Call for PhD Position in History and Philosophy of Medicine

PhD Position in History and Philosophy of Medicine
Department of Humanities and Arts, Technion—Israel Institute of Technology

The “Toward a Global History of Drug Effects” Research Project at the Technion invites applications for a full-time, fully funded PhD position under the supervision of Dr. Matthew Perkins-McVey.

We especially welcome projects that examine medical phenomena through the lens of the history and philosophy of science. The main selection criteria are research excellence and a strong fit with the group’s agenda, though we also strongly encourage submissions that fall outside of the immediate purview of the research project. For example, students interested in the history and philosophy of psychiatry, the science of emotion, or experimental modelling in bio-medicine will be given equal consideration.

This group primarily investigates the history of drug effects, not as static biological modalities but in light of their dynamic historical nature. Drug effects are typically treated as relatively ‘hard’ and unchanging, an assumption freely projected into the historical past. And yet, there is a mounting body of historical evidence that appears to rebuke these notions. Looking no further back than the 19th century, we find many familiar intoxicants acting in ways that defy present expectations: energizing sleep aids, narcotizing stimulants. Nor are such divergent encounters strictly temporal. The difference between the reported effects of Chinese opium smoking and European opium eating were so great that many 19th century experimentalists concluded that opium smoking entailed the creation of a novel alkaloid—a different drug altogether. What is to be made of these differences, even with known intoxicants? The “Toward a Global History of Drug Effects” Research Project is an effort to reassess the ‘stability’ of experiential, medical phenomena, thereby realizing their historical embeddedness. This is done through the comparative exploration of various kinds of encounters, pulled from global contexts (India, East Asia, Eastern Europe, Europe, etc.) during the 18th and 19th centuries. Such questions not only reflect on a contemporary world dominated by potent pharmaceuticals, but help define the points of convergence between the biological bases of drug effects and historical consciousness.

Eligibility:

• MA (with thesis) in history and philosophy of science, history and philosophy of medicine, or allied field, grade 85+.
• Applicants with an MSc/MA in pharmacology, biology, bio-medicine, or similar who wish to pursue a PhD in the history and philosophy of medicine are encouraged to apply (grade 85+).
• Dual supervision is possible.

Please email inquiries or expressions of interest to Dr. Matthew Perkins-McVey at matthewp@technion.ac.il before applying.

Please send all of the following applications to Dr. Matthew Perkins-McVey (matthewp@technion.ac.il) with CC to Anat Glass (anatg@technion.ac).:

• CV
• Brief research statement (1–2 pages)
• BA (or BSc) and MA transcripts
• A writing sample (e.g., a chapter of the Master’s thesis, a conference paper, or a published paper)
• Two recommendation letters, one of them from the MA supervisor.
• For international students, details regarding GRE exemption are available here.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.