Doctoral Student – Education through Images. The Magic Lantern in Belgian Schools, 1830-1940 (deadline 21 July 2018)

Doctoral Student in the field of Cultural History since 1750

The position is offered in the framework of the project “B-magic. The Magic Lantern and its Cultural Impact as Visual Mass Medium in Belgium (1830-1940)”.

B-magic is a four-year EOS-funded project which will be conducted at two Flemish (UAntwerp and KU Leuven) and two French-speaking universities (ULB and UCL), in collaboration with an art college (KASK Ghent) and an international partner (UUtrecht). The project will write the history of the magic lantern as a mass medium in Belgium. The lantern was the first visual mass medium to contest the printed word as a primary mode of information and instruction. The B-magic consortium will research the pivotal role of the magic lantern in Belgian society from the country’s independence in 1830 up to 1940, when its use declined. To this end, it brings together an interdisciplinary team of researchers from Performance Studies, Cinema and Media Studies, Urban History, History of Science and Knowledge, Communication Studies, Semiotics, and Narratology. For more information and other available vacancies see www.B-magic.eu.

The successful candidate will work on a doctoral project entitled ‘Education through Images.The Magic Lantern in Belgian Schools, 1830-1940’. The project will study the composition and use of educational Magic Lantern series in primary and secondary schools. It will do so with a view to their role within and beyond different school subjects, their relationship with other, textual and visual educational media, and their cultural significance as a tool aimed at ‘modernizing’ educational settings and relationships.

The Research Group Cultural History since 1750 investigates the history of knowledge and science, historiography and historical culture, and cultural infrastructure and cultural transfers. Within the domain of history of science and knowledge, attention is paid to the production, circulation and cultural meanings of knowledge and science in the public sphere. Themes such as the formation of disciplines, science popularization, knowledge transfer in education, visual culture and the role of gender and corporeality in the history of science and knowledge are explored.

The Research Group Cultural History since 1750 investigates the history of knowledge and science, historiography and historical culture, and cultural infrastructure and cultural transfers. Within the domain of history of science and knowledge, attention is paid to the production, circulation and cultural meanings of knowledge and science in the public sphere. Themes such as the formation of disciplines, science popularization, knowledge transfer in education, visual culture and the role of gender and corporeality in the history of science and knowledge are explored.

• You have a passion for historical research and the ambition to become an outstanding researcher.
• You have strong academic abilities and you have completed (or are about to complete) a Master in History or an equivalent degree in which a cultural-historical perspective played a prominent role.
• You can read Dutch and French fluently, and are prepared to publish in English.
• You are willing to communicate on your research at conferences, on social media and through publications.
• You are ready to participate in some of the teaching activities of the Research Group Cultural History since 1750 (limited teaching assignments).
• You are willing to work in team and to play an active role both within the B-Magic team and the Cultural History since 1750 research group.

KU Leuven seeks to foster an environment where all talents can flourish, regardless of gender, age, cultural background, nationality or impairments. If you have any questions relating to accessibility or support, please contact us at diversiteit.HR@kuleuven.be.