The Amsterdam School of Historical Studies (ASH) is advertising a PhD position as part of the FGW Starting Grant Project “Urban Landscapes in Late Antiquity”, led by principal investigator Dr Konstantin Klein. The supervisor team will consist of Prof. Dr Daniëlle Slootjes, Dr Martijn Icks, and Dr Konstantin Klein. The Amsterdam School of Historical Studies is one of the five Research Schools within the Amsterdam Institute for Humanities Research (AIHR). You will be part of the Ancient History Chair Group of the Department of History, European Studies and Religious Studies at the University of Amsterdam.

Your PhD project focuses on the dynamic urban culture of the Eastern Roman Empire during Late Antiquity. The research investigates how urban landscapes evolved during this period of significant political, environmental, and/or social transformations. From flourishing urbanisation to the formation of ruined landscapes due to factors such as climate change, epidemics, and political shifts, your project will explore how ancient cities and their inhabitants navigated prosperity and decline.

Your PhD project will employ diverse literary, epigraphic, and material sources, as well as cutting-edge digital tools provided by UvA’s 4D Research Lab, to reconstruct late antique urban landscapes. A key focus will be the interplay between monumentalisation and ruination as markers of collective memory and identity, offering new insights into how cities and their inhabitants experienced urban decay.