Aarhus University, School of Culture and Society

Full professorships and professorship with special responsibilities in philosophy 973290

The School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University, invites applications for one or two full professorships and/or a five-year professorship with special responsibilities (abbreviated to MSO professorship in Danish) within the field of philosophy.

While the full professorships are permanent positions, the MSO professorship is a five-year position which may be extended for up to three years. On expiry of this period the MSO professor will be offered employment and remuneration as an associate professor.

The positions are available from 1 January 2019, or as soon as possible thereafter.

Place of employment: Jens Chr. Skous Vej 3-7, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.

The positions
We invite applications from suitably qualified candidates working in any area of philosophy who have an outstanding track record and an international reputation in the field. We are interested in candidates who can contribute to the further development of the thriving research and learning environments at the university’s Department of Philosophy and History of Ideas by strengthening the department’s existing research foci (see below). The positions are open to all nationalities. Applicants must have a documented ability to attract external funding and nurture international collaboration. In recent years the department has been very successful in attracting externally funded research projects and many postdoctoral researchers.

The full professor(s) will be expected to provide academic leadership relating to research, education and academic development as well as contributing actively to the further development of the department, both nationally and internationally. A distinct plus will be a strong devotion to (and experience of) talent development and the nurturing of young scholars, as well as capacity building with international partner institutions. In their letter of application, applicants for the full professorship(s) must outline how they envision themselves accomplishing these tasks in relation to the department’s and the school’s existing profile.

The MSO professor will be expected to possess similar qualifications, albeit with less emphasis on talent development and a shorter track record, bearing in mind that this position is particularly intended for talented researchers who will be asked to (or who propose to) carry out specific projects or develop particularly promising and innovative areas of research within a designated time frame. In their letter of application, applicants for the MSO professorship must formulate a distinct vision for the research focus/field they have indicated. This should include a description of goals and how to achieve them within the time frame.

For both types of position the successful applicants will be expected to initiate major research projects, and to collaborate with other researchers inside and outside the Department of Philosophy and History of Ideas. We are looking for applicants who are both collegial and enthusiastic, people who are able and willing to make a contribution to the intellectual life of the department.

Research
Candidates must be able to document extensive research experience and leadership within the field of philosophy. We are seeking candidates with excellent and well-documented core philosophical research credentials, an outstanding publication record and a documented ability to attract external funding and nurture international collaboration.

Teaching
Applicants should be prepared to teach and contribute to developing courses, learning and supervision at all levels of the degree programmes in philosophy (Bachelor, Master and PhD), and will be expected to have considerable teaching and supervision experience at university level. Applicants must also be able to contribute to other degree programmes offered by the School of Culture and Society.

Talent development
The department values its large and growing population of PhD students and other junior researchers highly and wishes to sustain this focus on emerging research. The successful applicant(s) will be expected to have an eye for the attraction and the development of junior researchers, and to contribute to the talent development and supervision of PhD students and postdocs, as well as creating and teaching PhD courses.

Knowledge exchange
It is expected that the successful applicant(s) will engage in knowledge exchange with society at large as mentioned in the strategy for the Faculty of Arts at Aarhus University, for instance in research cooperation with private companies, government consultancy, cooperation with civil society or the public dissemination of knowledge.

Qualifications
Applicants must hold a PhD or its equivalent in philosophy or adjacent academic disciplines. They must also be able to document the following:

• Academic publications at the highest international level, including research innovation in the field of philosophy
• Experience of active participation in international research collaboration
• Experience of research organisation, including the obtaining and administration of external funding in the field of philosophy
• Strong teaching competences and experience of supervision at all levels
• Commitment to teaching development, supervision of student projects, talent development, research management and the development of PhD courses

Applicants should document any prior experience within the field of knowledge exchange, including the attraction of external knowledge exchange funding/strategic research funding and proactive efforts in relation to potential stakeholders in the world of research/knowledge.

Furthermore, we expect applicants to have good interpersonal skills and the ability to build effective professional relationships within the department.

The successful applicants will be expected to be present in the department on an everyday basis during the semester, and will also be expected to attend meetings and events scheduled at other times.

Language
At the Department of Philosophy and History of Ideas, courses at Bachelor’s level are taught in Danish, while most of the courses on the Master’s degree programme are taught in English. Applicants must be able to teach in English at university level. If the successful applicant is not fluent in Danish, he or she will be expected to learn Danish within a period of approximately two years.

If you wish to apply for both positions, please send two applications. If you are only applying for one position, you must clearly indicate which of the positions you are applying for.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to national origin, race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or disability status.

Applications must be uploaded in English.

For further information about the positions, please contact the Head of the School of Culture and Society Bjarke Paarup, email bjarke.paarup@cas.au.dk.

For more information about the application, please contact HR supporter Marianne Birn, mbb@au.dk

The Department of Philosophy and History of Ideas
The department covers all the main areas of philosophy, with particular strengths in social and political thought, ethics, epistemology, metaphysics, phenomenology, German idealism, aesthetics, and the philosophy of science and cognition. The department has hosted a number of externally funded research projects, treating such diverse topics as risk in healthcare, the history of economics, modal knowledge, social robotics, and more. Members of the department collaborate with researchers from a wide range of other disciplines, including psychology, linguistics, history, economics, anthropology, medicine, physics, cultural geography and robotics. Many department members also work closely with non-academic practitioners and institutions.

Please consult http://cas.au.dk/en/about-the-school/departments/philosophy-and-history-of-ideas/ 

The 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 ambition is to produce compelling research with an international resonance, as well as offering teaching and talent development of the highest quality. The school has a broad cooperative interface with society as a whole, both in Denmark and abroad, and contributes to social innovation, research communication and further and continuing education.

For more details about the school, please see http://cas.au.dk/en/.

Dealine: 14 May 2018

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 eight 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.

Shortlists may be prepared with the candidates that have been selected for a detailed academic assessment. A committee set up by the head of school is responsible for selecting the most qualified candidates. See this link for further information about shortlisting at the Faculty of Arts: http://medarbejdere.au.dk/fileadmin/user_upload/Proces_for_shortlisting_december_2017.pdf

Deadline
All applications must be made online and received by 14 May 2018.

Please apply online here
 

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, 10,500 BA and MA students, and 1,500 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 offers Relocation service to International researchers.

You can read more about it at ias.au.dk/en

Aarhus University is an 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 40,000 students and 8,000 employees, and has an annual budget of EUR 860 million Learn more at www.au.dk/en.