Full Professorship and Chair in Modern European Culture Since 1800

In the Department of History, European Studies and Religious Studies there is a vacancy for a Full Professorship and Chair in Modern European Culture since 1800.

The capacity group of European Studies is part of the Department of History, European Studies and Religious Studies (GER) that also comprises CEDLA (the Centre for Latin American Research and Documentation). The European Studies capacity group is organized around four chair groups: Modern European History, European Governance, Modern European Literature (that the appointed professor should lead), and East European Studies.

European Studies at the UvA brings together a range of disciplinary perspectives (including History, Literature and Culture, Law, Economics, Anthropology, Geography and Critical Area Studies) to investigate the dynamics of European transnational relations, contemporary as well as historical. Our teaching programmes highlight the ideas and structures that bind together Europe and Europeans (including a variety of transnational connections and cultural exchange, but also institutionalized forms of European integration) as well as the forces that continue to divide Europe (including nationalisms, old and new). While European Studies students become well familiar with the functioning and the institutions of the European Union, the role and place of the EU is also situated within Europe’s longer histories and wider geographies. The programme has, indeed, a strong focus on Europe’s neighbourhoods to the East, South-East and South, with specialisms in the Mediterranean and Middle East as well as Eastern Europe and the post-Soviet states. We aim to train students who are broadly educated Europeanists, able to place contemporary political and cultural debates within a wider historical context, and to approach ‘European questions’ in an interdisciplinary and trans-regional fashion. There are currently more than 800 students enrolled in European Studies programmes.

What are you going to do

The positioning of UvA European Studies within a Faculty of Humanities is quite unique as most European Studies programmes are predominantly located within Faculties of Social and Political Sciences. Our European Studies programme is one of a kind in bringing together political-institutional perspectives on European governance with cultural-historical approaches to understanding European identities.

This interdisciplinary perspective allows European Studies scholars to collaborate closely with other Departments in the Faculty of Humanities (including History and Languages and Cultures), but also with colleagues in other UvA Faculties, including the Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics, and Law. This collaboration is also encouraged through the cross-Faculty Amsterdam Centre for European Studies (ACES) in which many European Studies staff and postgraduates are involved. Most scholars in European Studies are affiliated with the Amsterdam School for Regional, Transnational and European Studies (ARTES), where this Chair is also located.

Teaching:

We are looking for candidates who are excellent teachers, able to motivate students and provide innovative teaching at both the BA as well as MA levels. We expect the Chair to take a leading role in the Department’s MA teaching programme, also working to develop it into new directions and international collaborations. The Chair should have a proven record of PhD supervision and the ability to attract PhD students and funding.

The Chair will lead a team that is responsible for specific parts of the European Studies teaching programme, including BA core modules, the major in European Culture, as well as the associated MA track (in Identity and Integration). The Chair’s teaching should take a prominent role in these programmes, while also possibly engaging in collaborative teaching with other Departments, in particular MVTC and Algemene Cultuurwetenschappen.

Research:

We expect the Chair to have a proven record of attracting national and/or European research funding (individual or consortium based). Once in post, the Chair should play a leading role in developing and leading grant applications (individually and together with the team), while also providing mentorship in the application process to more junior colleagues.

The Chair’s research should directly speak to the priority areas of ARTES that brings together humanities and social science approaches to the study of Europe and other world regions. We expect the Chair to take a guiding role in shaping and leading ARTES’ research, stimulating new research directions and extending the School’s existing strengths.

We also expect the Chair to take an active role in the inter-faculty research priority area ACES. The Chair’s research should, ideally, add new historical perspectives to the research being conducted within ACES’s guiding research themes, in particular ‘Europe in the World’, ‘Diverse Europe’ and ‘Politics and Publics’.

Leadership and administrative tasks:

The Chair should have proven ability in leading interdisciplinary teaching and research teams, and proven experience in administrative functions. We are looking for a candidate who is able to both support and motivate colleagues, creating a nurturing environment that allows other researchers to thrive. S/he should support the group’s HRM (career development, professionalization, coordination) and offer mentorship.

The Chair should not only have the proven administrative and managerial capacity to guide her/his Chair group but should also be willing and able to take on administrative responsibilities at Departmental and/or Faculty level (including leadership of the capacity group, wider GER Department or the directorship of ARTES).

What do we require of you

The Chair should be a proven research leader in the field of ‘Modern European Culture since 1800’. The Chair’s research and teaching should engage with the wide diversity of European culture, examining practices and processes of representation in the cultural media, and in literature in particular. We are especially looking for candidates who combine a focus on literature and cultural history with a concern for the way forms and traditions of representation shape images, imaginations and identities. The Chair should bring in a transnational approach to European culture and its complex legacies and be able to work across different literary and linguistic cultures and traditions, across the continent and beyond. We seek candidates who are able to extend literary and cultural history into new directions and are able to engage with wider publics in their research and outreach.

Candidates for the position are expected to meet the following requirements:

• s/he holds a PhD in a European Culture-related field, such as History, Literary Studies, or Media studies;
• has an excellent international academic reputation and publication record;
• is an experienced and enthusiastic teacher at all levels of academic training and has experience in developing teaching programmes at Bachelor and Master levels;
• has proven excellent management and leadership qualities, and is a capable and enthusiastic administrator;
• can show a track record of acquiring external research funding;
• has experience in the supervision of PhD projects and junior researchers;
• has an extensive national and international network with academic, political and cultural institutions;
• has experience with collaborative projects and is able to establish productive connections with other academic disciplines within as well as outside the department;
• is able to contribute to knowledge exchange in public as well as academic settings.

All employees appointed at the Faculty of Humanities are expected to have a good command of both written and spoken Dutch within two years.

Please also check the document ‘Information about chairs at the Faculty of Humanities ‘ for more information.

Our offer

The appointment will be permanent. The gross salary will normally conform to professorial scale 2, between €5.749 and €8.371 gross per month (including 8% holiday pay and an 8,3% end of year payment) on a full-time basis (38 hours per week) in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities  . In certain cases, however, different terms of employment may be offered.

Curious about our organisation and attractive fringe benefits such as a generous holiday arrangement and development opportunities? Here you can read more about working at the University of Amsterdam.

About us

The University of Amsterdam is the Netherlands’ largest university, offering the widest range of academic programmes. At the UvA, 38,000 students, 6,000 staff members and 3,000 PhD candidates study and work in a diverse range of fields, connected by a culture of curiosity.

The Faculty of Humanities provides education and conducts research with a strong international profile in a large number of disciplines in de field of language and culture. Located in the heart of Amsterdam, the faculty maintains close ties with many cultural institutes in the capital city. Research and teaching staff focus on interdisciplinary collaboration and are active in several teaching programmes.

Questions

Do you have any questions, or do you require additional information? Please contact:

• for questions about the chair: prof. dr. Remieg Aerts , chair of the selection committee and department chair GER.
• for procedural questions: Charlotte Jalvingh , secretary of the selection committee.

Job application

The UvA is an equal-opportunity employer. We prioritise diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for everyone. We value a spirit of enquiry and perseverance, provide the space to keep asking questions, and promote a culture of curiosity and creativity.

Do you recognise yourself in the job profile? Then we look forward to receiving your application, addressed to The Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Prof. Fred Weerman. You may apply online by using the link below. Applications, including a motivation letter, a detailed CV and a list of publications, should be submitted in pdf.

The response period closes on 30 November 2021. Only complete applications received within the response period via the link below will be considered.

Applications will be received by a selection committee headed by the chair of the department of History, European Studies and Religious Studies, Prof. Remieg Aerts. Following a procedure which may involve a formal leadership assessment and a public trial lecture, the committee will make its final recommendation to the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities. The first interviews will be held in the course of January 2022.

No agencies please

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