Two Postdoctoral Positions
The PURANA project has an open call for two 3-year postdoctoral positions.
by Peter Bisschop
Published on March 24, 2023
The PURANA project has an open call for two 3-year postdoctoral positions!
Postdoc 1 will carry out research on the reception and re-creation of Indic Puranic narratives in Southeast Asian literary and material culture. While the Old Javanese Brahmāṇḍapurāṇa appears to be a unique case of direct translation of a known Sanskrit Purāṇa into Old Javanese, court poetry (Kakawin) in general attests to the massive impact of the Purāṇas on Javanese religion and society. Reception of Puranic narratives is also attested in epigraphic sources, temple arts, and iconographic programmes. The ideal candidate would make use of the large collection of Old Javanese manuscripts and Southeast Asian archival materials in the Leiden University Library special collections and the museums of the Netherlands. In addition to doing research, the candidate will have the opportunity to teach within the Leiden Institute for Area Studies.
More information and the application form:
Postdoc 2 will carry out research on translations of Sanskrit Purāṇas into Persian. Recent years have seen great advances in the study of the culture of translation of Sanskrit texts into Persian at the Mughal court. What is less well known is that several Purāṇas were also translated into Persian. Except for the various translations of the Bhāgavatapurāṇa, little scholarship on these translations exists. The study of these texts may not only shed important light on the Mughal Sanskrit-Persian translation project but also on the colonial encounter with the Purāṇas, which involved the intermediation of Persian translations. Possible areas of research could include: translation techniques, manuscript studies, reception history, and interreligious dynamics. In addition to doing research, the candidate will have the opportunity to teach within the Leiden Institute for Area Studies.
More information and the application form:
The deadline for application of both positions is 15 April 2023.