Postdoc position - Pastors in trials for
witchcraft in the Danish Reamls, 1559-1660
Godly Power and Witchcraft
The ideal of the godly state developed during the 16th century. A part of
being a godly Christian ruler included eradicating sin and all false
Christians. Witches were the epitome of false Christians. This project will
explore to what extent witch prosecutions were included in the efforts of
establishing a godly Danish monarchy during 1559-1660. The Danish State
with its realms were ruled by the Oldenburg monarchs. It encompassed the
kingdoms of Denmark and Norway (including territories in present day
Sweden), present day Iceland, and the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein.
These realms had separate jurisdictions and varying degrees of selfdetermination,
but state authorities could issue strict laws against
witchcraft. Common to these realms, lay rulers oversaw witch prosecutions.
Based on four intertwined subprojects, the overall aim of the project is to
clarify the responsibilities of the king, the Council, the king’s lieutenants,
and the parish priests, and how these groups engaged in trials for
witchcraft.
The post doc position concerns Lutheran pastors and their role in trials for
witchcraft. Pastors were royal officials and thus servants of the state as well
as of the church. In fact, outside of Copenhagen and the garrison towns
they were by far the most prevalent royal officials and the group most
evenly spread out over the various parts of the sprawling Oldenburg
monarchy’s domains. Furthermore, bishops, deans and pastors formed a
parallel hierarchy of royal officials beside that of the king’s lieutenants who
they were not subordinated to. How did pastors navigate in this
intersection of secular and religious power when godly power was the
official ideology? To what extent did they comply with the law on
witchcraft? Is it possible to detect any general patterns focusing on specific
realms? Did certain pastors stand out? How about those that had a
particular educational background? Did they also involve themselves in
other “moral crimes” in the secular courts, i.e. sexual offences and so on?
Expected output: short monograph (e.g. Palgrave pivot) and 1 article in a
leading journal.
The post doc position is a sub-project in the project Godly Power and
Witchcraft in the Danish Realms (1559-1660), funded by the Velux
Foundation and the Independent Research Fund Denmark. The project is
partnering with Bergen University and HEX! Museum of Wich-Hunt
(Museum of Southwest Jutland). The successful applicant will join the
project group led by PI Louise Nyholm Kallestrup.
For more information about the project and the position, please contact PI
Louise Nyholm Kallestrup (
LNK@sdu.dk) or visit our website
https://www.sdu.dk/en/om_sdu/institutter_centre/ih/forskning/forskningsprojekter/godwit
Application, salary and conditions of employment
etc. Employment as Postdoc is temporary (max. 4 years). Employment
stops automatically by the end of the period. An upgrade of pedagogical
qualifications is not part of the position. Thus employment as Postdoc
cannot stand alone as a qualification for later employment as associate
professor/senior researcher.
The successful applicant will be employed in accordance with the
agreement between the Ministry of Finance and AC (the Danish
Confederation of Professional Associations),
Cirkulære om overenskomst
for Akademikere i staten 2019
(the document only exists in Danish).
To qualify for the position you must have completed a PhD-degree by the
time of employment. Applicants are expected to have a relevant PhD in
History or a related discipline. Familiarity with 16th and 17th century
Gothic handwriting is recommended.
An application must include:
- Application
- Curriculum Vitae
- Certificates/Diplomas
- Information on previous teaching experience, please attach as
Teaching portfolio
- List of publications indicating the publications attached
- Up to 3 of the most relevant publications. Please attach one pdf-file
for each publication. For any publication with a co-author, a coauthor
statement must be submitted as part of the pdf-file.
Application and all appendices must be in Danish, English or one of the
Scandinavian languages. Only material in Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, and
English will be assessed. Please always include a copy of original
diploma/certificates.
Please always include a copy of original diploma/certificates. We only
accept files in pdf-format no more than 10 MB per file. In case you have
more than one file per field you need to combine the pdf-files into a single
file, as each field handles only one file. We do not accept zip-files, jpg or
other image files. All pdf-files must be unlocked and allow binding and may
not be password protected.
Applications will be assessed by an assessment committee and the
applicant will receive the part of the evaluation that concerns him/her. The
assessment report will subsequently be forwarded to the Head of
Department who will assemble an appointments committee. An interview
may form part of the overall assessment of the applicants’
qualifications. The committee may request additional information, and if
so, it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide the necessary material.
If the application does not meet the requirements mentioned above, the
Faculty of Humanities may reject your application without further notice.
Applications received after the deadline will neither be considered nor
evaluated.
Shortlisting and tests may be used in the assessment process. Please note
that only a shortlisted applicant will receive an assessment.
Applications should be sent electronically via the link “apply online” and
the Faculty expects applicants to read the information
“How to apply”
before applying.
We recommend that as an international applicant you take the time to
visit
Working in Denmark where you will find information and facts about
moving to, working and living in Denmark, as well as the
International Staff
Office at SDU
.
The University wishes our staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus
welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal
background.
Apply now
Application deadline: June 15, 2022