Eikones – Center for the Theory and History of the Image at the University of Basel invites applications from postdoctoral researchers and assistant professors in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences for three one-year Nomis Fellowships beginning 1 September 2019.

Since 2005, eikones has served as a center for graduate and postgraduate research on images. The center is dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of images as instruments of human knowledge and cultural practices. It investigates the functions and effects of images throughout history and in our contemporary society from analytical and systematic perspectives.

The Nomis Postdoctoral Fellowship Program supports groundbreaking research projects related to how images act as models or paradigms in scientific and aesthetic contexts. We are interested in the fundamental ways images serve as instruments for making complex structures visible and accessible to interpretation. In both aesthetic and experimental settings, images often assume an exemplary character, aiding epistemic and learning processes. They fulfill evidential, didactic, and symbolic functions, and thereby produce different forms of knowledge. Relevant topics of research might consider, for example, the history and theory of imaging techniques in the natural sciences; the ideals and stereotypes that shape social contexts and political discussions; or the formation and dissolution of canons, iconographies, character types, and styles in the arts. On the methodological side, the projects should be rooted in a specific research field, and reflect on the relation between their individual discipline and image studies.

The fellowships will allow outstanding young scholars and scientists to pursue their research free from teaching and administrative obligations. They provide a generous salary, travel funds, and access to excellent academic infrastructure. Applications will be selected based on scholarly achievement and relevance to the topic of images as models. Fellows are expected to be in residence at eikones in Basel and to participate in select institutional events.