PhD Application Call
Solidarity in the late Romanov Empire
The ERC Starting Grant project “Empire of Solidarities: A Connected History of Private Charity Across a Decentred Romanov Empire, 1855–1914” (EMPSOLID), invites applicants for a fully-funded 4-year PhD position at the University of Tartu.
About EMPSOLID
By the late nineteenth century, the Romanov Empire stretched half-way across the globe, turning inhabitants of the vast territory spanning today’s Tallinn to Vladivostok into subjects of the same empire. Yet, how far did inhabitants’ horizons of sympathy extend? Did people living at opposite ends of the empire feel any emotional connection or impulse to help one another in times of need? If so, how were these solidarities expressed and enacted? EMPSOLID analyses the formation and development of horizontal connections between different regions of the Romanov Empire through a focus on intra-imperial charity, philanthropy, and aid. The project investigates how charity became a means of expressing solidarity and was shaped by — and also sometimes transcended — confessional and ethnolinguistic divides. The project’s decentring approach contributes to critical approaches to East European and Eurasian studies and imperial history by intensifying cross-regional exchanges between scholars working on different regions of the Romanov Empire (Baltic Studies, Ukrainian Studies, Caucasus Studies, Central Asian Studies etc.) and probing new ways of thinking about the empire based on horizontal entanglements between its border regions.
PhD project scope
The research undertaken as part of the PhD project will focus on the history of ideas and theories of solidarity in the Romanov Empire, tracing how concepts were defined, debated, and transformed over the long nineteenth century. Proposals should address some of the following themes:
- How ideas such as solidarity, altruism, philanthropy, humanitarianism, collective action, mutual aid, or cooperativism were conceptualised and discussed in different intellectual and political circles
- The role of key thinkers, reformers, and activists in shaping these ideas within imperial, national, and transnational contexts
- The influence of European political thought (e.g., socialism, liberalism, conservatism, anarchism, nationalism) on the development of solidarity-based movements within the Romanov Empire
- Religious ideas, institutional practices, and networks of collective welfare (Orthodox, Lutheran, Islamic, Jewish, and others)
- How different actors – such as imperial officials, intellectuals, revolutionaries, national activists, religious leaders, or philanthropists – mobilized ideas of solidarity for political, social, or cultural ends
- The politicization of solidarity in the context of empire and nation-building, including the intersections between imperial, national, religious, and class-based solidarities
Applicants should specify their chosen case study within their proposal, outline a list of potential sources, and clearly articulate how their research will address the intra-imperial dimensions of the topic (ideally, bringing two or more regions of the empire together). Proficiency in the relevant language(s) for the case study is expected.
Responsibilities
In addition to fulfilling the general requirements for doctoral studies at the University of Tartu, the PhD researcher will:
- Participate in regular EMPSOLID team meetings (in person or via Zoom)
- Assist in organising workshops, lectures, and in-person events
- Contribute data and assist the PI with the management of the project database of intra-imperial charitable initiatives
- Produce maps relevant to the larger project using GIS (training provided)
Main supervisor: Dr Catherine Gibson, Associate Professor of East European Studies, Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies, ETIS profile, catherine.helen.gibson@ut.ee.
Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to contact Dr Gibson for preliminary feedback and approval of their research proposal before the application deadline! Please note that the prospective supervisor may however not be able to provide extensive comments or help develop project descriptions at the application stage, given the large number of applicants.
The PhD programme in Political Science is offered entirely in English, and the Institute welcomes applications from both Estonian and international students. The Political Science PhD programme has full accreditation and has received a positive external review in 2011 and 2019. The nominal study time is four years. From the academic year of 2022/2023, PhD students will be admitted to the Doctoral Programme of the Faculty of Social Sciences, with a specialization in Political Science.
Currently, around thirty PhD students are enrolled in Political Science doctoral programme, about 15 as resident PhD researchers. An increasing number of them are international students, coming from Germany, Japan, China, the UK, Sweden, Canada, Kosovo, Serbia, Russia, Armenia, Finland, Turkey, Azerbaijan, USA, Kazakhstan and Indonesia.
- For general information about doctoral studies at the University of Tartu, guidelines and regulations, as well as funding, please visit the University of Tartu’s website on doctoral studies.
- For detailed information about the curriculum and organisation of studies, please see the Faculty of Social Science’s webpage.
For more information about the research areas, publications and current research projects of the faculty, please visit the institute’s employee webpage for an overview of their supervision competencies. You are also welcome to look for our academic employees’ individual profiles in the Estonian Research Information System. Additionally, please familiarize yourself with the main research directions of the institute. It is a precondition for acceptance into the PhD programme that the Institute has the necessary expertise for supervising the project suggested.
Before submitting documents, applicants should contact a prospective supervisor from the Institute’s faculty or seek advice from the PhD programme coordinator Kristel Vits (kristel.vits@ut.ee) about who to contact. It is essential for the application’s success that prospective PhD students approach us with a sound research project and seek to establish a preliminary agreement on supervision with one of our faculty members before submitting their application.
Admission
Spring 2025 admission dates and topics:
May 1–15 – for international applicants
June 1–15 – for Estonian applicants and international applicants graduating in Estonia. Please note that in this round, the application will have to be submitted through an online portal which requires an Estonian ID-card/residence card for identification. In case you do not have an active ID-card, you should follow the deadlines above.
June 27 – admission interviews for the Political Science specialty
Other Info
Duration of studies: September 2025 – August 2029 (48 months)
Funding: monthly salary of €2,000 (gross salary), funding details are here. Please note that all admitted PhD students will be hired as junior research fellows.
Online information session (with pre-registration): April 16, 13:00–14:00 (UTC+3/EEST). Register here!
This position is funded by the ERC grant (EMPSOLID – 101162204).
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
