The Research project on Authorship as Performance (RAP@UGent), funded by Ghent University's Research Council for the period 2009-2015, aims to re-examine material conditions and historical views of literary authorship as cultural performance in the light of recent developments in the theory (and the historical understanding of the cultural dynamics) of authorship, authority and agency. The expected outcome is a history of concepts of authorship in British and American culture from the mid-sixteenth to the early twentieth century, taking as its point of departure the gap between a "strong" concept of authorship as agency, original creativity and intellectual ownership, and a "weak" (but historically much more prevalent) concept of authorship as a product of cultural networks. RAP@UGent's areas of focus, at present covered by four doctoral students, two postdoctoral fellows and one technical consultant on quantitative methodology, include: inscription and translation in the English Renaissance; the rise of the professional creative writer in the eighteenth century; authorship, genre and gender; anonymity and pseudonymity; women writers and the literary canon; Victorian authorship and the expansion of media culture; co-authorship, literary collaborations and networks.

The project directors, Professors Gert Buelens, Marysa Demoor and Ingo Berensmeyer, seek to appoint a postdoctoral fellow for the period 1 January 2012 (the post must be taken up then) - 31 December 2013 (with a possible extension until 31 December 2014).

Candidates should hold a PhD in a relevant subject and have published (or have in press) a minimum of four peer-reviewed essays or one book. Candidates for this type of fellowship should have experience studying or working at a non-Belgian institution prior to the start date. The appointee will conduct research in the collaborative context of the project with a view to the (joint) publication of peer-reviewed work in international journals and books with international publishers. He or she will also carry teaching responsibilities, which include a Shakespeare course at third-year level (BA) and an MA course on Renaissance authorship more generally.

The postdoctoral fellow will receive a stipend of 2,100 euro a month (free of taxation), which should amply cover the cost of living in Ghent, an attractive city by international standards; the university also pays the regular employers' contribution towards the fellow's social security.

Please submit applications to Gert Buelens (Gert.Buelens@UGent.be) by 5 November 2011. Interviews will take place in the week of 22 November.

Applicants should send the following:

Academic CV (incl. contact details for two academic referees);
An article they recently published;
A publication plan for the two-year period, mentioning journals/publishers to be targeted;
An outline of syllabi for the Shakespeare and Renaissance Authorship courses.

Apply Online
http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/ADI117/postdoctoral-fellowship/