Available positions: 2 full-time 3-year PhD positions at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU, Trondheim)

The Department of Modern History and Society at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU, Trondheim) offers 2 full-time 3-year PhD positions within the project "Missing Girls in Historical Europe", funded by the Norwegian Research Council (NFR).

Preliminary evidence reconstructing infant and child sex ratios, the number of boys per hundred girls, in 19th-century European countries suggests that gender discrimination resulting in excess female mortality in infancy and childhood in historical Europe was much more important than previously thought (especially in Southern and Eastern Europe). This project seeks to

(1) trace the importance of missing girls, and thus the extent of discriminatory practices, in historical Europe (c.1700-1950);
(2) identify the type of families that were more likely to be involved in this kind of behaviour;
and (3) address to what extent discriminatory practices in infancy and childhood are the result of structural socio-economic features (such as the lack of labour opportunities for women, among others) or temporary shocks (associated with famines or other mortality crises).

The 2 Ph.D. candidates will contribute to the main project by developing their own research agenda around these issues. Proposals can focus on any European country or region and can rely on individual-level information and/or regional data at different levels of aggregation (villages, counties, provinces, or countries). Although the 19th century is particularly attractive due to the availability of sources (population censuses, vital statistics, etc.), proposals dealing with other periods will also be considered, especially if they adopt a long-term perspective. Projects using quantitative methods are particularly welcome.

Deadline for applications: June 12th. More details can be found here.

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