RU Roman Law and Legal History - research associate Stepchildren in early modern Brabant

Organisation/Company KU LEUVEN Research Field Juridical sciences » Roman law Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) Final date to receive applications 16 Feb 2026 - 23:59 (UTC) Country Belgium Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Offer Starting Date 1 May 2026

In the framework of the FWO-funded project on "Stepchildren in the early modern Duchy of Brabant: the interplay between particular law and ius commune )" (G027826N), the postdoctoral researcher will:

• conduct archival and doctrinal legal-historical research on the legal position of stepchildren in the early modern Duchy of Brabant, in the fields of family law, family property law, and inheritance law;
• write four scientific articles on this research for publication in international peer-reviewed journals, as sole or main author;
• co‑organise, together with the project's promoter (prof. dr. Wouter Druwé), an international conference on the legal position of stepchildren in early modern Europe;
• co‑edit, together with the promoter, the ensuing conference volume;
• co‑author, together with the promoter, a concluding article on the main findings of the research project (combining insights from the first four articles and from the research by the promoter);
• present the research at several international conferences.

The FWO-project also offers financing for two one-month research stays at other European research institutions.

The postdoctoral researcher is expected to actively participate in and contribute to the activities of the Research Unit. The researcher will be able to profit as well from the activities organised within the MSCA Doctoral Network "TESTAMENT".

• has successfully defended, or will defend prior to October 2026, a Ph.D. in Law on a legal historical topic, or a Ph.D. in a related discipline (e.g. medieval or early modern history);
• is fluent in English, and at least has a reading knowledge of early modern Dutch and Latin; knowledge of French is an added value;
• can work autonomously, is a team player, and open to an international research environment.

Experience with archival research and paleography is an added value.

In your application file, please include a letter of motivation, a detailed CV (with references to earlier publications, if any), and a scan of your Ph.D. degree. If you have not yet defended your Ph.D. thesis, please add a letter of recommendation by your Ph.D. supervisor to your application file, in which it is confirmed that (in all likelihood) the Ph.D. will indeed be defended prior to October 2026.