DECADOCS is a pioneering research and training programme enabled by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks (MSCA-DN) aimed at reinterpreting the concept of decadence. Traditionally associated with decline, decadence will be explored through new perspectives, focusing on sustainability, transnationalism, and sensoriality. The programme offers tailored intersectoral training in collaboration with museums, archives, galleries, and other partners, reinforcing its scientific and social impact.
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We are recruiting a PhD candidate for a fully funded project within DECADOCS, a pioneering research and training program enabled by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks (MSCA DN) aimed at reinterpreting the concept of decadence. Traditionally associated with decline, the term will be explored through new perspectives, focusing on sustainability, transnationalism, and sensoriality. The program offers tailored intersectoral training in collaboration with two associated partners (European Institute for the History and Culture of Food in Tours, France) and the Syndicat Général des Vignerons de Champagne (Champagne Winegrowers Professional Union) in Epernay (France) reinforcing its scientific and social impact.

‘Defining, Displaying and Representing Decadent Food and Drink from the 19th to the 21st Century’

This project proposes a diachronic analysis of menus and the symbolic dimensions of social dining, from the literary Decadence of the late 19th century to the Futurist avant-garde in early 20th century Italy, and its echoes in contemporary practices. By examining menus, literary texts, manifestos, and performative events (such as literary banquets and Futurist culinary happenings), the research will trace shifts and continuities in the cultural construction of gastronomy and its entanglement with art and ideology—ranging from the pursuit of rare tastes to the celebration of modernity, from aesthetic individualism to collective utopias, from linguistic identity to nationalist expressions. Ultimately, the project aims to understand how gastronomy becomes an artistic and ideological language, from J.-K. Huysmans and Gabriele d’Annunzio to Marinetti’s Manifesto of Futurist Cooking (1930), and how its legacy informs present-day artistic and political practices.
Objective: Use substantial archives of 19th to 21st century French menus and related artifacts as a benchmark of transnational decadent food and develop a communication strategy targeting the food and drink industry and the general public.

What we offer:

• competent and close cosupervision of the project
• an inspiring international environment and the opportunity to complete a double PhD
• the opportunity to take part in training programs at two doctoral schools and thus further develop your own academic and research skills

The researcher will be enrolled in a double doctoral degree from two institutions: the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne (URCA) in France and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in Germany. The successful candidate will be required to relocate to Reims for the first 24 months of the project (1st December 2025/1st January 2026 – September 2027), where he/she will undergo graduate training under the Structured Ph.D. in Humanities and Social Sciences program in addition to DECADOCS network training. In this period, he/she will establish the foundations of his/her doctoral research and complete the two training secondments, gaining experience in the region’s cultural industries. He/she will then move to Mainz (Germersheim Campus) to spend the next 24 months of the project in JGU, where he/she will complete his/her PhD thesis and other network activities obtaining editorial experience.
Close to Paris (45 minutes by train), University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne is a multidisciplinary establishment located at a geostrategic position favourable to European and international exchanges. URCA develops innovative, fundamental and applied research and provides more than 29 000 students with a wide range of initial undergraduate and graduate studies programs which address society’s needs in all domains of knowledge. For the research part, engaged in more than 435 collaborative partnerships across 54 countries worldwide, URCA has a solid experience of European and international projects. It has been involved in many FP7 projects, H2020 projects, Horizon Europe, Interreg projects, COST, CEF or ERA-NET actions.
Known and recognised for its internationally acclaimed innovative research, URCA has 29 approved research teams, 4 PhD schools, 3 Federative Research facilities, 1 Champagne Vine and Wine Institute and many technological platforms. Within URCA, you will pursue your PhD in the Cerep Unit which brings together researchers working across various fields within the humanities and social sciences, like sociology, and information and communication sciences. Within the study of professionalisation processes, each research team adopts a specific stance based on its own research objects and conceptual tools. You will be part of Team 2, which investigates discourse and images with a particular focus on the role and place of media both in the representation of collectives (social, professional, etc.) and in the construction of their identities.
At JGU, more than 35,000 staff and students from over 120 nations take on the challenges of the sciences and the arts, of research, learning, and teaching every single day. It is the joint efforts of all JGU members doing research, studying, working, and living together that make our university so successful. JGU supports its members in all their endeavours – in keeping with the university’s namesake, Johannes Gutenberg, and its motto The Gutenberg Spirit: Moving Minds – Crossing Boundaries. Within JGU, you will pursue your PhD at the Faculty of Translation Studies, Linguistics and Cultural Studies (FTSK) at the Germersheim Campus, which is located on the Rhine between Heidelberg, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. This is one of the world’s largest and best-known faculties for interpreting and translation, which offers an extremely international teaching, research and study environment.
URCA and JGU are equal opportunities employers and are committed to principles of equality and encouraging diversity and inclusion in recruitment and in the workplace. We celebrate the diversity of our staff and students and work to support an inclusive environment free from discrimination and harassment.

YOUR DUTIES:
As a PhD student working on this project, you will contribute to researching the symbolic significance of menus in gastronomic, aesthetic, cultural and political discourses. You will contribute to carry out an interdisciplinary investigation combining textual analysis, the study of representations, and archival research, in order to shed light on the aesthetic, political, and identitarian stakes involved in the performative dimensions of gastronomy from the late 19th century to the present day.

Expected results:
R.1: a curated digital resource of menus and artifacts from the 19th to the 21st centuries;
R.2: a resource of related writings enabling the definition of decadent food along 10 criteria;
R.3: a communication strategy for promoting decadent food to the food and drink industry;
R.4: food tasting sessions to present decadent menus to the representatives of the food and drink industry and influencers.

Your tasks will include:

• Archival research
• Translation and digitalisation of archival material (database)
• Writing of a PhD dissertation
• Compiling research findings into scientific presentations, publications
• A secondment time at the European Institute for the History and Culture of Foods (Tours) to work with an archivist
• Organising an exhibition of a specific fund (from IEHCA, Tours)
• A secondment at Syndicat général des vignerons de la Champagne to collaborate with and the communications officer
• Organising food tasting sessions to present decadent menus to the representatives of the food and drink industry and influencers.

REQUIREMENTS:
Essential:
We are looking for a candidate with:

• Master’s degree in the field of Humanities (such as Romance Studies, Cultural Studies, Food Studies, Modern History 19th-21st, Communications Studies)
• Native (or near-native) knowledge of English or French or German (Italian is a plus)
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Strong digital skills
• Affinity and interest in interdisciplinary research
• Ability to work well both collaboratively and independently in an international context
• Highly motivated, with excellent organisational skills
• Strong background in late-nineteenth/early-twentieth century history (Literature, Politics, Gastronomy) would be a plus

Desirable:

• Demonstrable research interest/experience in at least one of the following: travel, foods, cultural studies.
• Experience in archival research and working with scholarly databases
• Experience in digital humanities methods
• Curiosity, problem solving skills, willingness to engage with non-academic audiences
• Demonstrable ability to disseminate research findings in scholarly and/or popular forums
• Experience in the organisation of public events

BENEFITS:
The EU provides support for each recruited researcher in the form of:

• a living allowance
• a mobility allowance
• if applicable, family, long-term leave and special needs allowances

Where to apply and what to send:

Application
Please send:
- a cover letter stating your motivation to apply for the position and your key competencies relevant for this position
- an up-to-date CV, including details of your BA and MA degrees
- copies of your diplomas and transcripts of records (BA and MA)
- contact information of two academic referees
- evidence of proficiency in academic English (eg. a sample of academic writing from your MA, max 5000 words)
- Proof of ID (passport, identity card);
- A declaration of Honour stating that you fulfil the eligibility criteria.

Eligibility criteria:
-Researchers funded by Doctoral Networks
must not have a doctoral degree at the date of their recruitment
- can be of any nationality
- should be enrolled in a doctoral programme during the project
- should comply with the mobility rules: in general, they must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the recruiting organisation for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before their recruitment date

Our selection procedure is merit-based and follows the guidelines of the recruitment of European Commission’s European Code of Conduct for researchers:

Please see the job offer on EURAXESS.
https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/370402

Applications are received until 20 October 2025.
Interviews will take place online from 17 to 22 November 2025.

Contact:
Robert Lukenda JGU, lukenda[at]uni-mainz.de
Benoit Verdier URCA, benoit.verdier[at]univ-reims.fr