Contrat doctoral - projet ERC « Oecologie - Les sources allemandes de l’écologie »
Doctoral contract – ERC project “Oecologie – The German Sources of Ecology”
Published on Thursday, May 28, 2026
Abstract
The successful candidate will contribute to the ERC Advanced Grant Oecologie. The German Sources of Ecology (2025–2030), led by Stefanie Buchenau. The project aims to reconstruct the philosophical dimensions of ecology as introduced by Ernst Haeckel in General Morphology (1866), and to assess its broader implications.
Announcement
The Project
The successful candidate will contribute to the ERC Advanced Grant Oecologie. The German Sources of Ecology (2025–2030), led by Stefanie Buchenau. The project aims to reconstruct the philosophical dimensions of ecology as introduced by Ernst Haeckel in General Morphology (1866), and to assess its broader implications.
Grounded in an interdisciplinary approach, it brings together intellectual history, history of philosophy and science, aesthetics, and philology. It investigates :
the emergence of ecological thought within 19th-century European evolutionism
- its philosophical sources in the German tradition (Kant, Humboldt, Goethe, etc.)
- its complex reception in Germany and beyond
- its relevance for contemporary environmental studies and the sciences
The project includes regular seminars, workshops and conferences, a scientific exhibition, the creation of a research database, and the development of a project website.
History of Ideas & Digital Humanities
The successful candidate will work on the use of digital humanities in intellectual history, based on a corpus of 19th-century German texts, journals, and correspondence.
They will combine historical and philological methods with computational approaches. They will receive training in digital tools and may work on :
- corpus annotation
- conceptual analysis in historical linguistics
- modelling the circulation of scientific and philosophical ideas across cultural contexts
Special attention will be given to the works of Ernst Haeckel, digitised correspondence, and related intellectual networks. The project also includes a methodological reflection on quantitative approaches in the history of philosophy and intellectual history, with the possibility of co-supervision in linguistics or digital humanities.
Practical Information
Université Sorbonne Nouvelle – Maison de la Recherche (4 rue des Irlandais, 75005 Paris)
ERC Oecologie (2025–2030)
3 doctoral positions – 36 months – full-time
Salary : approximately €2,300 gross per month (around €1,800 net), subject to change. Additional compensation (€200–300 per month) may be available from the second year through teaching or research activities.
- Start : September / October 2026
- Deadline : 10 June 2026
- Interviews : week of 22 June 2026
Application
CV + cover letter + research proposal (max. 4 pages) + Master’s thesis/diploma/certificate + reference letter + transcripts
Contact : aurore.franco@sorbonne-nouvelle.fr
* Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the granting authority. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Subjects
Places
- 4 rue des Irlandais
Paris, France (75005)
Date(s)
- Thursday, September 10, 2026
Attached files
Keywords
- haeckel, ecologie, oecologie, histoire des idées
Contact(s)
- Aurore Franco
courriel : aurore [dot] franco [at] sorbonne-nouvelle [dot] fr
Reference Urls
Information source
- Aurore Franco
courriel : aurore [dot] franco [at] sorbonne-nouvelle [dot] fr
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
Stefanie Buchenau, « Contrat doctoral - projet ERC « Oecologie - Les sources allemandes de l’écologie » », Scholarship, prize and job offer, Calenda, Published on Thursday, May 28, 2026, https://doi.org/10.58079/16abl
Author(s)
Stefanie Buchenau
