Ph.D. position in History of Atomism

Ph.D. candidate position in History of Atomism at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology

Start date: February 2025

Duration: 3 years

Kind of employment: Full-time scholarship; under request, the candidates can teach and/or support Dr. Piergiacomi’s courses in the history of philosophy of science.

Deadline: June 24 for the expression of interest; November 30 for the official application.

Applications are invited for one (1) Ph.D scholarship at the Humanities & Arts department at Technion, Israel Institute of Technology (Haifa, Israel). The successful candidate will become part of the research laboratory directed by Dr. Enrico Piergiacomi, and conduct independent and collaborative research under the project Digital Atomism: Democritus and the Democritean Tradition.

The goal of the project is to conduct cutting-edge research on the earliest phase of atomism, namely Leucippus, Democritus, and the Democriteans (including but not limited to key figures like Anaxarchus, Metrodorus of Chios, and Nausiphanes), as well as in its subsequent reception. These thinkers not only laid the groundwork for the atomistic theories of Epicurus and Lucretius, but also served as a source of inspiration for corpuscular theories espoused by influential figures such as Francis Bacon, Galileo Galilei, and Pierre Gassendi. Their ideas also exerted a pervasive influence on various seemingly disparate intellectual strands, including scepticism (exemplified by Pyrrho and Sextus Empiricus), alchemy, libertinism, and even Marxism.

Additionally, the project seeks to create a digital platform that will host a new collection of evidence on the ancient atomists and edit/translate texts of the Renaissance/early modern period that were directly influenced by these thinkers. An example is Giovanni Magneno’s Democritus reviviscens sive de atomis (Paris 1646). A list of desirable texts to be studied can be provided in advance.

The research focus is open, insofar as it is established a clear connection between ancient atomism and the candidate’s area(s) of interest. Broadly conceived, the successful candidate will foster interdisciplinary collaborations that link the humanities to science and technology. Preferences will be given to students who have a good command of Greek and Latin, as well as who can work on both the ancient period and the Renaissance/early modern period.

Stipend: $1700 per month, with gradual increases based on academic performance and successful completion of a candidacy exam.

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Please send by July 24 to Enrico Piergiacomi (enrico.p@technion.ac.il) with CC to Anat Glass (anatg@technion.ac) the following material:
• CV, including a list of publications (if any);
• Sample of written work;
• A research proposal (2-3 pages, bibliography excluded);
• 2 letters of recommendation.

For more information about the department: https://humanities.technion.ac.il/en/.
For information about the acceptance conditions: https://graduate.technion.ac.il/en/prospective-students/

Note that a master thesis with a minimal 85 grade is required. Informal inquiries can be directed to Enrico Piergiacomi: enrico.p@technion.ac.il.