Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Arabic Philosophy

About the project

The University of Notre Dame Australia is proud to host the Arabic and Hebrew teams of the European Research Council (ERC) Synergy project, “Logic in Reverse Redux: Illegitimate Argumentative Moves in the Arabic, Byzantine, Hebrew and Latin Medieval Traditions,” (RevLogRedux), which is to run until 30 April 2031. The coordinating team of the Synergy Grant is led by Leone Gazziero at the CNRS, France; the Arabic team leader at UNDA is Tony Street; and the Hebrew team leader is Charles Manekin. We seek to appoint up to three highly research-active scholars working in medieval Arabic philosophy with a track-record, or an interest in developing expertise, in researching medieval logical texts and fallacy-theory. In accordance with ERC conditions, all outcomes are to be published Open Access.

About the role

The Arabic Tradition: Rational Sciences (hereafter, ATRS) team of the ERC project, “Logic in Reverse Redux: Illegitimate Argumentative Moves in the Arabic, Byzantine, Hebrew and Latin Medieval Traditions,” seeks to appoint up to three postdoctoral researchers. Participation in the project will be an opportunity to acquire new textual and philosophical skills, produce a significant research portfolio, develop ties with leading researchers in medieval philosophy, and be part of a major initiative in digital humanities. The ATRS team will engage actively with the other teams working on the Latin, Byzantine, Hebrew and Arabic traditional sciences.

As a guide, appointees will be expected to devote their time as follows: 20% transcribing and translating a number of texts, either individually or under guidance from the team leader; 20% responding to the initiatives of the Geneva team as they develop AskSten; 60% conducting independent research on the historical and cultural context of the texts studied, and analysis of the fallacy-theories developed by Arabic authors, especially as they relate to Aristotle’s Sophistical Refutations.

• Contribute to the translation of a corpus of medieval Arabic texts on fallacies, preferably as the sole translator for assigned passages (see herefor passages already earmarked for translation), or, where necessary, as a team member working under the supervision of a primary translator. Each appointee will be expected to translate approximately 150 pages over the three-year project period.
• Undertake the transcription of texts not yet available in electronic format for inclusion in the project's web-based database.
• Conduct primary research on the historical and cultural context of the texts studied, and analysis of the fallacy-theories developed by Arabic authors, especially as they relate to Aristotle’s Sophistical Refutations.
• Collaborate with the University of Geneva team in integrating materials from four philosophical traditions into AskSten, a multi-layered virtual research environment whose digital archive, knowledge base, Semantic Web architecture, and online deployment will enhance the formal expressiveness and coherence of the project's findings; see https://www.unige.ch/RevLog/about-1.
• Contribute to all activities associated with the ERC Synergy Grant, includingparticipating in conferences and workshops in the UK and Europe, help in organisingconferences and workshops, translation, independent research on topics related to the texts listed at WEBSITE, and liaison with teams at CNRS, the University of Lille, and the University of Geneva to advance the project's objectives of collaboration and synergy.
• Post-docs are expected to participate in person in a fortnightly team seminar through the semester at the Broadway Campus.

• Research-level proficiency in the philosophical language of medieval Arabic.
• Doctoral level training in Arabic philosophy or medieval Islamic intellectual history, with evidence of potential for high-quality research; a strong publication record is highly desirable.
• Proficiency in Arabic text entry, with the ability to read and interpret medieval manuscripts.

• Background in digital humanities.
• Facility in another language in RevLog’s coverage (Latin, classical Greek, Hebrew) or relevant to the study of the Arabic translation movement (Syriac).