Organisation/Company Universitat Pompeu Fabra Department Department of Humanities Research Field History » Archaeology Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions PhD Positions Application Deadline 11 Nov 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Madrid) Country Spain Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 37.5 Offer Starting Date 8 Jan 2027 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Horizon Europe - ERC Reference Number 101162734 Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

A PhD position is available in the IslandLives project led by Professor Konrad Antczak at Pompeu Fabra University (Barcelona, Spain). Funded by the European Research Council (ERC Starting Grant, 2024), IslandLives “Alternative Modernities and Everyday Life in the Pre-emancipation Southern Caribbean (c. 1634–1863)” aims to uncover the unknown everyday lives of peoples on Aruba, Curaçao, and Bonaire (ABC islands) and reveal how they selectively navigated the modernity thrust upon them during Dutch colonization in contested and contingent ways.

The candidate will undertake an important part of Work Package 2 of the project which involves novel archival research into the material experiences of everyday life on Curaçao across the intersections of ethnicity/race, religion, class, and specifically gender. The candidate will conduct research at relevant archives including the Nationaal Archief, The Hague; the Nationaal Archief Curaçao and Mongui Maduro Foundation Library; and the Archive of the Indies (AGI), Seville, among others.

The focus will be on material culture (e.g., tableware, clothing, furniture, tools, personal items, commercial goods)



found in these sources and the entanglements between people―especially women―, things, and places that inventories and accounts reveal, building on approaches championed by previous historians.

While undertaking extended stays at various archives and libraries, the PhD researcher will also perform crucial background research for other project work packages as needs arise. Finally, they will also translate select Dutch documents into English and transcribe select Spanish documents for use by the team.

Tasks:

- Undertakearchival research into the material experiences of everyday life on Curaçao across the intersections of ethnicity/race, religion, class, and specifically gender.
- Perform research stays at relevant archives including the Nationaal Archief, The Hague; the Nationaal Archief Curaçao and Mongui Maduro Foundation Library; and the Archive of the Indies (AGI), Seville, among others.
- Collaborate with project team members by employing the above data and that from other project work packages to produce new insights about everyday life in the pre-emancipation Southern Caribbean.

Likewise, the candidate must:

- Perform background research in archives for other project work packages, when needed.
- Translate select Dutch documents into English and transcribe select Spanish documents for use by the team, when needed.
- Enter research data into a relational database.




- Publish in high-impact journals.

Present their research at relevant academic conferences.

Likewise, he/she may collaborate in teaching tasks for up to a maximum of 180 hours during the total extension of the contract, with a maximum of 60 hours per year, always with the prior approval of the PI of the research project and provided that it is compatible with his/her research responsibilities.

Requirements

Research Field

History

Master’s degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

- To be admitted or enrolled in the PhD Program in History at Universitat Pompeu Fabra at the time of signing the contract (or to hold a Master's degree in History or equivalent that allows access to the program).
- Not to have been separated by disciplinary proceedings from the service of any of the public administrations, nor to be disqualified by a final sentence for the performance of public functions. In the case of being a national of another State, they must not be disqualified or in an equivalent situation or have been subject to a disciplinary sanction or equivalent that prevents access to public jobs, under the same terms, in their State.
- To be native speaker of Dutch, or have a certificate of C1 level of Dutch

These participation requirements must be met on the last day of the deadline for submitting applications, must be able to be reliably accredited at any time during the selection process and must continue to be met on the date of signing the contract.

Selection criteria:

Candidates are expected to meet as many of the following criteria as possible:

- Experience in reading Dutch early modern handwriting. (10 p

📌 HUM_PIPF_2026_05 PhD Position in History (España)
🏢 Universitat Pompeu Fabra
📍 España