The Leibniz Research Alliance “Value of the Past” is pleased to invite applications for up to seven
Leibniz Fellowships “Value of the Past”.
These month‐long fellowships provide an opportunity to research in the alliance’s research field and its main topics at one of the participating Leibniz research institutes and Leibniz research museums.
The interdisciplinary Leibniz Research Alliance “Value of the Past” examines the values that societies attach to the past. It focusses on processes of value creation as well as competing values in disputes over the past. In order to gain a deeper understanding of the relevance of the past for societies and the changeable historicity of values, the alliance analyses past and current practices of assessing, rethinking, raising, decreasing and harnessing the value of the past. The alliance postulates that particularly in times of political upheavals and crises, processes of negotiating the value of the past play a crucial role.
The fellowship is intended to support academic work that can be assigned to one of the three overarching research foci that deal with “Regimes of Evidence”, “Spatiotemporal Paradigms”, and the “Past as a Public Resource”. In the new research programme that will start in September 2025, these topics are addressed in seven research groups, that work on “Documentary Evidence” , “Digital Heuristics and Digital History”, “Participation and Appropriation”, “Dynamic Constructions of Space and Time”, “Human‐Nature‐Relations in the Anthropocene”, “Contested Values of the Past”, and “Valorization and Commodification”. Additional information can be found on the website of the Leibniz Research Alliance (https://www.leibniz‐wert‐der‐vergangenheit.de/forschung/research‐programme‐and‐research‐groups‐2025‐2029).
The Leibniz Research Alliance “Value of the Past” includes historical, educational, social sciences and spatial research institutes as well as research museums. It spans a wide range of disciplines from cultural studies to science and technology. Twenty‐one Leibniz institutes and several German and international partners are currently involved.
The fellowships are intended to promote academic research that fit into the alliance’s research profile. Fellowship holders can, for example, use the stipend to research in the field of the alliance’s research areas, to develop a research project in cooperation with the host institution, to conduct archival research, or to write an article or chapter of a book. The project should be presented at a colloquium and/or other event of the Leibniz Research Alliance or its participating Leibniz institutes. It is also expected that fellowship holders contribute to the “Value of the Past” blog (https://valuepast.hypotheses.org).
Applicants must have a PhD and an outstanding academic record. Holders of Leibniz Research Alliance Fellowships receive a grant of 3,000 €. The funding should cover all expenses including travel, housing, and insurance. The host institutes will provide office space and other relevant research facilities where possible.
Applications from scholars from international crisis regions will be given special consideration.
The application deadline is June 30, 2025. Decisions will be announced by end of July 2025. The fellowships must be taken up by October 2026.
Applications in English or German must include
- a letter of interest including details about the chosen Leibniz‐Institute;
- a curriculum vitae (including a list of publications, with 5 most important publications);
- a project proposal not exceeding 1,500 words;
- a letter of recommendation.
Please send your application to:
Jakob Schlieper
Leibniz Research Alliance “Value of the Past”
Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History, Potsdam
jakob.schlieper@zzf‐potsdam.de
Applicants should apply via e‐mail (one pdf‐attachment only). For further information regarding the Leibniz Research Alliance “Value of the Past”, please refer to www.leibniz‐wert‐der‐vergangenheit.de or contact Dr Achim Saupe: saupe@zzf‐potsdam.de.
You will also find all participating Leibniz institutions in the attached document.