The Department of Literary Studies and Linguistics of the Faculty of Humanities has a vacancy for an Assistant professor of Literary and Cultural Analysis.

The candidate has relevant university teaching experience and is able to teach existing lecture and seminar courses in the BA programme Literary and Cultural Analysis, the MA programmes Comparative Cultural Analysis and Comparative Literature, and the research- MA programmes Cultural Analysis and Literary Studies (all taught in English). They are also able to develop new courses in these programs if required, and willing to teach topics beyond their own research. Teaching duties include supervising BA and MA theses, co-supervising PhD students and contributing to the renewal and improvement of the curriculum, in particular towards the structural inclusion of Global South- and race/gender/queer/trans/disability-related topics, objects and theories.

Tasks

• Conducting independent research in Literary and Cultural Analysis, with a concentration on issues of colonization and decolonization, and on textual/visual/sonic/digital media/arts/culture and theories from the Global South, and a preferred additional focus on critical race studies/gender studies/queer studies/trans studies/disability studies, resulting in academic publications in international peer- reviewed journals and/or books;
• actively pursuing external funding for research, notably from national and European research councils;
• actively contributing to and developing national and international research networks and other forms of cooperation;
• actively contributing to the research activities of ASCA;
• developing, coordinating and teaching courses in the BA, MA and research-MA programmes mentioned above;
• supervising BA and MA theses and tutoring students; co-supervising PhD theses;
• actively contributing to the development and improvement of the teaching programmes in the Department;
• taking part in committees and working groups, and carrying out departmental administrative tasks as directed.

The candidate holds a PhD in Cultural Analysis, Comparative Literature, Media Studies, Art Studies or a related discipline. They have a proven commitment to or affinity with Cultural Analysis as a research practice that is fundamentally interdisciplinary, works across different media and revolves around detailed, theoretically informed analyses of cultural objects. The candidate’s research includes a concern with issues of colonization and decolonization, and focuses on textual/visual/sonic/digital media/arts/culture and theories from the Global South. Additional research and/or teaching expertise in critical race studies, gender studies, queer studies, trans studies and/or disability studies is a plus. The candidate is an active and ambitious researcher with a strong publication record and an international network, and has demonstrable experience in securing and/or applying for research funding. Established or planned collaborations with academic and non-academic partners in the Netherlands, Europe, and beyond are especially welcome.

Furthermore the candidate:

• has a PhD in Cultural Analysis, Comparative Literature, Media Studies or a related discipline, with a strong research profile that includes a concern with issues of colonization and decolonization, and a focus on textual/visual/sonic/digital media/arts/culture and theories from the Global South. An additional research focus in critical race studies, gender studies, queer studies, trans studies or disability studies is a plus;
• has proven commitment to interdisciplinarity, in teaching and research;
• has demonstrable ability to engage in the theoretically grounded analysis of a range of cultural objects across different media;
• has established an international network in the research area concerned;
• has research output commensurate with the level of the position;
• has demonstrable experience in applying for and/or obtaining external research grants from funding bodies such as NWO or the ERC;
• has experience in university teaching at BA and MA level;
• has the ability and willingness to teach courses in a broad range of degree programmes across the Faculty of Humanities;
• has broad teaching skills, relevant to multiple departments in the Faculty of Humanities;
• has demonstrable experience with digital and audiovisual teaching facilities; affinity with ICT in university teaching;
• has collegiality, versatility and a willingness to expand teaching and research into emerging interdisciplinary fields;
• has excellent organizational experience and skills;
• has the Dutch Basic Teaching Qualification (UTQ/BKO), or willingness to acquire this within the first two years. Acquiring the BKO is a prerequisite for a permanent employment contract.

Teaching and admin duties require native or near-native fluency in Dutch and English; appointments are subject to the candidate’s proficiency in both, or their undertaking to acquire this proficiency as speedily as possible. Non-native Dutch speakers must achieve an active and passive command of Dutch within two years. Passing the state examination for Dutch as a Second Language (NT2), programme II, is a prerequisite for a permanent employment contract.

Our offer

The temporary employment contract is for a period of two years. Extension of the temporary contract to a maximum of three years or conversion to a permanent contract is not excluded, but is partly dependent on developments in student numbers. The contract will preferably commence between 1 August and 1 November 2020.

The UFO profile for this position is, dependent on relevant experience, Universitair docent 2 (scale 11) or Universitair docent 1 (scale 12).

The gross monthly salary will range from €3,637 (start scale 11) to €5,656 (end scale 12), based on a full-time contract of 38 hours a week.

The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

University of Amsterdam

With over 5,000 employees, 30,000 students and a budget of more than 600 million euros, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is an intellectual hub within the Netherlands. Teaching and research at the UvA are conducted within seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Law, Science, Medicine and Dentistry. Housed on four city campuses in or near the heart of Amsterdam, where disciplines come together and interact, the faculties have close links with thousands of researchers and hundreds of institutions at home and abroad.  

The UvA’s students and employees are independent thinkers, competent rebels who dare to question dogmas and aren’t satisfied with easy answers and standard solutions. To work at the UvA is to work in an independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.

Faculty of Humanities– Department of Literary Studies and Linguistics

The Faculty of Humanities provides education and conducts research with a strong international profile in a large number of disciplines in the 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.

The Faculty of Humanities offers assistant professors the opportunity to collaborate with leading researchers at research institutes that - partly as a result of their interdisciplinary approach - are world-renowned. Moreover, you will be teaching in a dynamic context in which new teaching methods are being developed.

This position is based in the Department of Literary Studies and Linguistics, in the Literary and Cultural Analysis (LCA) group. Combining perspectives from Comparative Literature, Cultural Studies and Philosophy, LCA is dedicated to research and teaching on contemporary culture. The aim is to make sense of and reflect on works of literature, art, and visual culture in close relation to urgent contemporary social and political questions.

The candidate’s research will be part of the Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis (ASCA). ASCA is one of the five research schools within the Amsterdam Institute for Humanities Research. ASCA is home to more than 100 researchers and more than 140 PhD candidates, and conducts world-leading research in Cultural Analysis. ASCA members share a commitment to studying culture in all its forms and expressions within an interdisciplinary framework, and to maintaining a close connection with contemporary cultural and political debates. All ASCA research fits into at least one, but usually more than one of five thematic constellations: 1) Mediality; 2) Arts & Aesthetics; 3) Globalization & Migration; 4) Identities; and 5) Cultural & Social Critique. Across these constellations, ASCA is seeking to strengthen its focus on decolonization and the analysis of cultural objects and practices from the Global South.