The project (more at https://contralab.online/philology) tackles the strange doubling of interpretation within humanistic and computer scientific contexts. It asks what large language models do to meaning when they ‘read’ texts across history, and how we might conceptualize a misreading model. The postdoc will co-lead the project’s computational side (fine-tuning open-weight models on historical corpora, attribution and interpretability work, and an open benchmark for diachronic semantics), working closely with a team that has competencies in literary history, philosophy of language, computer science and engineering, critical code studies, media studies, history of technology, and STS. We’re looking for someone with a technical background who has hands-on experience with transformer models and a real interest in historico-theoretical approaches to studying language, literature, science, and technology. Basel offers fantastic living and working conditions, and an annual starting salary of approximately CHF 68,000 to 78,000 (currently equivalent to around EUR 72,000 to 82,000 or USD 82,000 to 94,000), depending on the postdoctoral qualifications/experience.
The application deadline is 25 November 2026. Details and the application portal can be found via https://contralab.online/job.
I’d be very grateful if you could pass this on to anyone who might be a good fit, and/or to lists where they might see it.