Doctoral student in Economic History – A historical approach to retirement - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Assigned duties

Those appointed to doctoral studentship shall primarily devote themselves to their studies, aimed to result in a doctoral degree. Work carried out during the studentship consists of participation in research projects as well as successful participation in postgraduate (third-cycle) courses. Those appointed to doctoral studentships may also work, to a limited extent, with educational tasks and administration at the Department of Economic history. However, duties of this kind may not comprise of more than 20 per cent of a full time post.

The PhD position is linked to the research project Golden years. Understanding the retirement business in pre-modern Europe, c.1250-c.1800, funded by the Swedish Research Council. The PhD student will work in this project in collaboration with associate professor Jaco Zuijderduijn.

Eligibility / Admission requirements

A person meets the general admission requirements for third-cycle courses and study programmes if he or she has:

• Been awarded a second-cycle degree; or
• Satisfied the requirements for courses comprising of at least 240 credits of which at least 60 creditswere awarded in the second-cycle; or
• Acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

(Higher Education Ordinance, Chapter 7, Section 39)

Specific admission requirements for doctoral studies in each subject are specified in the relevant general syllabus, available at https://www.lusem.lu.se/study/phd

Other requirements

A proficient level of English is required in both written and oral communication.

Basis of assessment

Admittance of a doctoral student is based on an assessment of the candidate’s ability to benefit from third-cycle studies, see the general syllabus for third-cycle studies, available at www.lusem.lu.se/study/phd.

The applicant’s ability to benefit from third-cycle studies and research will primarily be assessed on the basis of academic results from the first and second cycle.

Applicant’s general competence:

• Quality and content of previous written work, such as a Master’s thesis.
• Ability to participate actively in the Department’s research environment.
• Ability to perform independent scientific work.
• Since the research is based on handwritten material from the 1200-1300-1400-1500-1600-1700s, a good reading comprehension of premodern written sources and knowledge of paleography is an advantage.
• Proficiency in written and oral communication.
• Relevant educational background.
• Other relevant experiences for third-cycle education, such as work experience.

We are interested in applicants with an interest in Medieval and/or Early Modern history; financial institutions and financial instruments; the family life cycle, ageing and retirement.

Project

To finance one’s retirement has historically been a challenge. Because growing old was not unusual, ageing was a concern. To make ends meet, elderly could try to retire, by investing in a financial instrument and live off the returns, or by entering in a retirement contract that gave them a right to food and lodging for the rest of their lives.

The aim of the project is to study the cost of these types of retirement in the long run, c. 1250-1800. The applicant will develop a case study based on a European city, focusing on the development of interest rates and cost of living. In addition, he/she will research how societies in the past have responded to changes in the cost of retirement by looking at shifts in the elderly care provided by family and friends, city governments, and charities. The project thus combines social, economic and financial history, and contributes to debates about elderly care before the welfare state.

We welcome applicants willing to work on case studies based on cities in Sweden or elsewhere in Europe. Since the project will require archival research, the applicant should ideally be familiar with reading old manuscripts and working with original source material.

Terms of employment

Fixed-term employment, maximum four years (fulltime studies).

Only those admitted to third-cycle courses and study programmes at a higher education may be appointed to doctoral student.

For regulations concerning employment of doctoral students etc, see the Higher Education Ordinance, Chapter 5, Sections 1-7.

For regulations concerning admission to third-cycle courses and study programs, see the Higher Education Ordinance, Chapter 5, Sections 34-41.

Application procedure

Please use Lund University job application portal when applying: http://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/about/work-at-lund-university

The application must be written in English.

The application should contain:

• Personal letter in which the applicant gives a short description of him/herself and his/her research interests and its relevance for the project, max 3 pages.
• Curriculum vitae.
• Grade transcripts.
• Master thesis or similar degree projects.
• If appropriate, documented language skills relevant for third-cycle studies.
• Other documents that the applicant wishes to submit.

The applicant is encouraged to name a maximum of two teachers or researchers who can give recommendation letters, but we do not consider recommendation letters with the application.