Call for Proposals

The Volkswagen Momentum Fellowship Programme “From Pre-Modern to Modern Perspectives in Judaic Studies” invites applications from scholars whose research focuses on Judaism and Jewish communities across the Middle East, the wider Middle East and North Africa from the early modern period into the modern era.

The programme brings together scholarship that has traditionally treated these periods separately. It promotes an interdisciplinary and diachronic approach to Jewish history, encouraging research that explores long-term historical developments and examines how pre-modern and modern perspectives can illuminate one another.

Structured to foster intellectual exchange, the fellowship programme encourages close collaboration between fellows and the research team at the Munich Research Centre for Jewish-Arabic Cultures, directed by Prof. Dr. Ronny Vollandt. The programme draws on approaches from anthropology, sociology, political science, law, philology, and religious studies. Furthermore, it is committed to challenging Eurocentric narratives in Jewish historiography by amplifying the voices and experiences of Mizrahi Jews from across the wider Middle East.

Fellowship Opportunities

To foster dialogue across career stages, the programme offers fellowships for both senior and early-career scholars.

Senior Fellowships

(more than seven years after the PhD)

  • Monthly stipend of €4,200
  • Duration: 3–12 months

Junior Fellowships

(up to seven years after the PhD)

  • Monthly stipend of €3,200
  • Duration: 6–12 months

During the fellowship, scholars are expected to contribute to the programme by delivering a public lecture, offering a masterclass, and writing a blog post on their research. Residency in Munich is required.

Application

Please submit the following application materials as a single PDF file by 2 November 2026 to m.shcherbakova@lmu.de:

  • Project Proposal
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • Writing Sample (maximum 30 pages)
  • Contact Information for Two Referees

For further information, please contact Marina Shcherbakova at m.shcherbakova@lmu.de.

We are delighted to announce that Jasper Bernhofer has been awarded the Samaritan Studies Doctoral Proposal Prize 2026. The prize recognizes his PhD project, Genesis 49 as a Reference Point for Religious Identity Formation and Interreligious Polemics in the Medieval Islamicate World.

Teresa Bernheimer was awarded a Visiting Fellowship at New College, University of Oxford, in trinity term 2026. Her fellowship was part of the re-establishment of Arabic at New College, where it was reintroduced as a teaching subject in 2023 after many years of absence. New College has a long and distinguished tradition of scholarship in Arabic and Oriental studies, associated most notably with the orientalist D. S. Margoliouth (1858–1940), who was an undergraduate and fellow at New College as well as the Laudian Professor of Arabic (https://www.new.ox.ac.uk/babel/margoliouth).