Two-year Postdoc position in Literature and Digital Humanities (funded by A*midex)

RESEARCHER PROFILE: Postdoc / R2: PhD holders
RESEARCH FIELD(S)1: Literature, Digital Humanities, Archival studies, Cultural History, Material Studies, Intellectual History.
MAIN SUB RESEARCH FIELD OR DISCIPLINES1: Academic digital archive in literature
JOB /OFFER DESCRIPTION
The project:
The AMIDEX-funded Marc Chénetier-Literature and US Studies in France-Archives and Biography (MC-LEAF-ARCHIBIO) project that you will be joining is based on Chénetier’s vast archive bequeathed to the LERMA, exceptional in terms of quantity and scientific relevance: because of his affiliation with many institutional structures (in France and abroad), of his years as a visiting professor in several US universities, and of his links and correspondences with over a hundred US writers, Chénetier’s archive is a precious resource casting a light on his own trajectory but also on the diffusion, the translation, the publication and the study of contemporary US literature in France, from the 1970s to the 2010s.
Because of Chénetier’s position at the crossroads of the academic, the publishing, and the translation fields, his archive is a most interesting source for a) researchers and students in literature but also in translation studies, in the history and epistemology of an academic discipline or again in the history of books and publishing; b) literary journalists; c) biographers interested in Chénetier’s many correspondents. The challenge is therefore threefold:
1) digitizing and valorizing, on a dedicated website, most of the archive (which will be organized and curated) to make it available to researchers and students but also, more broadly, to a wider readership of connoisseurs of US literature. In order to address the question of such a multiple audience, the challenge is to conceive an easily-searchable, user-friendly site which will allow the visitor either to find a precise document or to launch ambitious searches implying cross-reference parameters, and which can also be used for pedagogical objectives.
2) analyzing that “grey literature” in order to write the intellectual biography of an academic who was instrumental in the apparition and development of contemporary, experimental US literature in France, which implies: a) to study the professional archive as a “place of knowledge” (Jacob), as the material inscription of the trajectory and the thought of a researcher, b) to reconstruct and analyze Chénetier’s trajectory within a period of intensified transatlantic cultural transfers and development of academic and literary networks; and c) to cast a light on the instrumental role played by Chénetier in the birth and development of French and European studies devoted to the literature of the United States: A true builder and mediator, he was instrumental in the structuration of this field in the academic, the publishing, and the translation communities.
3) documenting the project on a research blog so as to reveal how an archive can be turned into a digital intellectual biography.
The team:
You will be working in the Laboratoire d’Études et de Recherche sur le Monde Anglophone (LERMA, UR 853), and more precisely within the team “Histoire(s) et vies des littératures”, whose members work in a pluri- and interdisciplinary perspective see presentation of the team. Prof. Sophie Vallas and Dr. Maud Bougerol are especially in charge of the Chénetier project.
Your missions:
With the team members, you will have to a) help complete the ongoing process of sorting and cataloguing the archive; b) organize the digitization (with a technician) and curation (with the team) of the archive; c) build the archive and the website after its conceptualization by the team; d) participate in the research work on “grey literature” and on the way intellectual biography can be revitalized by digital humanities.
Advisors: Pr. Sophie Vallas (LERMA) and Dr. Maud Bougerol (LERMA)
TYPE OF CONTRACT: TEMPORARY /JOB STATUS: FULL TIME / HOURS PER WEEK: 35
APPLICATION DEADLINE: 21/02/2025, 12:00 am
ENVISAGED STARTING DATE: 01/05/2025
ENVISAGED DURATION: 24 months
JOB NOT FUNDED THROUGH AN EU RESEARCH FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME
WORK LOCATION(S): LERMA (Laboratoire d’études et de recherche sur le monde anglophone)
Aix-Marseille Université, Faculté des Arts, Lettres, Langues et Sciences Humaines, Maison de la Recherche, 23, Avenue Robert Schuman, 13100 Aix-en-Provence -France
WHAT WE OFFER:
Because the postdoctoral position is intended for an advanced researcher, the highest level of salary will be offered:
Year 1: 3060 euros/ month (gross salary)
Year 2: 3360 euros/ month (gross salary)
Additional information: The Euraxess Center of Aix-Marseille Université informs foreign visiting professors, researchers, postdoc and PhD candidates about the administrative steps to be undertaken prior to arrival at AMU and the various practical formalities to be completed once in France: visas and entry requirements, insurance, help finding accommodation, support in opening a bank account, etc. More information on AMU EURAXESS Portal
QUALIFICATIONS, REQUIRED RESEARCH FIELDS, REQUIRED EDUCATION LEVEL, PROFESSIONAL SKILLS, OTHER RESEARCH REQUIREMENTS
Requirements
Research Fields: Literature, US literature, digital humanities, literary reception, material approach to literature, intellectual history, book history, cultural history
Qualifications and skills:
– Doctoral level (literature, anglophone studies)
– Previous engagement in high-quality research activity (minimum 3 years of experience)
– Excellent communication skills (orally and in writing)
– Solid organizational skills and capacity to work on own initiative: You can expect to be given considerable leeway in how you go about fulfilling your missions.
– Ability to work as essential part of a small team and to collaborate closely with technician whose work as far as the digitization of the archive is concerned you will supervise
– Ability to prioritize actions and meet deadlines.
– Excellent IT skills.
Specific Requirements
– High-quality academic outputs related to literature and digital humanities.
– Experience of archival research.
– Experience in website building (using OMEKA), in research databases and in digital humanities research methods such as clustering or text analysis.
Languages
ENGLISH (excellent), French (functional/good)
Soft skills: You will be expected to work closely with the small team responsible for the Chénetier project, in which your skills and input will be instrumental. Regular meetings will be organized for the team to build the project in the first months, and then to monitor its development. Languages will be English and French.
REQUESTED DOCUMENTS OF APPLICATION, ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, SELECTION PROCESS
Applicants are invited to submit the following documents:
– A detailed CV
– A cover letter outlining their motivation and relevant experience
– A list of publications and, if applicable, links to audio/video productions,
– At least one letter of recommendation.
HOW TO APPLY : [email protected] and [email protected]