Doctoral Candidate in Computational Literary Studies

The Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics (MPIEA) investigates why and how people create art and how they perform, experience, and evaluate it. The Institute’s focus is on music, but we also engage with other arts such as literature, film, and dance.

The Research Group Cultural Evolution of the Arts invites applications for the position of a

Doctoral Candidate
(fixed term, 36 months; salary scale TVöD E13, 65%).

The doctoral candidate will be affiliated with the newly established research group Cultural Evolution of the Arts, which unites a Max Planck Independent Research Group and the European Research Council-funded project Macroevolution of European Literature (MELT), both led by Dr. Oleg Sobchuk. The main focus of the group is to understand the forces driving the long-term dynamics of literature, film, and other arts. To this end, members of the group rely on large cultural datasets, computational methods, and theoretical models of cultural evolution.

The doctoral candidate will work with Dr. Sobchuk on researching the macroevolution of European literature between 1800 and 2000 across all major European languages. The main focus of this doctoral position will be the assembly and structuring of a large literary dataset, as well as the investigation of big-picture hypotheses about the evolution of literature. We will build upon the existing HathiTrust library and transform it into a comprehensive research resource that allows us to investigate the diffusion of topics, styles, and genres across the European continent.

Importantly, our hypothesis-driven research addresses fundamental questions about literature. For example, why do new genres emerge, and why do they disappear? Why do certain authors become famous while others do not? How are styles and topics transmitted across time and space, forming lasting literary traditions? These and other questions are central to our understanding of literature—and we will answer them using massive corpora and computational methods.

Essential:

• Master’s degree in computational humanities, computational social science, computational linguistics, or a related field;
• Willingness to participate in interdisciplinary research at the intersection of the humanities and social sciences;
• Strong teamwork skills;
• Fluency in written and spoken English;
• Ability to design and conduct quantitative research.

Desired:

• Experience in data wrangling, text mining, and data analysis using R or Python;
• Solid knowledge of statistics;
• Experience using machine learning methods and large language models (LLMs) for research;
• Experience in building and/or using large cultural datasets.

We encourage applications from candidates who may not meet all the desired criteria as we are looking for potential and fit, not perfection.

This research will be conducted at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt am Main. The MPIAE offers a highly interdisciplinary and international scientific environment, with English serving as the primary language of communication in the research group. Located in Frankfurt am Main, the Institute benefits from close collaborations with Goethe University Frankfurt and other leading research institutions in the region. You can expect a modern workplace and a pleasant working atmosphere.

The position is available from the earliest possible starting date and is offered for a fixed term of three years. The agreed working time is currently 39 hours per week. Compensation is based on the Collective Wage Agreement for the Civil Service (TVöD Bund, E13, 65%) and includes an annual bonus. Please refer to "The path to a doctorate" for further information.

The Max Planck Society is committed to diversity, equal opportunities, and inclusion. One of its goals is to increase the employment of persons with severe disabilities – applications from severely disabled individuals are therefore explicitly encouraged. In addition, the Max Planck Society aims to achieve gender equality and increase the proportion of women in areas where they are underrepresented. Women are therefore explicitly encouraged to apply.

Your application should be submitted no later than August 15, 2026, and and should include:

• A detailed CV, including the names and contact information of at least two referees;
• A statement of interest summarizing your previous research and outlining the projects you would like to pursue during your doctoral studies (maximum 3 pages);
• Your Master’s thesis accompanied by a one-page summary;
• Copies of relevant degrees and/or certificates;
• An English language certificate (if applicable).

Please submit your application and all supporting documents via our applicant management system.

For questions about the project, feel free to contact Dr. Sobchuk via job@ae.mpg.de.