Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max-Planck-Institut für Kunstgeschichte

Call for Applications: Ph.D. Fellowships in Digital Visual Studies

Ausschreibungsnummer:

Stellenangebot vom 19. März 2021

The Max Planck Society (MPG) and the University of Zurich (UZH) invite applications for interdisciplinary predoctoral fellowships in the field of Digital Visual Studies (DVS) for a duration of 1+2 years. The program is part of a 5-year cross-institutional Digital Humanities research project funded by the MPG, supported by the Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max Planck Institute for Art History (BHMPI) and collaborating with the Swiss Art Research Infrastructure (SARI) and the UZH Digital Society Initiative (DSI).
The fellows will carry out cutting-edge multidisciplinary research at the intersection of Art and Architectural History and Computer Science in a program specifically designed to tackle the current gap in the use, analysis and interpretation of digital visual resources. They will profit from access to large, rich and open datasets provided by a number of partner institutions in Art History, including the BHMPI. Further digitization required for the research projects will be supported. Data will include:

370.000 digital images of works of art (paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures, buildings  etc.) with rich metadata, and 1.150.000 digitized photographs by early-2022
very rich semantic data about the history of art and architecture in Italy (200.000  relations)
1.400 digitized books in the history of art with rich metadata, and 14.600 books on  Rome and Naples, starting from autumn 2021
historic maps with annotated geodata for Rome and Naples
diagnostic and technical information, scientific imaging (X-ray, infrared, microscope) of artworks and books

Ph.D. candidates will also have shared access to a Frontend Development Engineer to help with production-ready code and the distribution of prototypes. The academic program will also include input from international Postdoctoral Fellows and Visiting Fellows.
Ideal candidates have expertise (an excellent Master’s degree) in one or more of the following areas:

Machine Learning
Natural Language Processing
Computer Vision, Image Processing
Spatial Humanities and GIS
Knowledge Representation
Digital Humanities
Digital Art History, Art History, Archival Studies in Art History
Book and Photo History
Media theory/Artistic Research
Architectural and Urban Studies
Social and Historical Network Analysis
Cultural Analytics, Computational Literary Studies

Accepted Ph.D. candidates will benefit from:

a competitive salary (with generous social benefits including contributions to a pension fund which can be cashed if you leave the country) in an attractive, well-connected and  dynamic European city
a network of researchers from MPG, BHMPI, UZH, DSI, SARI, ETH Zurich, University of  Geneva and other national and international partner institutions
a stimulating group of DH specialists working together
a vibrant intellectual and creative community in Zurich, including UZH, ETH and the University of the Arts (ZHdK)
designated supervisors
support from the UZH Graduate Campus
office space in the center of Zurich
research residences at the BHMPI in Rome will be organized
attending and organizing workshops
social events to build community

Candidates are invited to upload their applications on the recruitment website of the BHMPI (https://recruitment.biblhertz.it), including their CV, copies of relevant certificates, names and full contact details of two referees, a statement describing their motivation and personal qualifications, and a research project proposal (non-binding, min. 3 pages with bibliography), specifying whether and how it would rely on the datasets mentioned above. Please specify the Ph.D. program, institute and possible supervisor at the UZH that you would like to be associated with.
The Call will remain open until filled. Researchers interested in the DVS are invited to consult our website (DVS) and to address inquiries and questions to: info@dvstudies.net
Please see our webpage or check the following links for relevant information:  

UZH Doctoral programs: Application and registration
Doctoral Programs at the University of Zurich
UZH Graduate Campus

PI: Prof. Dr. Tristan Weddigen
Research Coordinator: Dr. Darío Negueruela del Castillo

Digital Visual Studies
Culmannstrasse 1
8006 Zuerich
www.dvstudies.net

Bibliotheca Hertziana
Max Planck Institute for Art History
Via Gregoriana 28
00187 Rome
www.biblhertz.it