Post-doctoral position in ‘Khoisan’ Documen tation and Contact Linguistics

[Brigitte Pakendorf]

Apologies for multiple postings.

One post-doctoral position is available in the interdisciplinary Max 
Planck Research Group on Comparative Population Linguistics at the Max 
Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. The 
successful applicant will be expected to work on language contact in the 
Kalahari Basin with a particular focus on the underdocumented language 
ǂHoan; this will potentially involve close collaboration with a 
molecular anthropological project dealing with ‘Khoisan’ peoples. The 
project is planned as part of a broader collaborative interdisciplinary 
project on the ‘Kalahari Basin Area: A ‘Sprachbund’ on the verge of 
extinction’, for which a funding application is still pending; however, 
the ǂHoan contact project will be pursued regardless of the outcome of 
that application.

Applicants are required to hold a PhD degree or at least to have 
submitted their PhD thesis at the time the project starts. Prior 
experience with linguistic fieldwork is imperative, familiarity with 
‘Khoisan’ languages is highly desirable, and an interest in 
interdisciplinary research is important. The position will be available 
for an initial period of two years, with a possibility of extension for 
up to 12 more months.

The Max Planck Research Group on Comparative Population Linguistics is 
an interdisciplinary group consisting of linguists, molecular 
anthropologists, and a social anthropologist devoted to the study of 
prehistoric language and population contact. Additional information can 
be found at our webpage: http://www.eva.mpg.de/cpl/
The group is tied in with the Department of Linguistics at the MPI for 
Evolutionary Anthropology, which has a strong focus on 
functional-typological research as well as on fieldwork-based language 
description; see http://www.eva.mpg.de/lingua/. The ǂHoan contact 
project will be conducted in close collaboration with two other projects 
on ‘Khoisan’ languages carried out at the MPI-EVA; see 
http://www.mpi.nl/DOBES/projects/taa/project and 
http://www.hrelp.org/grants/projects/index.php?projid=131.

Interested individuals should send a letter of application, curriculum 
vitae, a sample of their writing, and the names and e-mail addresses of 
two referees to Brigitte Pakendorf by e-mail (pakendorf at eva.mpg.de 
<mailto:pakendorf at eva.mpg.de>). In addition, they should arrange for the 
letters of reference to be sent directly to Brigitte Pakendorf. The 
deadline for applications is December 31st, 2008, and the position will 
ideally be filled soon after that; however, the exact starting date is 
negotiable. For further information, please contact Brigitte Pakendorf.

The Max Planck Society is an equal opportunity employer.


-- 
************************************************************************
Dr. Dr. Brigitte Pakendorf 
(Ph.D. Molecular Anthropology, Ph.D. Linguistics)
                                    
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Deutscher Platz 6                       phone    +49 (0) 341 35 50 308
D-04103 Leipzig                         fax      +49 (0) 341 35 50 333
Germany                                 e-mail   pakendorf at eva.mpg.de
http://www.eva.mpg.de/cpl/
************************************************************************