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Pirqei de-Rabbi Eliezer (chapters 6-8), Baraita de-Shemuel, and other Hebrew and Aramaic early medieval astronomical works

Supervisor: Prof. SachaÌýStern, Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies

Application deadline: 27 September 2024

Details

Qualification Type: PhD
Location: London
Funding for: Stipend (current estimate £26,572 per year)
PhD start date: 1st February 2025
PhD duration: 3 years
Application deadline: 27 September 2024 at 23:59 UTC

Project background

This PhD studentship is part of a research project on ‘Astronomy, calendar, and related sciences in Near Eastern cultures, third-eighth centuries CE’ (NEAstr). The project is funded by a UKRI Frontier Research grant (ERC Advanced Grant funded by UKRI). The Principal Investigator and first supervisor of the PhD student is Professor Sacha Stern (UCL Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies). The project runs for five years from 1 February 2025 to 31 January 2030.

The project as a whole investigates the history of astronomy, calendar computation, and related sciences (astrology, cosmology, chronology) in the Near East from the third to eighth centuries CE. This period has been marginalised by falling between two periods of Near Eastern pre-eminence in these sciences: ancient Mesopotamia before it (cuneiform ceased in the first century CE), and after it, the Arabic scientific renaissance under the Abbasids. Yet in the intervening period, astronomy and calendar sciences thrived and continued developing in local Near Eastern languages, in a variety of religious and cultural traditions.

NEAstr focuses on a still poorly known body of literature in Syriac, Aramaic, Hebrew and Armenian, mainly in the Christian and Jewish traditions, and also extends to old Arabic, Middle Persian, and Mandaic. Prominent are the works attributed, for example, to the Syriac scholar Severus Sebokht and the Armenian Ananias of Shirak. The project will produce historical studies, critical editions and translations, and a purposely constructed, open-access website incorporating a database and a multi-lingual scientific glossary.

NEAstr evaluates the extent to which astronomy and calendar sciences in Near Eastern cultures preserved the earlier, Mesopotamian astronomical tradition, drew on contemporary Hellenistic scholarship, and impacted the later rise of Arabic astronomy. As a multi-disciplinary team, we investigate the fluid, trans-disciplinary relationship between these sciences, their broader cultural impact, and how they transcended, in the late antique and early medieval Near East, the boundaries of languages, religions and cultural difference.

About the role

The PhD student will be responsible, within the NEAstr project, to investigate Hebrew and Jewish Aramaic texts, in first instance either Pirqei de-Rabbi Eliezer (chapters 6-8) or Baraita de-Shemuel, both works dated approximately to the eighth century CE.

The student will produce a critical edition (based on manuscripts) with translation and commentary of one of these two works, to be selected by the student in consultation with the PI. The student will investigate the broader historical, scientific, and literary contexts of the work under study, with reference to astronomical and related texts embedded in Talmudic literature, Jewish liturgical poetry, earlier medieval scientific works, Cairo Genizah texts, etc. Beyond Jewish sources, the student will assess the relationship of the work to other Near Eastern (e.g. Syriac and Armenian), Hellenistic, and ancient Mesopotamian scientific traditions.

The PhD student will be an integral part of the NEAstr project team, which will include specialists in Syriac and Armenian scientific literatures. The student will participate in weekly research meetings of the team, and will actively contribute to the construction of the multi-lingual scientific glossary. The student will be required to live in or near London.
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Post-doctoral employment

On successful completion of the PhD and award of the degree, the candidate will be employed for a further period as postdoctoral Research Fellow until the end of the project, to work on texts that will not have been covered in the PhD thesis.

Prerequisites

Applicants are expected to hold a first and second degrees (e.g. BA and MA) in relevant fields.

Essential requirements include knowledge ofÌýrabbinic and medieval Hebrew andÌýJewish Aramaic (SLA, JPA, and/or JBA), together with an interest in researching ancient and early medieval Jewish texts on astronomy, calendar, and related sciences.

Proficiency in early rabbinic literature, or in a related body of literature, is desirable but not essential.

How to apply

Eligible applicants should first contact ProfÌýSacha Stern (sacha.stern@ucl.ac.uk)

Please enclose:
• a two-page statement outlining your interest in the project and suitability for it.
• A two-page CV (including contact details of two referees).

Interviews will be held for short-listed candidates.

After interview, the successful candidate will be given instructions to formally apply online via the UCL website.

For more information on doing a PhD within the Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies please see our website.Ìý