The Department of Anthropology of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (FMG) has an opening for a Chair in Social Anthropology, which is located in the AISSR program group: Moving Matters: People, Goods, Power and Ideas. The post involves 0.6 fte devoted to teaching and 0.4 fte devoted to research and managerial tasks.

The chair in Social Anthropology is located within the Department of Anthropology and performs a key role within the Program Group 'Moving Matters: People, Goods, Power and Ideas'. The successful candidate will pursue innovative ethnographically based and theoretically oriented research into one or more of the following fields: contemporary and/or socio-historical processes of inequality, conflict and protest, gender, race and class dynamics, mobility and political economy.

Geographical area of specialization is open but some preference will be given to candidates working on Asia and/or the Global South. Candidates’ work should demonstrate the importance of Asia and/or the Global South for anthropological theory. The holder of the position will be responsible for teaching in general social anthropology, ethnographic methods, comparative-historical approaches, and critical development theory. The holder of the position will share responsibility for the Moving Matters research group within the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR).

• Play a pivotal role in consolidating the longstanding expertise at the University of Amsterdam in the study of inequality and bringing a comparative-historical approach to the teaching and research of the Anthropology department, especially within the PG Moving Matters of the AISSR;
• stimulate and lead the study of inequality in the context of the Global South within teaching and research at a national and international level;
• acquire and help acquire external funding for research;
• actively contribute to the development of anthropology by publishing widely and by participating in national and international research networks and educational initiatives;
• carry out administrative tasks in the Department of Anthropology, the AISSR and interdisciplinary centres, teaching programs, etc.

Applicants will have the following credentials:

• a PhD in Anthropology or cognate disciplines.
• strong general knowledge of the fields of social anthropology and of comparative-historical approaches;
• knowledge and experience in leading research projects and teams;
• a commitment to the research agenda of the AISSR in general and the Moving Matters Program Group in particular, and to enhance interdisciplinary collaborations with counterparts in other departments;
• an outstanding track record of empirical research on themes relevant to the research and teaching profile of the Moving Matters group, as evidenced by a strong publication record in international peer reviewed journals and/or books published by internationally recognized press;
• extensive research experience preferably in the Global South and Asia;
• a demonstrated ability to acquire significant research funding from external sources;
• a thorough mastery of ethnographic and comparative-historical research methods;
• a proven record of high-quality teaching at the Bachelor's, Master's and PhD levels, and a commitment to teaching general and specialized courses in the Bachelor's and Master's programs in Anthropology and in the interdisciplinary Research Master Social Sciences;
• a track record of administration and a commitment to carrying out administrative tasks;
• adequate knowledge of Dutch, or the willingness to acquire working fluency of Dutch within five years;
• a track record of participation in public debates relating to inequality in the Global South;
• a Dutch Basic Higher Education Teaching Qualification (or foreign equivalent), or a willingness to acquire this qualification soon after appointment.

Depending on qualifications and experience, the full-time salary will range from €5.219 to €9.174 (scale H2/1) gross per month, in conformity with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities. Secondary benefits at Dutch universities are attractive and include 8% holiday pay and an 8.3% end of year bonus.

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.

Department of Anthropology

The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (FMG) is the largest social-science educational and research institution in the Netherlands. The Faculty serves around 8,000 students in numerous Bachelor's and Master's programmes in Political Science, Sociology, Anthropology, Communication Science, Psychology, Social Geography, International Development Studies and Educational Sciences. The academic staff is employed in education as well as research. There are over 1,100 employees at the Faculty, located in a number of buildings in the centre of Amsterdam.

The Department of Anthropology is one of the Departments in the FMG. Research and education are carried out by special institutes. The College of Social Sciences (CSS) and the Graduate School for the Social Sciences (GSSS) are responsible for the undergraduate and graduate teaching programmes in the social sciences. Research takes place under the aegis of the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR), a multidisciplinary research institute, the biggest one of its kind in the Netherlands and possibly in Europe. The broad scope and pluralism of our education and research programmes are inspired by and reflect a strong degree of internationalisation.