Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Arabic Philosophy

Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Arabic Philosophy
Sydney Campus
3 x F ull-time opportunit ies , Fixed term contract for 3 years

- Friendly and collaborative work environment
- Rewarding opportunity offering career developmen t
- Level B $121,739 + 1 5 . 0 0% super annuation

About the university

We believe in the power of education to transform lives, strengthen communities and help people become the best version of themselves. The University of Notre Dame Australia is a modern, national Catholic university that serves more than 12,000 students across its campuses in Fremantle, Broome and Sydney. With a community of over 1,000 academic and professional staff, Notre Dame is recognised for its personalised learning environment, strong graduate outcomes and holistic educational philosophy rooted in critical thinking, ethics and the Catholic intellectual tradition.
 
About the project

The University of Notre Dame Australia is proud to host the Arabic and Hebrew teams of the E uropean R esearch C ouncil (ERC) Synergy project, “Logic in Reverse Redux: Illegitimate Argumentative Moves in the Arabic, Byzantine, Hebrew and Latin Medieval Traditions,” (RevLogRedux), which is to run until 30 April 2031. The coordinating team of the Synergy Grant is led by Leone Gazziero at the CNRS , France ; the Arabic team leader at UNDA is Tony Street ; and the Hebrew team leader is Charles Manekin. We seek to appoint up to three highly research-active scholars working in medieval Arabic philosophy with a track-record, or an interest in developing expertise, in researching medieval logical texts and fallacy-theory. In accordance with ERC conditions, all outcomes are to be published Open Access.

About the role

The Arabic Tradition: Rational Sciences (hereafter, ATRS) team of the ERC project, “Logic in Reverse Redux: Illegitimate Argumentative Moves in the Arabic, Byzantine, Hebrew and Latin Medieval Traditions,” seeks to appoint up to three postdoctoral researchers. Participation in the project will be an opportunity to acquire new textual and philosophical skills, produce a significant research portfolio, develop ties with leading researchers in medieval philosophy, and be part of a major initiative in digital humanities. The ATRS team will engage actively with the other teams working on the Latin, Byzantine, Hebrew and Arabic traditional sciences.

As a guide, appointees will be expected to devote their time as follows: 20% transcribing and translating a number of texts, either individually or under guidance from the team leader; 20% responding to the initiatives of the Geneva team as they develop AskSten; 60% conducting independent research on the historical and cultural context of the texts studied, and analysis of the fallacy-theories developed by Arabic authors, especially as they relate to Aristotle’s Sophistical Refutations .

Th ese research-focused position s will contribute to the University's strategic research goals through the production of high-impact publications, including ERC-related outputs targeting leading Q1 journals or scholarly monograph s . The role will strengthen the research profile of the Centre for the History of Philosophy, particularly in the growing field of Arabic Philosophy, while supporting grant applications, research supervision and mentoring, and engag ing in academic, professional, and research administration activities.

Key Responsibilities

- Contribute to the translation of a corpus of medieval Arabic texts on fallacies, preferably as the sole translator for assigned passages (see here (https://www.unige.ch/RevLog/publications/arabic-tradition) for passages already earmarked for translation), or, where necessary, as a team member working under the supervision of a primary translator. Each appointee will be expected to translate approximately 150 pages over the three-year project period.
- Undertake the transcription of texts not yet available in electronic format for inclusion in the project's web-based database.
- Conduct primary research on the historical and cultural context of the texts studied, and analysis of the fallacy-theories developed by Arabic authors, especially as they relate to Aristotle’s Sophistical Refutations .
- Collaborate with the University of Geneva team in integrating materials from four philosophical traditions into AskSten, a multi-layered virtual research environment whose digital archive, knowledge base, Semantic Web architecture, and online deployment will enhance the formal expressiveness and coherence of the project's findings; see https://www.unige.ch/RevLog/about-1 .
- Contribute to all activities associated with the ERC Synergy Grant, including participating in conferences and workshops in the UK and Europe, help in organising conferences and workshop s , translation, independent research on topics related to the texts listed at WEBSITE , and liaison with teams at CNRS, the University of Lille, and the University of Geneva to advance the project's objectives of collaboration and synergy.
- Post-docs are expected to participate in person in a fortnightly team seminar through the semester at the Broadway Campus.

Qualifications, skills & experience

Essential:

- Research-level proficiency in the philosophical language of medieval Arabic.
- Doctoral level training in Arabic philosophy or medieval Islamic intellectual history, with evidence of potential for high-quality research ; a strong publication record is highly desirable.
- Proficiency in Arabic text entry, with the ability to read and interpret medieval manuscripts.

Desirable :

- B ackground in digital humanities .
- Facility in another language in RevLog’s coverage (Latin, classical Greek, Hebrew) or relevant to the study of the Arabic translation movement (Syriac).

How to apply

Please apply online with a resume and cover letter outlining your suitability for the role.

Applications closing date:   6 November 2026

Applications will be assessed progressively as they are received.

These opportunities are available to candidates with valid Australian working rights and to international applicants seeking employment in Australia .

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are encouraged to apply.

The University is committed to providing a safe, respectful and inclusive working and learning environment.

The successful candidate will be required to complete a self-declaration regarding Gender-Based Violence (as required by the National Code) as part of the pre-employment process. For more information on this please refer to our website.

The University of Notre Dame Australia seeks to increase the diversity of our workforce to meet the different needs of the University and its stakeholders better and to improve equal opportunity outcomes for our staff.

Contact us

Please direct your queries about academic aspects of the project to :

Arabic Team Leader , Professor Tony Street, [email protected]

Talent Acquisition Melissa Schmidt, [email protected]

[DDB1] The positions are not housed in the Research Office