The University of Lucerne is a modern, personal and dynamic human sciences university at the heart of Switzerland and Europe. In keeping with our guiding principle 'Moving Human Sciences', we focus on people and their institutions with our six faculties, two academies and two university research centres. Our aim is to develop the University of Lucerne into a pioneering, internationally visible centre for research and teaching in the human sciences.
The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, with its ten institutes and departments focuses on interdisciplinarity and innovation in research and teaching. The faculty offers its nearly 800 students a range of integrated degree programmes that are unique in Switzerland. We place great emphasis on excellent supervision and on ensuring close links between teaching and research.
As of 1 March 2026 or by agreement, we are advertising a
PhD position in History (100%, 4 years)
The subproject «Multispecies Hair Trade and Hair Use in Switzerland and Southern Germany» explores the rapid rise and subsequent decline of the wig and hair trade. It does this from the perspectives of artisans as well as consumers and producers of hair (and their critics). In order to understand categorisations and to explore simultaneous overlaps, the project focuses on local forms of hair processing. Exploring classifications of hair, for example with regard to species, the subproject addresses the project's key questions concerning the making of distinction. Moreover, it examines the notion that the hair trade was almost entirely in Jewish hands. Overall, the project thus investigates how practices and discourses surrounding hair as a commodity were linked to questions of who the main actors were, how they positioned themselves in conflictual contexts, and how they interacted with their materials. The main archives and the geographical focus of the subproject are located in Switzerland and southern Germany.
Tasks
- Completing a PhD thesis in the thematic area specified above
- Attending conferences, giving presentations on the subproject
- Collaborating on the project's research database
- Collaborating on the project's digital exhibition «Hairy Histories: A Digital Exhibition» and taking part in organising and conducting academic events within the overarching project
Requirements
- MA, MPhil (or an equivalent qualification) in history or an adjacent relevant discipline, to be completed by the time you start the job at the latest
- Good reading skills in German and French, very good English skills
- Interest in approaches focused on materiality and practices
- Openness towards more-than-human/multispecies approaches
- Team orientation, enthusiasm for research, and capabilities of self-organization
- Regular presence
We offer
- A four-year employment in a PhD position salaried according to SNSF standards
- Regular exchange within the project team and the research colloquium of the Department of History
- Highly motivated and constructive research team with opportunities for international contacts
- Flexible working hours and a centrally located workplace at the university
- Funding of research expenses (archival trips, conferences)
- Opportunity for interdisciplinary exchange and training within the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Lucerne (GSL)
Your application
- A letter of motivation, describing your profile and your interest in the position and the overall project (2–3 pages)
- CV detailing your education and career path, language skills, publications (if applicable)
- MA-thesis (In case your thesis is not handed in yet, please provide an extensive research paper from your MA studies as well as a detailed outline of your MA-thesis project)
- Copies of degree certificates
Please contact Ass.Prof. Dr. Sarah-Maria Schober (sarahmaria.schober@unilu.ch) for further information.
Applications may be submitted until 3 November 2025 through the online application system Apply now
