PhD student ‘Simulating Globalisation in the Roman Empire’

The Department of Art and Culture, History and Antiquity is looking for a PhD student within the NWO-funded project ‘Simulating Globalisation in the Roman Empire’.

The Roman Empire was one of the principal globalised political entities in history. In its constituent regions, globalisation induced profound, complex and variable societal changes, emerging from the interplay between local conditions (environment, demography, subsistence economy) and ‘global’ factors, including epidemics, climate change and power struggles within the Empire.

The project will employ cutting-edge computational methods for ‘big data’ analysis and simulation modelling to integrate bottom-up, data-driven archaeological analyses with top-down, theory-driven socio-economic models of globalisation. As a case study, it focuses on the Dutch part of the Lower Rhine region, which played a crucial role in protecting the Empire’s military and economic interests between the 1st-3rd century CE.

Three main elements will be investigated: 1) the integration of the local (‘rural’), regional (‘provincial’) and supra-regional (‘imperial’) socio-economic system, 2) the role of taxation, appropriation of natural resources and military investment by the Roman Empire in shaping and maintaining this system, and 3) the effects of external, ‘global’ events on its long-term socio-economic resilience.

For this, the project will pursue two integrated lines of research:

• Synthesising high volumes of archaeological data on demography and economy to analyse their trajectories at regional and imperial scale, and integrating these with environmental and other data sources.
• Using simulation techniques in a High-Performance Computing (HPC) environment to formalise, model and test existing and new hypotheses on the effects of globalisation on the socio-economic system.

The project will also develop transferable and open methods for modelling large-scale questions on past economies applicable to other regions and timeframes.

The PhD student will be responsible for the collection and analysis of the available archaeological and palaeo-environmental data of the study region, focusing on economic and demographic indicators of globalization, in order to answer the following research questions:

• What was the demographic trajectory of the region, and how does this compare to the Roman Empire at large?
• How did the region’s economy develop over time?
• How can we detect the impact of globalisation on regional socio-economic dynamics?What were the key drivers of globalisation in the Lower Rhine region? How can we transfer these findings to other regions?

Tasks:

• review archaeological (grey) literature for relevant datasets and approaches to analyze the economy and demography of the Lower Rhine region
• collect, update and manage relevant datasets in a bespoke geo-database system
• apply GIS, statistical methods and network analysis to extract economic and demographic indicators of globalization, in particular from finds assemblages from settlements and funerary contexts
• describe, contextualize and interpret the analysis results within the framework of globalization in the Lower Rhine region
• closely collaborate with the project team members and external partners
• participate in project meetings
• present research results in international conferences
• publish research results in international, peer-reviewed journals
• publish data and methods in Open Access repositories
• contribute to the development of educational resources

• (R)MA degree with specialization in Roman provincial archaeology, preferably with a focus on the Netherlands
• Demonstrable experience with geo-data management and spatial and statistical analysis of archaeological and preferably also palaeo-environmental data (geoarchaeology, zooarchaeology, archaeobotany)
• Desirable: experience with scripting (in Python and/or R)
• Demonstrable interest in interdisciplinary, collaborative research
• Ability to read Dutch (desirable: German and French)

A challenging position in a socially engaged organisation. At VU Amsterdam, you contribute to education, research and service for a better world. In return for your efforts, we offer you:

• a salary of € 2.872,00 (PhD) and maximum € 3.670,00 (PhD) gross per month in the fourth year, for a full-time employment
• a full time employment contract of initially 1 year. If there is sufficient perspective, this will be extended to a total of 4 years. Your dissertation at the end of the fourth year forms the end of your employment contract.

We also offer you attractive fringe benefits and arrangements. Some examples:

• A full-time 38-hour working week comes with a holiday leave entitlement of 232 hours per year. If you choose to work 40 hours, you have 96 extra holiday leave hours on an annual basis. For part-timers, this is calculated pro rata.
• 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus
• solid pension scheme (ABP)
• a wide range of sports facilities which staff may use at a modest charge
• optional model for designing a personalized benefits package

The intended start date of the employment is 1 January 2025. 

The department Art & Culture, History and Antiquity  is part of the Faculty of Humanities and has over 90 academic staff (including PhD students) divided into three clusters. The position will be in the cluster Antiquity, which covers the fields of Ancient Studies, Classics and Archaeology. The department is an established research centre for Roman archaeology in the Lower Rhine region with experts on settlement archaeology, metal finds, numismatics and epigraphy, as well as critical approaches towards interconnectivity, colonization and networks in the ancient world. It is part of CLUE+, the VU interfaculty research institute that brings together researchers from a wide variety of academic disciplines to jointly investigate culture, cognition, history and heritage and to reflect upon and formulate strategies towards societal challenges. It also participates in the VU Network Institute, that studies the digital society in an interdisciplinary approach.

Faculty of Humanities
At the Faculty of Humanities we explore the world around us through the study of language, history and philosophy. Three multidisciplinary departments make up the faculty: Language, Literature and Communication; Art & Culture, History and Antiquity; and Philosophy. We call this Humanities+.The plus stands for being open to new ideas, transcending disciplinary boundaries, searching for innovative teaching methods and small-scale personalised classroom environments.

We tackle complex social problems that demand a broad transdisciplinary approach. An approach that inspires us to learn from each other by moving across academic boundaries. Together we enrich our knowledge and creativity. Together we can find solutions that make a positive contribution to society.

Are you interested in joining Humanities? You will be joining an inspiring and personal working environment. Together with your 340 colleagues you will help provide top quality teaching and research.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam stands for values-driven education and research. We are open-minded experts with the ability to think freely - a broader mind. Maintaining an entrepreneurial perspective and concentrating on diversity, significance and humanity, we work on sustainable solutions with social impact. By joining forces, across the boundaries of disciplines, we work towards a better world for people and planet. Together we create a safe and respectful working and study climate, and an inspiring environment for education and research. Learn more about our codes of conduct

We are located on one physical campus, in the heart of Amsterdam's Zuidas business district, with excellent location and accessibility.  Over 6,150 staff work at the VU and over 31,000 students attend academic education.

Diversity
Diversity is the driving force of VU Amsterdam. VU wants to be accessible and receptive to diversity in disciplines, cultures, ideas, nationalities, beliefs, preferences and worldviews. We believe that trust, respect, interest and differences lead to new insights and innovation, to sharpness and clarity, to excellence and a broader understanding.

We stand for an inclusive community and believe that diversity and internationalisation contribute to the quality of education, research and our services.

Therefore, we are always searching for people whose backgrounds and experience contribute to the diversity of the VU community.

Are you interested in this position and do you believe that your experience will contribute to the further development of our university? In that case, we encourage you to submit your application.

Submitting a diploma is part of the application process.

Applications received by e-mail will not be considered.

Acquisition in response to this advertisement is not appreciated.