Aarhus University, Department of Anthropology,
Two positions: Associate Professor and Tenure-track Assistant Professor in Visual and Multimodal Anthropology
Institution Type: | College / University |
Location: | Denmark |
Position: | Associate Professor |
The associate professorship is a permanent full-time position involving research and teaching at Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD level.
The tenure-track assistant professorship is a full-time, five-year training position. The position involves research and teaching at Bachelor’s and Master’s level and includes an obligatory course in university teaching for assistant professors. The tenure-track position begins with a full-time, fixed-term five-year appointment as assistant professor with a view to permanent employment as associate professor. Tenure as an associate professor is conditional upon the assistant professor being assessed as qualified for the position of associate professor before the end of the fifth year of employment at the latest or, if the tenure-track candidate requests, before the end of the fourth year of employment. The assessment is based on the assistant professor’s fulfilment of the qualification requirements that apply to associate professorships and the criteria stated in this advertisement. If the assessment is positive, the candidate will be offered a tenured position as an associate professor at Aarhus University.
At the time of tenure review for the position of associate professor, the tenure-track candidate is expected to have built a strong research profile at the highest international level and contributed actively to collaborative research and research initiatives with other local, national and/or international researchers in the field. This includes participating in attracting research funding from external funding bodies and publishing the equivalent of at least two peer-reviewed scholarly articles per year.
At the time of tenure review for the position of associate professor, the tenure-track candidate must document the ability to independently undertake teaching tasks at all levels within their own core subject area and document the breadth of their teaching competences at all levels including supervision. The candidate is expected to have taught two to three courses a year (depending on the nature of the specific courses), to have engaged in supervision activities such as thesis supervision at Bachelor’s and/or Master’s level, and to have conducted exams. The candidate is also expected to have participated in curriculum development and to have contributed actively to the academic and research environment of the department.
Applicants must state explicitly whether they are applying for the associate professorship or the tenure-tack assistant professorship.
Place of employment: Aarhus University, Department of Anthropology, Moesgaard Allé, 8270 Højbjerg, Denmark.
The university wants its staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications from all qualified applicants regardless of their personal background.
Job description
We are looking for colleagues eager and able to contribute to the continuing development of the department’s thriving research and educational environments. Six years ago, we established an MSc track specialisation in visual anthropology in collaboration with Moesgaard Museum. From 2021, the department will host a recently awarded 5-year ERC project, which will occupy most of our current track coordinator’s time. We are therefore seeking candidates dedicated to continuing, developing and expanding the MSc track in new directions.
We are looking for candidates with strong academic contributions in the field and with solid skills in the use of audiovisual and multimodal methods of anthropological research, analysis and dissemination. Applicants with expertise in ethnographic filmmaking, exhibition-making or photography or with skills in the use of other forms of multimodal ethnography are welcome to apply. We hope to attract applicants with a desire to explore and experiment with the boundaries of visual and more-than-textual forms of anthropology, for instance via research in/through the use of
social media or other emergent technologies, and/or through participatory design processes. We see this as a key element in a broader, and necessary, rethinking and redevelopment of the methodologies of the anthropological discipline and of the ways we can teach ethnographic methods in worlds increasingly saturated by audiovisual and multimodal forms of communication.
Teaching and track coordination
The successful applicants will be responsible for planning, developing and teaching anthropology at Bachelor’s and Master’s level. Between them, they will also be responsible for coordinating and further developing the MSc track in Visual Anthropology (which currently admits approximately 15 MSc students per year). We envision that the new associate professor will take on the role of track coordinator for the next three years, after which the new tenure-track assistant professor will take over. We ask applicants for both positions to reflect explicitly on their ambitions and visions for their teaching in the field of visual and multimodal anthropology.
Applicants must also be able to teach general courses in anthropology (see language requirements/expectations below) as well as possibly contribute to the department’s English-language Master’s programme in human security and/or our supplementary (minor) programme in sociology. We also have a stake in the Danish-language Master’s programme in experience economy (oplevelsesøkonomi), based at the Department of Scandinavian Studies and Experience Economy. We invite applicants to consider their possible contributions to these interdisciplinary programmes.
We emphasise the importance of maintaining a dedicated and respectful relationship between staff and students, so the ideal candidate should be able to demonstrate and exemplify their commitment to participatory teaching initiatives and student involvement as part of their teaching portfolio.
Talent development
The associate professor will be expected to supervise PhD students and contribute to the development and implementation of PhD courses in anthropology. The assistant professor may act as co-supervisor to PhD students and assist in PhD seminars and other events aimed at doctoral training.
Knowledge exchange
It is expected that the successful applicants will engage in research dissemination and knowledge exchange, for instance research cooperation with private companies, government consultancy, cooperation with civil society partners or the public dissemination of knowledge. Applicants should document any prior experience within the field of knowledge exchange.
Qualifications
Applicants for the associate professorship must hold a PhD or equivalent in social/cultural anthropology and must be able to document teaching qualifications equivalent to those acquired through an assistant professorship. They must also be able to document the following:
- Relevant academic publications, and possibly other research contributions, at top international level
- Strong skills in the use of audiovisual and multimodal methods of anthropological research, analysis and dissemination
- Solid ethnographic fieldwork experience
- Experience of active participation in international research collaboration, ideally in leading roles
- Experience of research organisation, ideally including the obtaining and administration of external funding
- Strong teaching competences and experience supervising at Master’s level
- A commitment to teaching development, the supervision of student projects and talent development
Applicants for the assistant professorship must hold a PhD or equivalent in social/cultural anthropology. They must also be able to document the following:
- A promising research profile documented through relevant academic publications, and possibly other research contributions, at international level
- Strong skills in the use of audiovisual and multimodal methods of anthropological research, analysis and dissemination
- Solid ethnographic fieldwork experience
- An orientation towards active participation in international research collaboration
- Experience of university-level teaching and a commitment to teaching development and the supervision of student projects
Please note that applications which do not include samples of publications (maximum eight for associate professor applicants and five for assistant professor applicants) will not be considered. A list of publications is not sufficient.
Examples of audiovisual or multimodal productions can be included through links to online platforms such as Vimeo, YouTube or similar. Please write the whole address of the link.
Past research achievements will be assessed based on the active research time of the applicant in question. We therefore ask applicants to specify any career breaks they may have had (for example, parental leave or sick leave) so that we can more accurately gauge their research productivity.
References or recommendations should not be included with the application. Applicants who are selected for interview may be asked to state professional references.
Language
At the Department of Anthropology, Bachelor’s courses are generally taught in Danish and Master’s courses are taught in English or Danish. Applicants must be able to teach and supervise in English at university level.
If the successful applicant(s) are not fluent in Danish, they will be expected to learn Danish within a period of approximately two years.
Applications must be uploaded in English.
For further information about the content of the position(s), please contact Head of Department Mads Daugbjerg (mads.daugbjerg@cas.au.dk) and/or current Visual Anthropology track coordinator Christian Suhr (suhr@cas.au.dk)
For further information about the application, please contact HR supporter Marianne Birn (mbb@au.dk)
The Department of Anthropology
The Department of Anthropology at Aarhus University is among the largest and strongest academic environments within its field in Europe. Its scientific staff consists of around 22 tenured full and associate professors, 8-10 assistant professors and post-doctoral fellows, and a cohort of more than 30 PhD students. At any given time, 450-500 Bachelor’s and Master’s students are enrolled on the department’s teaching programmes. The department has a strong international profile, attracting visiting researchers, fellows and students from across the world.
The department’s researchers are committed to the anthropological tradition that combines rich empirical research based on ethnographic fieldwork with theoretically based historical and comparative studies. Its core research encompasses broad cross-disciplinary work on theories about what it means to be human, detailed methodological reflections on the basic conditions and current challenges of fieldwork, thorough engagement with specific regional and thematic problems, and continuing experiments with anthropological forms of representation. Geographically, the department’s expertise extends throughout most areas of the world. Its researchers are currently engaged in projects on all continents, with a particular strength in Southern and South-East Asia as well as a strong ethnographic commitment to Denmark and Danish society. Thematically, the department is equally diverse. In recent years, its history of research clusters within the anthropology of politics, religion, modernity and medicine has been reinforced and enriched by new research foci such as land and border conflicts, migration and mobility, urbanism, design and planning, environmental and multi-species ethnography, heritage and memory, visual anthropology and experimental methodologies.
The department’s teaching programmes offer first-rate training in theory, data collection and analysis, and they emphasise the importance of learning through fieldwork practice and other forms of external engagement, including corporate and governmental contexts. We offer Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes in anthropology as well as an interdisciplinary, English-language Master’s programme in human security, a supplementary (minor) programme in sociology, and a Danish-language, part-time programme in health anthropology designed for healthcare professionals. As part of their Master’s degree programme in anthropology, students choose a track specialisation in general or visual anthropology, which prepares them for field studies and thesis writing within these areas. Likewise, our human security students engage with international partners such as NGOs in analysing and addressing security-related challenges across the globe. Our close relationship with the neigbouring Moesgaard Museum and its staff provides students and staff with opportunities to create exhibitions or otherwise engage in research communication with the general public.
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 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 and to offer 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 further information about the school, please see http://cas.au.dk/en/.
International applicants
International applicants are encouraged to check Family and work-life balance and Attractive working conditions for further information about the benefits of working at Aarhus University and in Denmark, including healthcare, paid holidays and, if relevant, maternity/paternity leave, childcare and schooling. Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including a relocation service and career counselling for expat partners. For information about taxation, see Taxation aspects of international researchers’ employment by AU.
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 Application 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. Please upload this material electronically along with your application.
- When you submit your application for the assistant professorship, please upload a maximum of five samples of your scholarly output (mandatory). Please upload this material electronically along with your application.
- When you submit your application for the associate professorship, please upload a maximum of eight samples of your scholarly output (mandatory). Please upload this material electronically along with your application.
If nothing else is noted, applications must be submitted in English. Application deadline is at 11.59 pm Danish time (same as Central European Time) on the deadline day.
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: shortlisting
Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including relocation service and career counselling to expat partners: http://ias.au.dk/au-relocation-service/. Please find more information about entering and working in Denmark here: http://international.au.dk/research/
Faculty of Arts
The Faculty of Arts is one of five main academic areas at Aarhus University.
The faculty contributes to Aarhus University's research, talent development, knowledge exchange and degree programmes.
With its 550 academic staff members, 275 PhD students, 9,500 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 and the Danish School of Education. 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 https://international.au.dk/
Deadline
30 October 2020
The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.
Aarhus University
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 38,000 students (FTEs) and 8,000 employees, and has an annual revenues of EUR 885 million. Learn more at www.international.au.dk/
Contact: |
For further information about the content of the position(s), please contact Head of Department Mads Daugbjerg (mads.daugbjerg@cas.au.dk) and/or current Visual Anthropology track coordinator Christian Suhr (suhr@cas.au.dk) For further information about the application, please contact HR supporter Marianne Birn (mbb@au.dk) |
Website: | https://cas.au.dk/en/about-the-school/departments/anthropology/ |
Primary Category: | Anthropology |
Secondary Categories: | Humanities Social Sciences |
Posting Date: | 10/01/2020 |
Closing Date | 10/30/2020 |