PhD 3-year contract on Disability and Jewish Experts in East-Central Europe in 19th-20th centuries (M/F))

Job Description

Thesis Subject

The dissertation will adopt an intersectional approach combining Jewish studies and disability studies within the specific context of East-Central Europe, understood as a region whose legacy is carried on by the current countries of the Visegrád Group. By combining these two approaches, the project will focus on the period from the mid-19th century to the end of the 20th century, during which the care of people with disabilities underwent fundamental transformations linked both to the advent of the welfare state and to emancipation initiatives led by people with disabilities themselves. It was indeed during this period that Jews in Central Europe achieved civic equality (for example, in 1867 in Austria-Hungary). Emancipation also granted them access to higher education. However, since their access to civil service was restricted to varying degrees in certain countries of the region, many Jews turned instead to the liberal professions—particularly medicine, law, and intellectual professions. Jewish doctors thus established healthcare facilities independent of the public administration, such as private practices, sanatoriums, or autonomous Jewish hospitals. These Jewish institutions dedicated to people with physical or intellectual disabilities often became leading facilities in these fields and were attended by non-Jews both before and after World War I. However, the rise of nationalism, antisemitism, and racism in the 1930s, and the implementation of Nazi policies in countries occupied by the Third Reich or those that supported it, led to renewed segregation and the exclusion of Jewish doctors and their patients. These measures severely affected the Jewish community, while weakening the entire system of care for people with disabilities in the region. Furthermore, under the influence of the eugenics movement, many of them fell victim to massacres during the war. The post-1945 period is generally regarded as a time when the Jewish communities of Central Europe, having been severely decimated, struggled to revive their activities, and when many local Jews decided to emigrate. However, even after World War II, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary had a newly established network of health facilities and sanatoriums run by Jewish experts and financially supported by international Jewish charitable organizations. These institutions had been established primarily to assist Jewish survivors traumatized by the war and once again became centers of care for patients. Some of these early Jewish initiatives, particularly in the field of psychotherapeutic care for patients suffering from war trauma, inspired other professionals and institutions working with trauma victims until the 1990s, following the fall of the communist regimes. Projects may focus on all or part of this history. Projects that highlight the perspectives of people with disabilities and emphasize their agency, through archives and personal accounts, are particularly encouraged.

Your Work Environment

The successful candidate will enroll in a Ph.D. program at Sorbonne University (Faculty of Letters) and join the “Civilizations, Cultures, Literatures, and Societies” Doctoral School (ED 020). He or she will be affiliated with the Eur'ORBEM Joint Research Unit “Cultures and Societies of Eastern, Balkan, and Central Europe” (CNRS, Sorbonne University, UMR 8224); their research will contribute to Research Area 1: Fragilities: Cultural Aspects of the Subjugated (body, minorities, and nature between aggression and agency, 18th–21st centuries). Eur'ORBEM is a multidisciplinary research unit in the humanities and social sciences that brings together specialists on the countries of Central, Eastern, and Balkan Europe. The project will be part of the Advanced ERC INHIST research program—Inclusive History of East-Central Europe: Mid-19th Century to Present—led by Professor Kateřina Čapková of the Faculty of Arts at Charles University. It will thus benefit from the support provided by this ERC program. The dissertation will be co-supervised by Clara Royer and Kateřina Čapková.

Constraints and risks

The doctoral contract includes a requirement for mobility in East-Central Europe—preferably three months per year—to collect the archival sources necessary for the research. Depending on the specific focus of the dissertation, this affiliation will require travel to at least one of the Visegrad countries (Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, or Slovakia). During this mobility period, the French Research Center in Social Sciences (CEFRES – USR 3038 CNRS-MEAE), based in Prague, Czech Republic, will host the doctoral student. It will provide administrative and logistical support and offer a stimulating academic environment through its collaborative platform in the social sciences and humanities with Charles University and the Czech Academy of Sciences, as well as through its academic network with the Visegrad countries.
Applicants must hold a master's degree in the social sciences and humanities (e.g., history, disability studies, Jewish studies, and so forth) with a specialization in at least one Visegrad Group country (Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Czech Republic) by the end of the current academic year (June 2026). Proficiency in one of the languages of the region is required. Applicants must not be enrolled in a doctoral program at the time of application. The dissertation may be written in French or English.
Applicants shortlisted based on their application materials will be interviewed by the selection committee.

Compensation and benefits

Compensation

2300 € gross monthly

Annual leave and RTT

44 jours

Remote Working practice and compensation

Pratique et indemnisation du TT

Transport

Prise en charge à 75% du coût et forfait mobilité durable jusqu’à 300€

About the offer

About the CNRS

The CNRS is a major player in fundamental research on a global scale. The CNRS is the only French organization active in all scientific fields. Its unique position as a multi-specialist allows it to bring together different disciplines to address the most important challenges of the contemporary world, in connection with the actors of change.

CNRS

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