Doctoral Candidate (m/f/x)

The Center for Religious Studies (CERES) is a central academic institution at Ruhr University Bochum (RUB). CERES initiates and coordinates religion-related activities in research, teaching, early-career development, and knowledge transfer. CERES is a Central Research Unit of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum. It currently brings together over 50 researchers, which makes it one of the largest centers for the comparative study of religion in Europe. The CRC 1475 “Metaphors of Religion: Religious Meaning-Making in Language Use” and its subproject A05 "Stairway to Heaven: Liminal Spaces in Early South Asian Sacred Architecture" are searching for a doctoral candidate to carry out research on South Asian Buddhist and Hindu art and architecture. The CRC 1475 is an interdisciplinary research network consisting of 19 subprojects and more than 40 scholars. The CRC combines research in religious studies, diverse philologies, computational linguistics, art history and theater studies on the significance of metaphors for the formation of religious meaning-making. Based on a historically wide-ranging corpus, the CRC comparatively analyzes metaphors across traditions such as Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism. Its research is strongly collaborative, grounded in a shared digital infrastructure and a common methodological and theoretical framework. Further details can be found at https://sfb1475.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/. Subproject A05 investigates the metaphorical significance of liminal spaces—such as staircases, doorways, thresholds, and gateways—in early South Asian Buddhist and Hindu sacred architecture (3rd c. BCE–6th c. CE). It examines how these elements act as practical and metaphorical thresholds shaping religious experience, mediating access to the sacred, and negotiating identity and authority. By analysing their visual programmes and spatial settings, the project examines the relationship between materiality and metaphor in three-dimensional religious environments.

The Ph.D. candidate (m/f/x) is the main project team member and will carry out the core research of the subproject und the direction of Prof. Dr. Jessie Pons. The successful candidate will be associated with the CRC's Graduate School of Metaphor and Religion (GSMR) and will benefit from structured supervision, integrated research training and funded opportunities for research activities abroad. The position is subject to a pending funding commitment from the German Research Foundation (DFG) expected in mid-May 2026. The position of research associate (TV-L E 13) is to be filled for 42 months starting on July 1st, 2026.