'Paper Princes' announces
two Student Assistantships for the 2015-2016 year !

Date
15 September 2015

'Paper Princes' Student Assistantship

The Assistantships' goal is to assist talented MA students to learn more about academic research, to build competitive CVs, and to develop internationally-engaged, well-designed and innovative Ph.D. proposals, with an eye to obtaining doctoral positions in early modern diplomatic history or a related field. The Assistantships are funded through the University of Groningen's Faculty of Arts.

The 'Paper Princes' program offers two Student Assistants the opportunity 

·      to work closely on an innovative and exciting research project;
·      to meet leading scholars in the field and build an academic network;
·      to gain first-hand experience in conference and/or exhibit organization;
·      to participate in organizing a pedagogical program for schoolchildren; and
·      to develop and strengthen a Ph.D. proposal by conducting preliminary research in a foreign archive or library.

Fascinating, Feasible, & Fundable Ph.D. Projects
The program covers up to €1500 per Assistant in travel, living, and archival expenses for up to one month's preliminary or exploratory research at a foreign archive or library in the summer or semester following the completed Assistantship. The program will help Student Assistants where possible in locating affordable housing in research institutions or student dormitories, and will aid Student Assistants in developing initial archival or library research strategies. Through this preliminary archival research the student will be able to acquaint him- or herself with collections related to his or her proposed Ph.D. research, determine their availability and suitability, and gain a better idea of what skills and methods are necessary to best exploit them. To encourage internationalization, the program is restricted to archives or libraries which would otherwise be difficult to access in the pre-dissertation phase (those outside of the Netherlands and/or Assistants' native countries).

Expectations
Student Assistants will work with 'Paper Princes' researcher Dr. M.K. Williams (University of Groningen, Early Modern History) to organize an international conference entitled 'The Politics of Paper in the Early Modern World', to take place in Groningen in mid-June 2016. Possible conference tasks include attending organizational meetings; helping to draft a Call for Papers; helping manage, select and organize abstracts; helping set up and manage the conference website; and (optional, June-December 2016) helping coordinate the related conference publication.

Student Assistants will also have the opportunity to help in the early phases of organizing a pedagogical 'Day of Paper' for schoolchildren and/or a museum exhibition on the materiality of communications media, both to take place in Groningen (possible tasks: attending organizational meetings, helping with fundraising, planning exhibits, writing text and choosing artifacts or imagery for exhibits).

The Student Assistantships are unpaid and do not generate ECTS/study credits. Student Assistants are expected to be available an average of one to three hours per week in November 2015 through May 2016, and more intensively in the week of the conference. Meetings will be held in Groningen primarily on a task basis, and will be scheduled in consultation with Student Assistants and around Student Assistants' studies and other activities.

Qualifications
Successful candidates will:

* possess a bachelor's degree (BA, BS) in History, Art History, Literature, (the history of) International Relations, (historical) Archival Studies, (the history of) Information Management, or a related field;
*  have above-average, good or excellent marks in coursework and (if applicable) on the BA thesis;
* be enrolled in a (Research) MA program;
* have a demonstrated interest in one of the following topics:
·      early modern history, ca. 1450-1750
·      the history of diplomacy and international relations
·      (early modern) intellectual history
·      media studies, paper history or book history
·      the history of information management
·      the history of recycling
·      (early modern) material culture
·      archival history and practice
·      (Habsburg) administration and statecraft ca.1450-1750
·      or a topic you can argue is feasibly related to the 'Paper Princes' project.
* be considering or planning submission of a Ph.D. proposal related to one of the above topics within the next three years;
* be willing to consider Dr. Williams as primary or co-supervisor of your Ph.D.;
* have good English skills (spoken, reading & written) and be able to speak and read at least one other foreign language at an academic level (Dutch, Latin, German, Spanish or Italian desirable);
 * be ambitious, motivated, and able to work well with others.

How to Apply
Submit the following application materials by email as a single pdf-file[1] attachment. Title your attachment 'SA Application SURNAME'. Send your email to m.k.williams AT rug.nl, with the subject line 'SA Application SURNAME'.

·      Letter of motivation (in English). Why do you want to be a Student Assistant, what background and qualifications do you bring to the project, what do you hope to gain from the project, and what are your post-MA or Ph.D. plans? If you already have a Ph.D. topic and potential archive/library collection in mind, give a brief description.

·      Curriculum vitae showing your education, employment, and (where  relevant) your internships, grants and prizes, publications, and other accomplishments.

·      Official transcript(s) of BA and MA coursework and marks. If you have only just begun your MA program, include your BA transcript and a document demonstrating your enrollment in an accredited MA program.

·      The title, name, telephone, and email address of one academic reference. This university faculty member (professor, docent, instructor, lecturer, etc.) does not need to submit a letter of recommendation, but should be willing to speak to your qualifications if contacted.


The application deadline is Friday, 16 October 2015, at 12.00 noon. Successful candidates will be notified in the last week of October 2015, and will be expected to begin the Student Assistantship in November 2015.

For questions email:
Dr. Megan K. Williams (m.k.williams AT rug.nl)

Unsolicited marketing of these positions is not appreciated.

[1] Create PDFs of your Word documents in Microsoft Office using the 'Save As' pdf option, or the Print/Save as PDF option. Merge PDF documents into one file using free online software such as pdfmerge.com, smallpdf.com/merge-pdf, or pdfjoiner.com. Alternately you can scan your documents into one pdf.