PhD/junior researcher project “Understanding and Experiencing Sexual Violence"

The Institute of International Studies (IMS), Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague, is opening a junior researcher/Ph.D. student (m/f/d) position (1.0) with a start date of 1 March 2026 or as otherwise agreed. The position is offered for a fixed term of 36 months. In the case of successful admission to the internal doctoral program, a follow-up stipend to support the completion of the dissertation may subsequently be provided, but not beyond September 2030.

The researcher will work on the project “Understanding and Experiencing Sexual Violence in the Late Habsburg Monarchy,” a three-year project funded by the Czech Science Foundation (GAČR) and led by Prof. Ota Konrád (IMS, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University). The researcher will join a wider project team, including Dr. Tereza Juhászová.

The project examines sexual violence in the late Habsburg Monarchy through the lens of local actors—both ordinary people and meso-elites. Taking a bottom-up approach, it analyzes how sexual violence was understood and experienced at the local level, highlighting the agency of diverse actors. By focusing on peripheral regions of the late Habsburg Monarchy, it challenges the dominant emphasis on urban metropolises in research on sexuality and sexual violence. Moreover, the project reveals the social practices and power hierarchies that shaped everyday life and political attitudes during the fin de siècle.

Job description:

• Conduct independent research within the project framework including archival research in a selected region within the territories of the former Habsburg Empire
• Participate in regular team meetings, internal workshops and project-related academic events
• Contribute to project outputs including at least one academic article and conference presentations
• Develop and pursue an independently formulated PhD dissertation aligned with the project’s aims (within the broader framework, with your own research question and design)