The Collaborative Research Centre “Historical and Transcultural Narratology” (TRR 427), funded by the German Research Foundation, examines pre-modern (ancient, medieval, early modern) narratives from different cultural contexts with the aim of systematically and comparatively investigating the dynamics and functions of narratives in past contexts. The project, consisting of 19 PIs from 16 different disciplines, is based at the universities of Bochum, Bonn, and Freiburg. Subject to project approval
Within project A05, “Narrating History under Censorship and Commerce: Warriors and Rulership in Popular Historical Fiction of Early Modern Japan,” a part-time doctoral researcher position in Japanese Studies is available starting October 1, 2026. The position is fixed-term until June 30, 2030. The project investigates popular historical narratives in early modern Japan within the context of commercial publishing and political repression, using the Ehon Taikōki (絵本太閤記, “Illustrated Chronicles of the Regent”, 84 volumes, 1797–1802) as its principal case study. Through a comprehensive analysis of this work in comparison with other contemporary publications, the project seeks to determine how narrative techniques and strategies of popularization evolved over time under the influence of censorship. The research will combine methodological approaches involving AI-based tools with hermeneutic textual interpretation and intermedial perspectives that consider the relationship between text and image. The successful candidate (m/f/x) will pursue a doctoral degree on this topic and complete a dissertation in the form of a monograph, written either in German or in English.
