Godly Power and Witchcraft
The ideal of the godly state developed during the 16th century. A part of being a godly Christian ruler included eradicating sin and all false Christians. Witches were the epitome of false Christians. This project will explore to what extent witch prosecutions were included in the efforts of establishing a godly Danish monarchy during 1559-1660. The Danish State with its realms were ruled by the Oldenburg monarchs. It encompassed the kingdoms of Denmark and Norway (including territories in present day Sweden), present day Iceland, and the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. These realms had separate jurisdictions and varying degrees of self-determination, but state authorities could issue strict laws against witchcraft. Common to these realms, lay rulers oversaw witch prosecutions. Based on four intertwined subprojects, the overall aim of the project is to clarify the responsibilities of the king, the Council, the king’s lieutenants, and the parish priests, and how these groups engaged in trials for witchcraft.

The post doc position concerns Lutheran pastors and their role in trials for witchcraft. Pastors were royal officials and thus servants of the state as well as of the church. In fact, outside of Copenhagen and the garrison towns they were by far the most prevalent royal officials and the group most evenly spread out over the various parts of the sprawling Oldenburg monarchy’s domains. Furthermore, bishops, deans and pastors formed a parallel hierarchy of royal officials beside that of the king’s lieutenants who they were not subordinated to. How did pastors navigate in this intersection of secular and religious power when godly power was the official ideology? To what extent did they comply with the law on witchcraft? Is it possible to detect any general patterns focusing on specific realms? Did certain pastors stand out? How about those that had a particular educational background? Did they also involve themselves in other “moral crimes” in the secular courts, i.e. sexual offences and so on?

Expected output: short monograph (e.g. Palgrave pivot) and 1 article in a leading journal.

The post doc position is a sub-project in the project Godly Power and Witchcraft in the Danish Realms (1559-1660), funded by the Velux Foundation and the Independent Research Fund Denmark. The project is partnering with Bergen University and HEX! Museum of Wich-Hunt (Museum of Southwest Jutland). The successful applicant will join the project group led by PI Louise Nyholm Kallestrup.

For more information about the project and the position, please contact PI Louise Nyholm Kallestrup ([email protected]) or visit our website https://www.SDU.dk/en/om_SDU/institutter_centre/ih/forskning/forskningsprojekter/godwit

If you are not a Danish speaking applicant, please make sure to enter the electronic application form via the English website in order to receive further information in English.

Application, salary and conditions of employment etc. Employment as Postdoc is temporary (max. 4 years). Employment stops automatically by the end of the period. An upgrade of pedagogical qualifications is not part of the position. Thus employment as Postdoc cannot stand alone as a qualification for later employment as associate professor/senior researcher. The successful applicant will be employed in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and AC (the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations), Cirkulære om overenskomst for Akademikere i staten 2019 (the document only exists in Danish).

To qualify for the position you must have completed a PhD-degree by the time of employment. Applicants are expected to have a relevant PhD in History or a related discipline. Familiarity with 16th and 17th century Gothic handwriting is recommended.

An application must include:

• Application
• Curriculum Vitae
• Certificates/Diplomas
• Information on previous teaching experience, please attach as Teaching portfolio
• List of publications indicating the publications attached
• Up to 3 of the most relevant publications. Please attach one pdf-file for each publication. For any publication with a co-author, a co-author statement must be submitted as part of the pdf-file.

Application and all appendices must be in Danish, English or one of the Scandinavian languages. Only material in Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, and English will be assessed. Please always include a copy of original diploma/certificates.

Please always include a copy of original diploma/certificates. We only accept files in pdf-format no more than 10 MB per file. In case you have more than one file per field you need to combine the pdf-files into a single file, as each field handles only one file. We do not accept zip-files, jpg or other image files. All pdf-files must be unlocked and allow binding and may not be password protected.

Applications will be assessed by an assessment committee and the applicant will receive the part of the evaluation that concerns him/her. The assessment report will subsequently be forwarded to the Head of Department who will assemble an appointments committee. An interview may form part of the overall assessment of the applicants’ qualifications. The committee may request additional information, and if so, it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide the necessary material.

If the application does not meet the requirements mentioned above, the Faculty of Humanities may reject your application without further notice. Applications received after the deadline will neither be considered nor evaluated.

Shortlisting and tests may be used in the assessment process. Please note that only a shortlisted applicant will receive an assessment.

Applications should be sent electronically via the link “apply online” and the Faculty expects applicants to read the information “How to apply” before applying.

We recommend that as an international applicant you take the time to visit Working in Denmark where you will find information and facts about moving to, working and living in Denmark, as well as the International Staff Office at SDU.

The University wishes our staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.