The Faculty of Humanities, Department of Classical Studies at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun is pleased to accept applications for a postdoctoral researcher who will take part in the new project “The History and Rhetoric of Invectives in Greek, Roman and Early Christian Polemics” with Professor Rafał Toczko as the Principal Investigator. The project is funded by National Science Centre in Poland.

The project asks questions concerning the nature, form and content of the invectives used in real-life polemics, starting in seventh-century BC Greece and finishing in the Christian Roman Empire of the fifth century AD. The project has two objectives: the first is to identify all the instances of invective present in oratory and polemical literature written both in Greek and in Latin, and collect their records in a searchable digital database; and the second is to analyse both quantitively and qualitatively the rhetoric of the material, searching for structural patterns, and stylistic and thematic idiosyncrasies and continuities; reflecting on cultural background and influences; and measuring and assessing the intensity and effectiveness of given invectives.

The ideal candidate will have a PhD in classics or similar, with expertise in ancient or late antique Greek literature and some familiarity with the field of digital humanities.

The employment contract is for a period of 24 months with the possibility of extension for another 12 months.