The Friedrich Meinecke Institute of the Freie Universität Berlin, Research Area of Global History (https://www.gseschkult.fu-berlin.de/e/fmi/bereiche/global_history ) seeks to fill a post-doctoral position (full-time, fixed-term up to 12 months, salary group 13 TV-L) at the earliest possible date. The position is part of the research project ‘Democratization of the Family? Gender equality, parental rights, and child welfare after 1945’ (DEMFAM), which is funded by an ERC Consolidator Grant (https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101087820 ).
Through the lens of ‘shared and equal parenting’, DEMFAM studies the transformation of gender and the family in contemporary global history. It develops a social history of law reform on different political scales to understand global dynamics of divergence and convergence in the transformation of parental, gender, and care relations. It combines the comparative study of family change in Europe – the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany/German Democratic Republic, and Poland (alternatively: Hungary) – and South Asia (India) with the analysis of international institutions, and transnational knowledge circulation. Integrating research on different ‘worlds of welfare capitalism’, on post-colonial legal pluralism, and on (post-)socialist gender and family politics, DEMFAM opens new horizons for global gender history.

Job description:
The selected candidate will study discussions around family law reform in two or three international/supranational institutions after 1945. This includes European institutions (such as the European Court of Human Rights) and global organisations (such as UNESCO, or UN Women). The focus is on child custody regulations, especially the current debates on ‘shared parenting’ (joint legal custody, joint physical custody) for divorced or separately living parents.

Requirements:
- PhD in the Modern History or a closely related subject

Desirable:

- Fluency in English (C1 or equivalent), good knowledge of at least one other European language (B2 or equivalent)
- Excellent academic record and doctorate
- Proven research expertise in global history, global legal history, and/or global gender history
- Substantial experience of working with archives of international organisations/institutions
- Ability to work in a team

For further information, please contact Susanne Ebermann (demfam@geschkult.fu-berlin.de / 030 838 75034).