The Department of History, European Studies and Religious Studies of the Faculty of Humanities has a vacancy for a Professor of Ancient History.

Globalization, increasing social diversity, rapid developments in digital humanities, and multidisciplinarity in research and education pose a challenge that requires our study of history to explore new areas. Among the key innovations are the shift to a global history or transregional perspective on the one hand, focussing on historical relations between the western and the non-western world, and the use of new methodological possibilities that digital techniques and presentation formats have to offer on the other hand.

Comprising 3 FTE of permanent staff and 1 FTE of temporary staff, the Ancient History chair group at the University of Amsterdam is characterized by its dynamism and high academic quality. The team has a strong international, innovative and multidisciplinary orientation. The chair takes up a pivotal position within the Amsterdam Centre for Ancient Studies and Archaeology (ACASA).

The prospective Professor of Ancient History will be a historian, trained in the discipline of ancient history, who has a research and education agenda that is methodologically and/or geographically innovative. Her or his area of expertise is the Classical period of Greek and Roman history (500 BCE-300 CE), preferably with a focus on transregional aspects such as the relations between the Mediterranean world and the Near East, Western Asia and/or North Africa.

The professor is expected to be a scholar of international allure and recognition, who takes a broad view of ancient history as a discipline and demonstrates clear affinity with innovative research in the field. S/he needs to have a strong track record in acquiring external research funds. Key qualities are administrative competence and sincere involvement in the day-to-day affairs of the Ancient History chair group, the capacity group History and the Department of History, European Studies and Religious Studies. The professor should be an appealing lecturer who knows how to attract students and to win them over to the study of ancient history, using new, challenging approaches and methods. Furthermore s/he is expected to be able to convey the field of study to a general audience and to show the relevance of ancient history in public debates and topical social issues.

Teaching

The Ancient History chair group lectures within the entire curriculum of the Bachelor's and Master's programmes in History as well as within the ACASA programmes: the Bachelor's programme in Ancient Studies, Classics and Archaeology, and the Master's programme. The professor lectures on Ancient History to all first-year undergraduates, gives tutorials to second- and third-year Bachelor's students, as well as course-specific lectures within the Master's and Research Master's programmes, in addition to supervising theses. S/he should have affinity and preferably experience with innovative teaching methods; for example, in the Research Lab.

S/he is are expected to be capable of teaching and supervising theses in both Dutch – the prevailing language of instruction in the Bachelor's and Master's curriculum – and English, preferably immediately but at any rate within two years.

Leadership

The Department of History, European Studies and Religious Studies has five capacity groups within its large organization. Its employees are involved in a range of research clusters, while they teach in many Bachelor's and Master's programmes. Major administrative, organizational and coordinating efforts are required at all levels: department chair, capacity group chairs, research school directors, programme directors, Examinations Board chairs and Programme Committee chairs.

Principally, the professor will head the Ancient History chair group, which currently consists of two assistant professors, one postdoctoral researcher and a temporary lecturer. In due course, the professor may also perform administrative tasks within ACASA and be available as chair of the broad History capacity group, as director of the Amsterdam School of Historical Studies research school (ASH, part of the faculty Amsterdam Institute for Humanities Research AIHR), as director of studies or as Department chair. Finally, the professor will need to function within the multidisciplinary ACASA department.

Research

Research within Ancient History forms part of the ASH programme. As ancient history is a highly international discipline, the new professor is expected to have an international network and to take part in European or global research initiatives. It is vital for the professor to have proven ability in attracting substantial national and / or European research funding, in order to help create a recognizable yet innovative research profile at the University of Amsterdam.

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

• s/he holds a PhD in Ancient history or a related field;
• has an excellent international academic reputation and publication record;
• is an experienced and enthusiastic teacher at all levels of academic training;
• has proven excellent management and leadership qualities, and is a capable and enthusiastic administrator;
• has experience in developing teaching programmes at Bachelor and Master levels;
• 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 foreign 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.

The appointment will be permanent. The gross salary will normally be conform professorial scale 2 i.e. between €5,582 and €8,127 gross per month (€77,902 to €113,420 per annum, including 8% holiday pay and an 8,3% end of year payment) on a full-time basis (38 hours per week). The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities (Cao NU) applies. In certain cases, however, different terms of employment may be offered.

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 History, European Studies and Religious Studies

The Faculty of Humanities provides education and conducts research with a strongly international profile in a large number of disciplines in the field of language, history, and culture. Located in the heart of Amsterdam, the Faculty maintains close ties with many cultural institutions in the capital city. Almost 1,400 employees are affiliated with the Faculty, which has about 7,000 students. The Faculty of Humanities consists of eight departments.