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In order to fill a fixed-term position in part-time (29.8725 hours/week = 75%) by October 1, 2026, we are looking for a

Doctoral Researcher (m/f/x) (TV-L E13, 75%) in the CRC project A05 „Narrating History under Censorship and Commerce: Warriors and Rulership in Popular Historical Fiction of Early Modern Japan“

The Collaborative Research Centre “Historical and Transcultural Narratology” (TRR 427), funded by the German Research Foundation, examines pre-modern (ancient, medieval, early modern) narratives from different cultural contexts with the aim of systematically and comparatively investigating the dynamics and functions of narratives in past contexts. The project, consisting of 19 PIs from 16 different disciplines, is based at the universities of Bochum, Bonn, and Freiburg.

Within project A05, “Narrating History under Censorship and Commerce: Warriors and Rulership in Popular Historical Fiction of Early Modern Japan,” a part-time doctoral researcher position in Japanese Studies is available starting October 1, 2026. The position is fixed-term until June 30, 2030. The project investigates popular historical narratives in early modern Japan within the context of commercial publishing and political repression, using the Ehon Taikōki (絵本太閤記, “Illustrated Chronicles of the Regent”, 84 volumes, 1797–1802) as its principal case study. Through a comprehensive analysis of this work in comparison with other contemporary publications, the project seeks to determine how narrative techniques and strategies of popularization evolved over time under the influence of censorship. The research will combine methodological approaches involving AI-based tools with hermeneutic textual interpretation and intermedial perspectives that consider the relationship between text and image. The successful candidate (m/f/x) will pursue a doctoral degree on this topic and complete a dissertation in the form of a monograph, written either in German or in English.

Scope: part-time
Duration: fixed-term, June 30, 2030
Start: by October 1, 2026
Apply by: 2026-07-13

Your tasks:

• Writing a doctoral dissertation in German or English on narrative techniques in the Ehon Taikōki
• Contributing entries to the Digital Handbook of Transcultural Narratology
• Co-authoring at least one scholarly article in English together with the principal investigator
• Participating in working groups, workshops, and symposia organized within the framework of the Collaborative Research Centre/Transregio (CRC/TRR)

Your profile:

• Completed university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Japanese Studies
• Sound knowledge of the history and literature of early modern Japan
• Good command of premodern Japanese, particularly bungo
• Excellent written and spoken English proficiency
• Willingness to engage with and acquire expertise in digital methods of analysis as well as theoretical and methodological approaches to philological research
• Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively in a team; flexibility, reliability, and a high level of commitment
• Since the position is funded exclusively by external third-party funding sources (DFG), there are no teaching obligations associated with the position

https://jobs.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/jobposting/ac2b2263a6a74a3bce3b7eeaf3482537ff1f31f40?ref=AfA