Aarhus University, The Centre for Urban Network Evolutions (UrbNet), School of Culture and Society
Assistant Professorships in the Archaeology of Urban Networks and Exchange (889217)
Institution Type: | College / University |
Location: | Denmark |
Position: | Assistant Professor |
The Centre for Urban Network Evolutions (UrbNet), School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University, invites applications for one or two assistant professorships, focusing on core themes within the centre’s agenda for research on urban societies in the past.
The call is for full-time, three-year positions, starting on 1 June 2017 or as soon as possible thereafter.
Place of employment: Moesgaard, Moesgaard Allé 20, 8270 Højbjerg, Denmark.
The positions
The positions represent an opportunity for eminent young researchers to set the agenda for research into the historical archaeology and/or archaeoscience of urban societies and networks from the Hellenistic Period to the Middle Ages, and to participate in one of Europe’s most groundbreaking archaeological research initiatives of this decade.
We are looking to include researchers and their projects in the centre’s work, which integrates questions and problems relating to the humanities and concerning urban development and networks.
The Centre for Urban Network Evolutions (UrbNet) explores the archaeology and history of urban societies and their networks from the Ancient Mediterranean to medieval Northern Europe and to the Indian Ocean World. We are an interdisciplinary research initiative which integrates new methods from the natural sciences with context-cultural studies rooted in the humanities. Approaching urbanism as a network dynamic, we aim to develop a high-definition archaeology to determine how urban networks catalysed societal and environmental expansions and crises in the past.
The centre’s work ranges from Northern Europe over the Levant to the East Coast of Africa. It involves empirical material from a number of existing excavation projects as well as material which has already been excavated, and concerns both theoretical and methodological issues. UrbNet strives to embrace and connect the archaeological research clusters at Aarhus University with new and advanced analytical techniques in geoscience and physics for dating and characterising archaeological sites; and creates a research environment for cross-fertilising approaches from the humanities and sciences. The centre is based at Aarhus University, School of Culture and Society, and is funded as a Centre of Excellence by the Danish National Research Foundation.
Please consult the following link: http://urbnet.au.dk/.
Research
We are looking for researchers with a strong research profile in subjects such as comparative urban archaeology, the material culture of exchanged objects and materials, or the cultural perceptions and activities behind the formation of urban stratigraphies. The research should relate to one or more of the centre’s focus areas, including the era between the Hellenistic Period and the end of the Middle Ages in the regions targeted by the centre’s initiatives: Northern Europe, the Levant or the East Coast of Africa.
The positions offer unique opportunities for carrying out cross-disciplinary research, and the successful applicant(s) will be expected to play an active part in the centre’s daily activities. The successful applicant(s) will also be expected to participate in both teaching and research related to the centre’s initiatives and to advance the centre’s research agenda in general.
We are looking for researchers working on intersecting questions and problems concerning urban development and networks. Projects should align with one or more of the core agendas of the centre:
• How does the combination of multiple methods and approaches help to characterise the material and/or social biographies of urban sites in the past?
• How does the contextual study of archaeological data, including scientific and historical analysis, clarify the structure, dynamics and agency of urban networks in different periods and regions?
• How do high-definition chronologies, site biographies and recorded history integrate as synthetic accounts of urban societies?
Applicants should include a short research proposal on a topic within the research agenda of the centre (included in the letter of application).
Education
The successful applicant must be prepared to teach and supervise students at all levels of the undergraduate and graduate programmes at the department relevant to the centre’s research.
The person(s) appointed to the post(s) will be obliged to complete a course in university teaching especially designed for assistant professors.
Talent development
Assistant professors are expected to develop their own supervision capabilities at both BA and MA levels.
Knowledge exchange
It is expected that the successful applicant(s) will engage in knowledge exchange as mentioned in the strategy for the Faculty of Arts, for instance in research cooperation with private companies, government consultancy, cooperation with civil society actors or the public dissemination of knowledge. Applicants should document any prior experience within the field of knowledge exchange.
Qualifications
Applicants must have a PhD degree or equivalent qualifications in archaeology or related fields. Applicants must also be able to document:
• An established research and publication record in the field of urban archaeology, material culture studies or archaeoscience related to urban contexts
• The ability to work in teams
• Teaching experience, at least to the level acquired during the course of a PhD degree
• Experience of or interest in communication and knowledge exchange
• Experience of and/or interest in supervising student projects, as well as interest in researcher talent development
• Mastery of academic English in the classroom.
For further information about the position, please contact the Centre Director, Professor Rubina Raja (rubina.raja@cas.au.dk) or the Deputy Director, Professor MSO Søren Sindbæk (farksms@cas.au.dk).
Applications must be submitted in English.
For more information about the application, please contact HR supporter Marianne Birn, email mbb@au.dk
Further information about UrbNet can be found at http://urbnet.au.dk.
School of Culture and Society
At the School of Culture and Society the object of research and teaching is the interplay between culture and society in time and space:
- From the traditional disciplines of the humanities and theology to applied social research
- From Antiquity to the issues facing contemporary societies
- From familiar Danish cultural forms to other very different worlds
- From local questions to global challenges
The school’s goal is to produce compelling research with an international resonance, as well as offering teaching and talent development of high quality. The school has a broad cooperative interface with society, both in Denmark and abroad, and contributes to social innovation, research communication and further and continuing education.
For a more detailed description of the School of Culture and Society, please see this website http://cas.au.dk/en/
Qualification requirements
Applicants should hold a PhD or equivalent academic qualifications.
Formalities
- Faculty of Arts refers to the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Danish Universities (the Appointment Order).
- Appointment shall be in accordance with the collective labour agreement between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations .
- Further information on qualification requirements and job content may be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities .
- Further information on the application and supplementary materials may be found in Applicant Guidelines.
- The application must outline the applicant's motivation for applying for the position, attaching a curriculum vitae, a teaching portfolio, a complete list of published works, copies of degree certificates and no more than five examples of academic production. Please upload this material electronically along with your application.
In the absence of any statement to the contrary, applications must be submitted in English.
All interested candidates are encouraged to apply, regardless of their personal background.
Deadline
All applications must be made online and received by: 18/4/2017
Faculty of Arts
The Faculty of Arts is one of four main academic areas at Aarhus University.
The faculty contributes to Aarhus University's research, talent development, knowledge exchange and degree programmes.
With its 500 academic staff members, 260 PhD students, 12,500 BA and MA students, and 2,500 students following continuing/further education programmes, the faculty constitutes a strong and diverse research and teaching environment.
The Faculty of Arts consists of the School of Communication and Culture, the School of Culture and Society, the Danish School of Education, and the Centre for Teaching Development and Digital Media. Each of these units has strong academic environments and forms the basis for interdisciplinary research and education.
The faculty's academic environments and degree programmes engage in international collaboration and share the common goal of contributing to the development of knowledge, welfare and culture in interaction with society.
Read more at arts.au.dk/en
Aarhus University is a modern, academically diverse and research-intensive university with a strong commitment to high-quality research and education and the development of society nationally and globally. The university offers an inspiring research and teaching environment to its 42,500 students and 11,500 employees, and has an annual budget of EUR 840 million. Over the course of the past decade, the university has consolidated its position in the top 100 on the most influential rankings of universities world-wide. Learn more at www.au.dk/en.
Contact: |
n/a |
Website: | http://www.au.dk |
Primary Category: | Archaeology |
Secondary Categories: | None |
Posting Date: | 02/07/2017 |
Closing Date | 04/18/2017 |