Funded PhD Studentship on Women, Nature, and Early Modernity in Japan

Applications are invited for a salaried, full-time, 3 year PhD position (with the possibility of extension for a 4^th year) as part of the Consuming Nature project at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. The working language of the project is English.

The successful candidate will undertake their PhD as a member of a team of international researchers in the context of an innovative project within the prestigious European Research Council framework. They will be provided with a working space at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in a shared office with other members of the project, and will be expected to be regularly present in the office to collaborate with other members of the team. This position does not allow for remote working, other than during periods of pre-approved fieldwork.

Topic:  The successful candidate will write his or her dissertation on nature, early modernity, and women in Japan and will address the research questions of the “Consuming Nature” project. Examples of the kinds of questions the dissertation could use as a departure point include: 

1. In what ways did women consume and participate in nature-related activities within early modern Japanese popular culture?
2. Was women’s experience of the natural world in Japan changed by the developments of the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries that are associated with Tokugawa “early modernity” and/or Meiji “modernity”?
3. Was their experience different to men, and how did experiences differ between women of different status groups?

Possible archival sources include (but are not limited to):

1. Material culture sources contained in the collections of The Edo Tokyo Museum, The National Museum of Ethnology, The National Museum of Japanese History, The Japan Toy Museum, or the Osaka Museum of Housing and Living.
2. Printed books collated in the Union Catalogue Database of Japanese Texts (https://kokusho.nijl.ac.jp), Edo jidai shomin bunko vol.61 (Ōzorasha, 2018), and conduct manuals for women (ōraimono) such as those extracted in vol.5 of the Edo jidai josei seikatsu ezu daijiten (Ōzorasha, 1993).

Information about the Consuming Nature project may be found at here. Candidates are strongly encouraged to contact the Consuming Nature Project director, Professor Rebekah Clements to discuss potential topics and source materials before making an application. Rebekah.clements@icrea.cat.

Doctoral program:

Depending on the requirements of their chosen research topic, the candidate may choose from the following three doctoral programs at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and should indicate on their application for this funded PhD studentship the name of the PhD program to which they intend to apply if selected for the studentship:

PhD inTranslation and Intercultural Studies

PhD inHistory of Science

PhD inComparative, Political and Social History

Expected outputs:

1. A PhD dissertation in English satisfying the requirements of one of the above three programs at The Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
2. Contribution to the project’s database of source materials.
3. A conference presentation at the conference organized as part of the project (to be held in Barcelona).
4. A presentation at the project’s seminar series.
5. One chapter/article in the project’s edited volume/special journal issue, the content of which may overlap with the PhD dissertation.
6. Full compliance with ERC open science and open access policies: all publications, data, and research outputs produced within the project must follow the Horizon Europe open access protocols and be deposited in open repositories, in accordance with ERC guidelines.

Open Science

Open science in Horizon Europe

Benefits:

27,000 euros per year, plus tuition fees, and social security contributions paid in accordance with Spanish law, providing access to public healthcare and the public pension scheme. The project also provides generous funds for fieldwork in Japan, international conference travel, and the purchase of books.

To apply: click the Apply button above, job ID number 2026DILIFRUA32 – Departament de Traducció i d’Interpretació i d’Estudis de l’Àsia Oriental – Investigador predoctoral.

Please note, you do not need to be a member of the Autonomous University of Barcelona in order to access, but you will need to create an account (register).