Assistant Professor of Contemporary Art

Job Description

The Department of Art and Culture Studies of the Faculty of Humanities is looking for an Assistant Professor of Contemporary Art.

What are you going to do?

You will provide education in a dynamic context with ample opportunities for the development of innovative teaching methods. Your research will be part of the Amsterdam School for Heritage, Memory and Material Culture (AHM), one of the five research schools of the Amsterdam Institute for Humanities Research. AHM is the research base for a broad spread of disciplines from Heritage and Memory Studies, to Media and Museum Studies, Material Culture and Conservation and Restoration and Art History. AHM researchers share an interest in the ways in which material and immaterial traces of past events and experiences influence the formation of present-day identities. Its members collaborate in and across many thematic groups, including ‘Post Memories: Intergenerational Narratives of Conflict’ and ‘Global Trajectories of Thought and Memory: Art and the Global South’. In this setting, you will be expected to examine the role of contemporary art and its institutions in relation to issues such as memory, conflict, trauma, transitional justice, social practice and/or activism. AHM is seeking to strengthen its profile in these fields.

Tasks and responsibilities:

  • design and conducting independent research on the role of contemporary art and its institutions in relation to issues such as memory, conflict, trauma, transitional justice, social practice and/or activism. This will include broadly art-historical work on the practical, societal and epistemological dimensions of contemporary art, resulting in academic publications in peer-reviewed international journals and/or books, and/or exhibition curation / practice;
  • actively pursuing external funding for research, notably funding from research councils, national as well as European;
  • actively contributing to and developing national and international research networks and other forms of cooperation;
  • actively contributing to the research activities of AHM;
  • developing, coordinating and teaching courses in both Dutch and English, in the BA and MA programmes of Art History, Art and Performance Research Studies and cognate fields;
  • supervising BA and MA theses and tutoring students; co-supervising PhD theses;
  • actively contributing to the development and improvement of the broader teaching programmes in the department;
  • taking part in committees and working groups, and carrying out departmental administrative tasks as directed.

Requirements

What do we require of you?

You are a dynamic and ambitious researcher with a strong profile, demonstrable by international publications and an international academic network. Your publications show broad knowledge of the ways in which contemporary art and its institutions engage with memory, conflict, trauma impacts the formation, collection, mediation, engagement and interpretation of cultural heritage, familiarity with discourses on art history and memory, and a strong affinity with contemporary art theory, curation, social practice and methods for humanities research. Your research matches the profile of AHM, in particular the themes named above.

You are able to develop and provide modules on contemporary art, its production, functions in society, institutionalization / musealization and reception; memory, conflict and trauma in and through art and cultural heritage; art and / as a method for academic research. Important is proven flexibility in teaching on topics beyond your own research focus, a willingness to work in interdisciplinary teams of teachers and the ability to offer inspiring lectures and tutorials in the BA, MA and minor programmes that aspire to a wide range of students.

Your experience and profile:

  • PhD in the Humanities with a research focus on art history and theory and memory;
  • international academic network in the research area concerned;
  • research output commensurate with the level of the position;
  • active and ambitious researcher with a strong publication record;
  • affinity and experience in collaborating with public and private partners in field of cultural heritage and the creative industries;
  • demonstrable ability and ambition to obtain external research grants;
  • wide and relevant teaching experience at BA and MA level;
  • excellent command (near-native fluency) of both Dutch and English: 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 programme II, is a prerequisite for a permanent employment contract);
  • experience with digital and audio-visual teaching facilities and affinity with ICT in university teaching;
  • experience with valorisation and practice-based education and/or research;
  • good team worker and versatile at all levels, capable of multidisciplinary co-operation;
  • excellent organisational experience and skills;
  • in possession of the Dutch Basic Teaching Qualification (BKO), or willing to acquire this within the first two years.

Research that entails collaboration with non-academic institutions and agencies in the Netherlands, Europe, and beyond is highly welcome.

Conditions of Employment

We offer a temporary employment contract for a period of two years with the intention of converting it into a permanent contract after a positive assessment. The ideal starting date of the employment contract is 1 January 2022.

The gross monthly salary, dependent on relevant experience, will range from €3,746 to €5,826, based on 38 hours a week. This is excluding a generous holiday scheme (8%) and year-end bonus (8.3%). A favourable tax agreement, the ‘30% rule’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants. The Collective Labour Agreement for the Dutch Universities is applicable.

We additionally offer:

  • the opportunity to collaborate in interdisciplinary teams;
  • opportunities for professional development;
  • an inspiring academic and international working environment in the heart of Amsterdam.

Employer

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

Faculty of Humanities

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. The faculty 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.

Additional Information

For questions about this position or the department you may contact:

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