The Novel Saints: Ancient Fiction and Hagiography Research Centre at Ghent University (Belgium) is seeking well-qualified applicants for a full-time doctoral research fellowship on The Holy Romance. Characterization and concepts of fiction in Italo-Greek hagiography. The project is funded by the Flemish Research Foundation (F.W.O.-Vlaanderen) and will be supervised by Prof Koen De Temmerman and Dr Julie Van Pelt.

The successful applicant will examine literary and rhetorical constructions of character and concepts of narrative and fiction in Lives, martyr acts, and encomia written in Greek between the 5th and the 13th centuries and describing the lives of Christian saints and martyrs of Sicily and Southern Italy.

The successful applicant will start employment no later than 1st October 2022. In order to be eligible, candidates must have obtained their MA degree at the time of application or demonstrate that they will have that degree in hand by the start of their doctoral fellowship.

The successful candidate will have:

• an MA degree in Greek Language and/or Literature;
• excellent study results (including BA and MA dissertations of very high quality);
• excellent knowledge of ancient and/or medieval Greek;
• a demonstrable interest in (research into) the literary and/or cultural history of Late Antiquity and/or the Byzantine Middle Ages.

A demonstrable interest in and/or experience with (research into) ancient fiction and/or Byzantine hagiography and modern literary-theoretical models (strong familiarity with narratology, rhetorical theory, theory of character, and/or theory of fiction) will be considered advantageous.

The successful applicant will

• write and successfully defend a PhD dissertation within the four years of the fellowship;
• contribute to the strong research tradition of the Research Centre, the Department, and the University by pursuing excellence in their research and by publishing their results in journals and with publishers that are internationally accepted as being of the highest quality;
• live in Belgium, work together with the other team members, and contribute to a pleasant and stimulating atmosphere;
• contribute to the scholarly activities of the Research Centre (e.g. by organizing events in collaboration with the supervisors and/or other members of the team, etc.).