Assistant Professor in Heritage and Participation (1.0 FTE)

The Cultural History section of the Department of History and Art History is looking for an Assistant Professor in Heritage Studies with a specialty in public participation and community engagement.

We are looking for an assistant professor who understands cultural heritage as experience and social action, and brings knowledge of theories, methods and practices of participatory (action) research, community-based research and/or community-engaged learning with heritage. The research focus of the position should engage with current and emerging topics in the heritage field, such as grassroots-movements, sustainability, digital heritage, and intangible heritage. The candidate should have practical experience with setting up participatory heritage initiatives. At Utrecht, we teach our students the value of reflexivity and ethics when engaging with the past. A theoretically informed approach to heritage is thus central in both research and teaching.

The ideal candidate’s research focus should complement existing research projects of the Cultural History group on public history, politics of disciplines like history and archaeology, contested heritage and iconoclasm, world heritage management and corporate gifting, LGBTQ+ heritage, postcolonial and critical race studies. We encourage candidates working on all parts of the globe to apply, but the ideal candidate must be able and willing to engage with the heritage sector in the Netherlands.

Candidates of different disciplines will be considered. Your research and teaching will be closely linked to the Master programme in Cultural History and Heritage. However, you will also be expected to contribute to a recently revised undergraduate curriculum in History and teach general introductory courses. Basic knowledge of the historical discipline and European history is therefore required. This is a teaching-intensive position (70% teaching, 30% research).

The successful candidate will have:

• a PhD degree in History, Art History, Archaeology, Anthropology, Sociology, or a related discipline; 
• experience in teaching at undergraduate and graduate levels, including teaching outside your area of expertise;
• a clear teaching philosophy, briefly outlined in a statement in which you reflect on your teaching beliefs and practices, and the skills and knowledge you bring to an education team; to be included in your letter of motivation;
• an innovative research theme and strategy, outlined in a statement included in your letter of motivation;
• experience and interest to engage with stakeholders and wider audiences to co-create knowledge and to assist in developing the impact of research beyond the university sector;
• the ability to play a role in departmental management and to contribute fully to the academic life of the department;
• a supportive attitude towards colleagues, with an open mind to creative forms of exchange and cooperation, contributing to the academic life of the department.

Utrecht University has a teaching qualification system for university lecturers, and candidates are required to obtain the Basic Teaching Qualification (BKO) within two years if they are not already in possession of one. Candidates are expected to be proficient in both Dutch and English within 2 years.

The department is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We welcome all employees who will contribute to the diversity of our faculty.

We offer a position for a period of one year (1.0 FTE) and after a positive evaluation, the appointment will become permanent . Employment will become effective on 1 April 2023 or, by mutual agreement, shortly thereafter. The gross salary - depending on previous qualifications and experience - ranges between €3,974 and €5,439 (scale 11 according to the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities) per month for a full-time employment. Salaries are supplemented with a holiday bonus of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3% per year.

In addition, Utrecht University offers excellent secondary conditions, including an attractive retirement scheme, (partly paid) parental leave and flexible employment conditions (multiple choice model). For more information, please visit working at Utrecht University.

A better future for everyone. This ambition motivates our scientists in executing their leading research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht University, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major societal themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Sustainability.

The Faculty of Humanities has around 6,000 students and 1,100 staff members. It comprises four knowledge domains: Philosophy and Religious Studies, History and Art History, Media and Culture Studies, and Languages, Literature and Communication. With its research and education in these fields, the Faculty aims to contribute to a better understanding of the Netherlands and Europe in a rapidly changing social and cultural context. The enthusiastic and committed colleagues and the excellent amenities in the historical city center of Utrecht, where the Faculty is housed, contribute to an inspiring working environment.

Cultural History is one of the most interdisciplinary groups at the History department: we are trained as historians, but also as archeologists, philologists, journalists and philosophers, and even as physicists. Together we study the ways in which people produce, circulate, and reproduce culture. Our group is organized in three clusters:  

• Uses of the Past, on re/production of history, memory and heritage in past and present societies;
• Knowledge Practices, exploring cultural dimensions and networks defining knowledge  production and expertise,
• Transcultural Connections, on circulation of culture across the globe and societal impact of (post)colonialism.

The group plays a central role in three Master programmes offered by the department as well as the Bachelor programme. In addition, to working with other research groups in the department we collaborate with other groups across Utrecht University (e.g. Descartes Centre and Graduate School of Teaching).