Czechs and the Colonial World: Design and Visual Culture since 1848.

Applications are invited for two full-time PhD student positions for the Czech Grant Agency-funded project Czechs and the Colonial World: Design and Visual Culture since 1848, to start in January 2026 and lasting for 4 years. The project is based in the Department of Art History at Masaryk University, Brno.

The positions are to undertake work on museum practices in former Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic. Specifically:

1. The first candidate will be required to undertake PhD research on the presentation of non-European art, design and material culture during the period of socialist Czechoslovakia.

2. The second candidates will be required to analyse how museums in the Czech Republic have engaged with the question of colonial legacies since 1989.

Successful candidates will receive a studentship of CZK 36,100 per month (with cost of living increase each year), from January 2026 to December 2029. Students will also be eligible for additional support for travel and other research expenses. In keeping with university regulations, candidates should have obtained a BA programme in art history or a relevant field, and should have successfully completed, or be close to completing, a MA programme.

Since the project will involve working with Czech-language sources, applicants will need to have a good working knowledge of the Czech language (equivalent to C1).

Candidates will need to submit:
1. A curriculum vitae
2. A sample of written work (e.g. a Master’s thesis or some other essay of at least 3000 words in length)
3. Copies of certificates of relevant qualifications
4. A proposal (1,500 words) with bibliography outlining how they would approach the topic, the particular area of interest they have.
5. Non-Czech citizens will be required to provide evidence of Czech-language qualifications / skills.

Applications should be submitted to: GlobalCzechsspace.muni.cz.

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to interview in late June. Candidates will then need to be confirmed by the Scientific Board (Oborová rada) of the Department of Art History in November 2025.

For an initial informal discussion, please contact: Prof. Matthew Rampley, rampleyphil.muni.cz.

For more information on the Department of Art History see here: https://arthistory.phil.muni.cz/