Postdoctoral Fellowships 2026 Hosting Offer, Department of Critical Heritage Studies

The Department of Critical Heritage Studies at the Institute of Ethnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences invites expressions of interest from postdoctoral researchers wishing to apply for a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowship 2026 with the Department as host institution.

The Department welcomes candidates whose proposed projects contribute to the ethnological, anthropological, historical, or interdisciplinary study of heritage and heritage-related phenomena. We are particularly interested in proposals that combine strong empirical research with theoretically ambitious approaches to heritage and its relationship with politics, eg. on forms of politicization and instrumentalization of culture (e.g., at the identity politics or economic level).

Host institution

The Institute of Ethnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences is a public research institution conducting basic and applied research in ethnology and related disciplines, including social and cultural anthropology, historical anthropology, folklore studies, and cultural analysis. The Institute is based in Prague, with a field workplace in Brno, and forms part of the Czech Academy of Sciences.

The Department of Critical Heritage Studies explores heritage as a dynamic, entangled process that transcends conventional distinctions between cultural and natural, tangible and intangible. We study how people make sense of the past and future in the present, focusing on interactions between practices, landscapes, objects, people, and more-than-human actors.

Research profile of the Department

Our key research areas include:

• Religious traditions and spiritual practices, their transformations, and reinterpretations.
• Funeral customs and approaches to death in different contexts.
• Colonial legacies and heritage politics, with a focus on how historical power structures continue to shape heritage discourse.
• Folklore, storytelling, and oral traditions as living practices.
• Traditional crafts and production techniques, their adaptation, and their role in contemporary economies

We particularly encourage projects that are empirically grounded and methodologically reflective, with emphasis on critical heritage approach. To widen our current portfolio, we invite projects that stress political level and role of politics or economy in creating and interpreting heritage.

Possible research themes

Applicants may propose their own project, provided that it clearly fits the Department’s research profile (see https://www.eu.avcr.cz/en/about-us/departments/department-of-critical-heritage-studies/) or broadens it by focusing on other themes relevant to heritage studies. We limit the geographical scope of the study to Europe, and possibly USA, Canada and Australia.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

1. Heritage and politics in Central and Eastern Europe.
2. Intergenerational transmission of heritage
3. Mainstream and dissonant heritage
4. Musealisation
5. Relationship between heritage and politics
6. Heritage and economy
7. Landscape and nature – culture interlinks
8. Theoretical focus on applying critical heritage studies approach to Central and Eastern Europe
9. Tangible and intangible heritage

Projects engaging with Czechia, Central and Eastern Europe, the former Habsburg, post-socialist, or borderland contexts are especially welcome, but the Department is also open to comparative, transnational, and theoretically innovative projects with a clear relevance to heritage studies.

Expected candidate profile

Candidates should:

• hold a PhD by the MSCA PF 2026 call deadline;
• have a strong research profile in heritage studies, social/cultural anthropology, ethnology, or related fields (history, cultural studies, folklore studies);
• demonstrate the capacity to design and carry out an independent postdoctoral research project;
• show a good publication record appropriate to career stage;
• have excellent command of English;
• be able to work in an international and interdisciplinary research environment;
• meet the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship eligibility and mobility rules.

Knowledge of Czech or another Central/Eastern European language may be an advantage for some projects but is not required for all proposals. Candidates must reside in the Czech Republic for the duration of the scholarship. Their office will be in Prague.

MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship scheme

MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships support excellent researchers who wish to carry out a research and training project abroad. Applications are prepared jointly by the researcher and the host institution.

European Postdoctoral Fellowships are open to researchers of any nationality moving to or within Europe. They normally last between 12 and 24 months.

Global Postdoctoral Fellowships are open to nationals or long-term residents of EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries and include an outgoing phase outside Europe followed by a mandatory return phase in Europe.

Applicants must comply with the MSCA mobility rule. For a European Postdoctoral Fellowship, researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity, such as work or study, in Czechia for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the call deadline.

For the 2026 call, the official MSCA PF deadline is 9 September 2026, 17:00 CEST.

Support offered by the Department

Selected candidates will receive support in developing a competitive MSCA PF proposal, including:

• feedback on project fit and research design;
• support in framing the project’s scientific excellence, methodology, training, and impact;
• integration into the Department’s research environment;
• advice on feasible fieldwork, archival, institutional, and collaborative arrangements in Czechia and the wider region;
• support in identifying possible secondment, placement, outreach, or dissemination partners where relevant;
• institutional guidance during the application process, in cooperation with the relevant project support office.

The successful fellow will be expected to take an active part in the intellectual life of the Department, including seminars, workshops, publications, public-facing activities, and collaborative research initiatives.

Application procedure for expressions of interest

Interested candidates should send the following documents in English:

1. A curriculum vitae, including publications and research experience.
2. A one- to two-page project outline, including title, research question, objectives, methodology, expected contribution, and fit with the Department of Critical Heritage Studies.
3. A brief motivation statement explaining why the Institute of Ethnology CAS and the Department of Critical Heritage Studies are an appropriate host environment.
4. Confirmation of PhD award date or expected PhD award date.
5. A brief statement on MSCA mobility-rule eligibility.

Internal deadline

Expressions of interest should preferably be submitted by 15 May 2026, in order to allow sufficient time for project selection, proposal development, institutional review, and final submission before the MSCA deadline.

Contact

Olga Nešporová, nesporova@eu.cas.cz, Head of the Department of Critical Heritage Studies Institute of Ethnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences https://www.eu.avcr.cz/en/about-us/departments/department-of-memory-studies/ 

Please use the subject line: MSCA PF 2026 – Department of Critical Heritage Studies – Expression of Interest

Selection criteria

Expressions of interest will be assessed according to:

• scientific quality and originality of the proposed project;
• fit with the Department’s research profile;
• candidate’s track record and career stage;
• feasibility of the proposed research plan;
• potential contribution to the Department’s research environment;
• expected impact on the candidate’s career development;
• compliance with MSCA eligibility and mobility rules.

Equal opportunity statement

The Institute of Ethnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences welcomes applications from candidates of all backgrounds and encourages proposals that contribute to an inclusive, international, and interdisciplinary research environment.