Doctorat en histoire de la médecine

PhD Position in the History of Medicine and Science (1 year, full-time)

 

Call for applications

The research group SHOC (Social History of Capitalism) within the Faculty of Languages and Humanities of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, is looking for a PhD candidate in the history of medicine and science. SHOC is a young and vibrant research group that aims to study the social history of capitalism from a global and bottom-up perspective. The group is home to several large projects, spanning from migration in Medieval Europe, to foraging practices in colonial Central Africa, and the dynamics of inequality in the contemporary period.


Project

The fellowship is part of a larger project “Negotiating consent: patient agency and surgery from a European perspective, 1900-2000” funded by the VUB research council. The project aims to generate fresh insight into shifts in patient agency in the 20th century in understudied European countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands. The focus is on negotiations between doctors and patients about major life-threatening operations. Considering the operative risks, consent was important in surgical practice long before it became the norm in medicine as a whole in the second half of the 20th century. However, there are several historical examples of surgeons who bypassed consent or changed a procedure mid-operation. In hospitals, consent-seeking often occurred without disclosure of relevant information about surgical risks. Moreover, historical studies have shown that surgical advancement in the past centuries is rooted in the use of experimental surgery on marginalized groups, including women, poor populations and people of color.

This project aims to provide insight into the surgical experiences and agency of Belgian and Dutch patients from an intersectional perspective during the period 1900-2000. It will study the part played by patients in decisions on surgical operations by analyzing patient records and other sources that provide insights into the perspectives of patients. At the same time, the project will pay due attention to the cultural and social hierarchies that shaped hospital interactions at the intersection of different axes of inequality such as social class, gender, race, and age.

The PhD candidate of this fellowship is expected to conduct research and develop a PhD project proposal for the FWO (Research Foundation – Flanders) within the scope of the project. The deadline for submitting the research proposal on the FWO platform is 1 March 2025. The candidate will have autonomy to develop a focus of their own in dialogue with the supervisor. The candidate will be supervised in the process of prospecting, selecting and analyzing sources, writing the research proposal and preparing conference papers and publications by prof. dr. Jolien Gijbels.



Requirements

For this position, prospective candidates must have:

• A master’s degree in history or a related discipline with historical expertise with an above average final grade. Candidates who are about to graduate are also welcome to apply.
• A special interest in the history of medicine and science.
• Excellent command of writing and speaking skills in English.
• Sufficient passive knowledge of Dutch and French to be able to analyze sources in those languages.
• An interest to communicate research results at international conferences and in scholarly publications.
• The ability to work independently and develop their own research interests.
• Good social and organizational skills.

To be eligible for this position, it is required that you have not performed any works in the execution of a mandate as an assistant, paid from operating resources, over a total (cumulated) period of more than 12 months.


The VUB has an inclusive recruitement policy. The university wants to create equal opportunities for everyone, regardless of gender, origin, skin color, age, religion, disability and neurodiversity.



Offer

The candidate will be offered a full-time PhD-scholarship for the duration of 1 year. During this year, the candidate is supposed to apply for a PhD fellowship of the FWO in order to continue the PhD project.

You will receive an attractive grant linked to one of the salary scales set by the government. The effective payment of the doctoral scholarship is subject to the condition of the grantee's enrolment as a doctoral student at the university.

There is sufficient funding available for participation in international conferences, travels to archives and other work-related expenses.


At the VUB, you will also enjoy various other benefits:

• Extensive homeworking options, an allowance for working from home of 50 euros per month OR an internet allowance of 20 euros per month;
• An open and informal working environment where attention is paid to work-life balance, and exceptional holiday arrangements with 35 days of leave (based on a full-time contract), closure between Christmas and New Year and 3 extra leave days;
• Cost-free hospitalisation insurance;
• Full reimbursement of your home-to-work commute with public transport according to VUB-policy, and/or compensation if you come to work by bike;
• A wide selection of meals in our campus restaurants at attractive prices;
• Excellent and affordable facilities for sport and exercise, a range of discounts via Benefits@Work (in all kinds of shops, on flights, in petrol stations, amusement parks...) and Ecocheques;
• Nursery near campus, discount on holiday camps for children;
• Access to VUB learning platforms and training courses;
• And finally: great colleagues with a healthy drive.

The planned starting date is 1 November or 1 December 2024.


Interested?

You can apply by sending the following documents in Dutch or English to jolien.gijbels@vub.be by 8 September 2024:Your CV
Your motivation letter (max. 1 page)
A preliminary project proposal in which you describe your ideas for the project (max. 1 page)
A copy of your MA diploma
1 piece of written research (e.g. a published article, a chapter of your MA thesis)


Interviews will be held in September 2024.


Inquiries about the project and job offer may be directed to Jolien Gijbels, at jolien.gijbels@vub.be

Would you like to know what it is like to work at the VUB? Go to jobs.vub.be, where you will find all there is to know about our campuses, benefits, strategic goals and your future colleagues.