PhD position (m/f/d) as part of the research project ‘Mining frontiers in the Kingdom of Hungary (16th-18th century).

The Mining History Research Unit at the Deutsches Bergbaumuseum Bochum invites applications for a PhD position as part of the research project “Mining Frontiers in the Kingdom of Hungary (16th-18th Century)”, funded by the Leibniz Association for three years beginning on March 1, 2025. The employment is based on the in-house wage agreement of DMT-LB. The salary is equivalent to a 75% position according to TV-L E 13.

The position is limited to 36 months.

The PhD position at Bochum contributes to the larger project “Commodity Frontiers in Eastern Europe: Environment and Societies at Global Risk (16th-21st Centuries)”, in collaboration with the Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies (IOS) and Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe (GWZO). This collaborative research project situates Eastern Europe within the emerging framework of commodity frontiers, which is essential for understanding capitalism as a global phenomenon with profound social and environmental implications. Amid growing concerns over capitalism’s impact on the environment, societies, and geopolitics, the focus on commodity frontiersdynamic processes that incorporate land, labor, and resources into global economic cyclesoffers a powerful tool to analyze how these frontiers facilitate appropriation, exploitation, dispossession, and ecological degradation.

The Project
The collaborative project “Commodity Frontiers in Eastern Europe” comprises four subprojects that investigate the early modern Central European mining industry (1), modern manganese ore extraction in Western Georgia and Ukraine (2), the Soviet Bloc cotton economy (3), and historical and contemporary trade agreements in Eastern Europen (4). The PhD candidate based at the German Mining Museum in Bochum will work within subproject 1, “Mining Frontiers in the Kingdom of Hungary.” A particular emphasis of the Bochum project will be on copper production and trade in the districts of Lower and Upper Hungary. During the late 15th and 16th century mining towns such as Kremnitz (Kremnica), Schemnitz (Banská Stiavnica), and Neusohl (Banská Bystrica), alongside the ore deposit at Herrengrund (Špania Dolina), Libethen (Lubietová) and Altgebirg (Staré Hory) drew substantial capital investment due to their rich mineral reserves. Merchant families such as the Fugger, Thurzo, and Manlich among others capitalized on these resources, establishing extensive economic networks that connected European trading hubs like Venice, Nuremberg, Antwerp, and Lisbon, and extended to markets in India and Africa.
The selected PhD candidate will conduct research within a long-term framework (16th to 18th centuries) to analyze the socio-economic and socio-ecological rhythms of mining expansion. The candidate will study the complex interplay of state interests, private investments, and official mining administration, which coordinated economic practices, technological innovations, and labor regimes. This coordination not only shaped the socio-economic and environmental landscape but also fostered connections across Europe and beyond. Our historical investigation aims to reveal the impact of mining on society, labor, and the environment, with a particular focus on how the Habsburg Monarchy shaped early modern commodity frontiers through its economic policies and governance.