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Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics

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PhD in Computational Literary Studies and Cultural Evolution of European Literature Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Germany

Degree Level

PhD

Field of study

Computer Science

Funding

Full funding available

Deadline

Aug 15, 2026

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Country

Germany

University

Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics

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Keywords

Computer Science
Machine Learning
Sociology
Cognitive Science
Statistical Analysis
Literature
Data Mining
Digital Humanities
Cultural Evolution
Statistics
Large Language Models

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About this position

Doctoral Candidate (m/f/d) in Computational Literary Studies at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

The Research Group Cultural Evolution of the Arts, led by Dr. Oleg Sobchuk, invites applications for a fixed-term PhD position (36 months, TVöD Bund E13, 65%). The project sits at the intersection of literature, computational humanities, computational social science, computational linguistics, statistics, and computer science.

The doctoral researcher will work on the macroevolution of European literature between 1800 and 2000 across major European languages. The role focuses on assembling and structuring a large literary dataset and investigating big-picture hypotheses about the evolution of literature, including the diffusion of topics, styles, and genres across time and space. The team will build on the HathiTrust library and develop it into a comprehensive research resource for large-scale cultural analysis.

Required qualifications include a Master’s degree in a relevant field, willingness to work in an interdisciplinary environment, strong teamwork skills, fluency in written and spoken English, and the ability to design and conduct quantitative research. Helpful experience includes data wrangling, text mining, data analysis in R or Python, statistics, machine learning, LLMs, and work with large cultural datasets.

The position is based at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt am Main, with English as the primary working language and collaborations with Goethe University Frankfurt and other regional research institutions. The application deadline is 2026-08-15.

Apply via the applicant management system and include a CV with two referees, a statement of interest (max 3 pages), your Master’s thesis with a one-page summary, copies of degrees/certificates, and an English language certificate if applicable. Project questions can be directed to Dr. Sobchuk at [email protected].

Funding details

Full funding including tuition fees and living expenses is available for this position. The scholarship covers all educational costs and provides a monthly stipend.

How to apply

Please submit your application including a cover letter, CV, academic transcripts, and contact information for two references. Applications should be sent via the online portal before the deadline.

More information can be found here

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