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This vacancy fits within the framework
of the EOS research project “Construction History, Above and Beyond. What
History Can Do for Construction History”, directed by professors Michiel
Dehaene (UGent), Dave De ruysscher (VUB, Tilburg University), Rika Devos (ULB),
Johan Lagae (UGent), Stephanie Van de Voorde (VUB) and Ine Wouters (VUB). In
total, 3 PhD positions and 4 postdoc positions are included in this project
(the fourth postdoc mandate will be opened later in 2023). An overview of the
full project and all mandates involved can be consulted on: www.vub.be/arch/project/eos.
The EOS research project will set up a
dialogue (in terms of sources, methodologies, concepts and cognitive interests)
between Construction History and three other fields of history, namely Colonial
History, Legal History and Planning History. As such, the project sets out to
strengthen the historical dimension of Construction History, while
simultaneously demonstrating its relevance and potential to other fields and
disciplines. The project overall concentrates on selected aspects in 19th and
20th -century building knowledge and building practice in Belgium and its
former colony, with particular attention for tacit knowledge, in order to voice
crucial yet underrated actors, sources and types of knowledge.
The individual trajectory of each
postdoc researcher is embedded in this larger team, operating in the 3
universities (ULB, UGent and VUB). Intensive exchange and shared outcomes among
team members are crucial for the success of the project. The postdoc positions
are each situated in one of the 3 fields of dialogue: (1) colonial history –
construction history; (2) legal history – construction history and (3) planning
history – construction history.
This specific vacancy is issued by the
Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and engages in the dialogue between legal
history and construction history. It is co-supervised by profs. Rika Devos
(ULB) and Dave De ruysscher (VUB, Tilburg University).
This postdoc study focusses on the
normativity of ‘implicit’ and ‘practical’ knowledge building in Belgium, during
the 19th and 20th centuries. This type of knowledge is often enforced through
informal rules, in many segments of society. The field of Construction History
holds promising opportunities to further disentangle normativity and informal
rules, as they can be enforced in the case of harm orconstruction faults. The
liability of architects, contractors and even workers was tested against ‘rules
of the trade’, which were rules of implicit, practical knowledge. The sources
that can be used range from instructional literature to case law, in which the
liability of constructors is explored. These sources shed light not only on the
appraisal of ‘rules of the trade’ but also on how legal practitioners
categorized ‘practical knowledge’.
The post-doc study in the dialogue
between Legal History and Construction History explores the types of
normativity as found in instructional literature for construction
professionals. As such, this research will link up not only with recent
developments in Legal History, but also engage with the larger knowledge gaps
identified in this project by assessing not only the relation between different
types of knowledge engaged in normativity, but also the relations between the
actors involved – both professional builders and professional legal actors –
and the untapped sources to assess this normativity, including their technical
and legal challenges. Legal practitioners and construction practitioners
produce very different types of documents, from different viewpoints, in
different ‘languages’. How do they interact and integrate the insights of the
other field? How can they be understood by the other field and were these
sources accessible and used? Do they reflect the standard of building? How and
when does practical knowledge turn into a normative set of (implicit or
explicit) rules or guidelines? These issues are tested through case studies in
the archives of construction companies, such as the private archives of the Blaton
archives and Entreprises Louis de Waele.
The successful candidate will be based
alternatingly at ULB and VUB, to allow a dynamic interaction with the team
members and a full insertion in both institutions.
More information: here
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