearch FieldHistory » Medieval historyYears of Research Experience1 – 4

Internal Application form(s) needed

3_Fiche de poste ANR LAURA.pdf

English

(487.22 KB – PDF)

Download

Additional Information

Benefits

€2,155 net per month

24-month fixed-term contract

Eligibility criteria

Please ensure to be qualified before applying, as ineligible candidates cannot be considered:

• Open only to university PhD holders
• Fluency in French required (native speaker or C2 level)
• Knowledge of Latin and medieval paleography
• Experience working with databases

Selection process

Please email your application letter to:

• thierry.kouame@univ-fcomte.fr
• stephane.lamasse@univ-paris1.fr

Applicants have to attach the following documents in PDF format to their application letter:

• Detailed Curriculum Vitae
• Copy of doctoral degree certificate
• Copy of passport (or equivalent ID document)

The two-step procedure for applicants’ selection is based on assessment of the documents attached to the application and on an interview (videoconference) to those applicants who have passed the first-step selection. Shortlisted applicants will be informed of the interview process within two weeks from the deadline for applications.

Source : EURAXESS