Research projects in Research Area C

Here you can find an overview of all research projects and the corresponding job advertisements in Research Area C (Practices of Editing).

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Text in Movement. Dynamics of textual transmission and reception in synchronic and diachronic perspective

Department
Ancient Near Eastern Studies/Cuneiform Philology
Job Vacancy
1x Independent Advanced Postdoc (100% E13)
Project Description
The project “Text in Movement” investigates dynamic practices of textual transmission and reception in Ancient Near Eastern studies through synchronic and diachronic analysis of cuneiform texts. The focus is on the Sumerian Decade (c. 1,400 lines of school texts) and the long-term transmission of the epics Lugale and Angim over nearly two millennia. Through digital editions and computational methods, new approaches for understanding premodern textualities will be developed.
Responsible PI
Prof. Dr. Enrique Jiménez
Research Area
C (Practices of Editing)

(Dis)continuity and Innovation. Examining the Editorial and Scribal Practices of the Inscriptions of the Kings of Assyria

Department
Ancient Near Eastern Studies; cuneiform philology; Ancient History
Job Vacancy
1x Postdoc (100% E13)
Project Description
The inscriptions of Sargon II of Assyria (721–705 BCE) and his son and successor Sennacherib (704–681 BCE) are ideal for examining continuity, discontinuity, and innovation in the editorial and scribal practices of the Assyrian court as numerous annalistic-style texts – written in cuneiform script on clay and stone in the Akkadian and Sumerian languages – are preserved for both rulers. Recently published authoritative editions, in tandem with new computational methods, allow this project to test, for the first time, assumptions made in modern scholarship about the editorial and scribal practices of the inscriptions’ composition. The project will examine questions of (dis)continuity, tradition and innovation with a special focus on the text production immediately after Sennacherib’s ascension as a consequence of his father’s unexpected death.
Responsible PI
Prof. Dr. Karen Radner
Research Area
C (Practices of Editing)

“Inscribing Piety”: Patronage and Epigraphic Practices Across the Indian and Tibetan Cultural Worlds

Department
Tibetology and Indology
Job Vacancy
1x Postdoc (100% E13; Tibetology) 1x Postdoc (65% E13; Indology)
Project Description
The project investigates the cultural and religious significance of inscriptions across South Asia and the Tibetan cultural sphere, while also contributing to broader comparative studies of epigraphic traditions beyond Asia. The project combines philological, art historical, and digital approaches, and aims primarily to develop digital editions and cross-cultural studies. It focuses on three key regions and historical periods: 1. Early Historic Southern India; 2. Second-Millennium Tibet; 3. Early Modern Nepal.

The Indological subproject, “Monuments of Faith: Patronage and Institution in the Early Inscriptions of the Deccan”, supported by a postdoctoral researcher with expertise in Middle Indo-Aryan languages, early Brāhmī, and TEI/Epidoc encoding, will be dedicated to the integration, expansion, and standardization of earlier editorial initiatives through the creation of the “Early Inscriptions of the Deccan” digital corpus.

The Tibetological subproject, “Layers of Inscribed Meaning: Toward a Typology and Digital Corpus of Inscriptions in Tibetan Buddhist Sacred Art”, supported by a full-time postdoctoral researcher with expertise in Classical Tibetan, Tibetan art history, and epigraphy, aims to develop a classification and typological framework for Tibetan inscriptions, grounded in the first-ever comprehensive digital corpus of inscriptions on Tibetan objects of Buddhist art.
Responsible PIs
Prof. Dr. Vincent Tournier; Prof. Dr. Jörg Heimbel
Research Area
C (Practices of Editing)

An e-corpus of Judeo-Arabic texts

Department
Judaic Studies
Job Vacancy
1x Postdoc (100% E13)
Project Description
As part of the Cross-Cultural Philology project, a comprehensive e-corpus of Judeo-Arabic texts is being developed, with the goal of producing digital editions of approximately 30–40 significant works. The project builds on the latest advances in automatic handwriting recognition (HTR) and digital palaeography. Your responsibilities will include contributing to the preparation and development of digital editions, as well as training and applying HTR and segmentation models. A prerequisite for participation is familiarity with Hebrew and/or Arabic manuscripts.
Responsible PI
Prof. Dr. Ronny Vollandt
Research Area
C (Practices of Editing)

Topics of Editorial Interventions I: Editing Aristotle’s Metaphysics from 1497 to 1654: Methods and Results

Department
Classics (Greek Studies)
Job Vacancy
1x PhD-Position (65% E13)
Project Description
The project aims at meticulously documenting the wording of the Greek text of Aristotle’s Metaphysics from the editio princeps (Venice 1498) to the fourth printing of the Paris edition (1654). On this basis, the sequence of different shapes of the text as offered by these editions will have to be analysed as resulting from the development of various practices of philological editing.
Responsible PI
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Oliver Primavesi
Research Area
C (Practices of Editing)

Digital edition of the Glossa ordinaria on the Constitutions of Melfi (1231)

Department
Legal History
Job Vacancy
1x Postdoc (100% E13)
Project Description
The legal-historical project aims at preparing a critical digital edition of the so-called glossa ordinaria to the constitutions of Melfi (1231). The shaping and transmission of this glossa ordinaria will shed new light on the role of legal practitioners on the canon formation.
Required skills: The candidate should have excellent knowledge of medieval Latin, some expertise in legal allegations, esp. in Roman Law, and some understanding of the philological standards in the field.
Responsible PI
Prof. Dr. jur. Susanne Lepsius, M.A. (Chicago)
Research Area
C (Practices of Editing)