Missions

The researcher (M/F), an anthropologist or historian, specialized in Chinese, Korean, or Japanese studies, will conduct a post-doctoral research as part of the Franco-German FRAL project (ANR-DFG) “Knowing Hands. Chinese Hand-memory Techniques & Handy Knowledge in Situ, Comparison, and Contact” (2025-2028) jointly led by Stéphanie Homola (CNRS/IFRAE) and Marta Hanson (FAU/CAS-E) (https://cas-e.de/research-projects/knowing-hands/).

This project focuses on hand-memory techniques used in China and Taiwan in various contexts: with hands traditional doctors establish diagnoses, diviners compute horoscopes, and Daoist priests perform rituals. Historically, hand-memory techniques have been attested in China since the 7th c., first in Buddhist ritual practices and then in many fields: medicine, mathematics, music, poetry, law, and divination. However, they have never been connected as a common practice. How did cognitively using hands spread or declined over time in these fields? How widespread are these practices within contemporary East Asia? The Knowing Hands project thus examines in comparative and cross-cultural perspectives unexplored historical and ethnographic material on Chinese hand-based practices. It seeks to understand both how people use their hands to think with by linking 1) hand mnemonics – what we term “epistemic hands” as a form of extended cognition, i.e., how humans use hands to aid cognitive processing; and 2) handy knowledge – “mindful hands” as a form of embodied cognition, i.e., what knowledge is grasped corporeally with hands to do things. We examine these practices in three ways: 1. epistemic hands in situ, historically and ethnographically in China (and spread to Japan and Korea); 2. epistemic hands in comparison between East Asian and European traditions and in contrast to mindful hands; and 3. cross-cultural Sino-European contacts about epistemic and mindful hands.

Activités

- Participation in the Knowing Hands project activities (workshops, conferences, database)
- Publication of one or two research articles
- Participation in the Knowing Hands Digital Exhibition
- Participation in Knowing Hands collective publications
- Support in organizing events and managing the project and website

Compétences

The candidate (M/F) must hold a PhD in anthropology, history or another social science.
Experience of data-driven approaches and numerical methods is appreciated.

Languages: English. French and/or German are appreciated but not required.

Candidates in Chinese, Japanese or Korean studies are expected to be fluent in the respective languages. Anthropologist candidates should have solid fieldwork experience. Historian candidates should have a good command of classical Chinese, in order to work with Chinese/East Asian sources.

Contexte de travail

The researcher (M/F) will be affiliated with the Institut Français de Recherche sur l'Asie de l'Est (IFRAE/UMR 8043). Attached to INALCO, Université Paris Cité and CNRS, the research team comprises seventy researchers and teachers, as well as over ninety doctoral and post-doctoral students. It is one of the largest research units on East Asia in France and Europe.

By joining IFRAE, you will benefit from
- A stimulating work environment
- 44 days' vacation / RTT per year
- Excellent working conditions
- Field and archive expenses covered by the Knowing Hands project
- Partial reimbursement of travel expenses + sustainable mobility package

To apply, please provide the following documents (to be submitted on the platform):
1. Curriculum Vitae (max. 2 pages)
2. Selected list of publications (max. 10) - including a short abstract and justification for each selection
3. Project description (max. 4 pages) - explaining how the research fits into the Knowing Hands project
4. 2 representative publications
5. Dissertation diploma or other document attesting doctoral degree (with date of defense)
6. 2 letters of recommendation - to be sent directly by referees to the main recruiter (Stéphanie Homola)

Contraintes et risques

Travels to the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany and, if necessary, to fieldsites in East Asia.