The Heidelberg University Cluster of Excellence "Asia and Europe in
Global Perspective: Shifting Asymmetries in Cultural Flows" brings
together scholars in East and South Asian, Middle Eastern and European
Studies. To further develop the transcultural and transdisciplinary
research potential of the Cluster and to strengthen its capabilities
in handling transcultural flows that cross linguistic, geographic,
cultural and media borders, five new professorships have been
established. These are in

(a) Intellectual History (with a focus on translingual concepts)
(b) Visual and Media Anthropology
(c) Art History (with a focus on the global flow of art forms)
(d) Buddhist Studies
(e) Cultural Economic History (with a focus on South Asia)

The professorships will be open in rank from junior professor with
tenure option, to full professor with tenure. The Ph.D. dissertation
must have been completed by the time of application. The Cluster
strongly encourages qualified women scholars to apply. The positions
are open as of now. Searches will continue until the positions are
filled. Once a position is filled, it will be announced on the Cluster
web-site. Since the common language of the Cluster is English,
proficiency in English is required. The positions withal entail
teaching duties, so successful candidates are expected to acquire
German language skills within three years of their appointment. All
successful candidates are expected to cooperate in the development of
master and postgraduate programs with a transcultural focus.

Further information on the Cluster and its aims can be found at http://www.vjc.uni-hd.de/
Applications are to be submitted until January 25th, 2008, with the
usual documentation (C.V., list of publications, list of courses
taught, names of three scholars familiar with your work) to
Search Committee
Joint Committee for Transcultural Studies Asia and Europe
c/o Prof. Axel Michaels
University of Heidelberg
South Asia Institute
Im Neuenheimer Feld 330
D-69120 Heidelberg Germany
For online applications: Axel.Michaelsurz.uni-heidelberg.de

(a) Professorship in Intellectual History (with a focus on
translingual concepts)
Concepts are part of the transcultural flow between and within Asia
and Europe studied in the Cluster. This flow is instrumental in
constituting the conceptual arsenals of the different vernaculars,
both historically and in the present. The development of such
translingual concepts has an intellectual dynamism of its own that
links many key concepts through their common origin to other cultural
milieus.
The Professorship in Intellectual History with a research focus on the
dynamics of translingual concepts will contribute to linking and
integrating studies on the flow of key concepts between particular
languages; to developing the methodology for analyzing the dynamics of
these conceptual flows; and to exploring their impact on interlingual
and intercultural communications. It will be the anchor for the
development of a database of translingual concepts and their
vernacular adaptations.
The required qualifications are proven experience and a strong
publication record in researching conceptual flows between Asia and
Europe, with competence in handling at least one relevant Asian
language; familiarity with the methods and challenges of a
transcultural and translingual conceptual history. A solid grasp of
the strategies and options of database development would be welcome.
Scholars working in different fields of intellectual history in Asia
and Europe (such as philosophy or history including the histories of
social thought, science or law) are encouraged to apply.

(b) Professorship in Visual and Media Anthropology
The Cluster will set out to overcome the borders separating different
fields according to the textual, visual, aural etc. media under study.
A strong effort will be made to integrate audio-visual media into the
overall agenda by throwing into analytical focus: their own forms of
coding and communication; their potential and their actual uses for
governments, institutions, and particular - including marginal -
groups or individuals to inform and impact the public; the dynamics of
their diffusion; and their role in forming the imaginaire of
communities, including their images of self and other, governance and
civil society, health, heritage and space/ place.
The professorship in Visual and Media Anthropology will deal with the
methodological, theoretical as well as empirical issues that attend
the transcultural flows of images. These images range from popular
culture to cartoon, film, museum piece, and marginalized or subaltern
media; and these issues involve the agency of their production,
dissemination, consumption/reception, and contestation, as well as
their impact. It will contribute to the relevant aspects of work in
the Research Areas and provide data for and theoretical input into the
database for transcultural images. It will contribute to make these
visual data and their contexts accessible to a wider public. It will
contribute to research work and teaching in general anthropology as
well as its particular area of expertise. The position will come with
a joint appointment in Anthropology. Qualifications include a strong
research record in both the theoretical and empirical realms of Visual
and Media Anthropology. This should show familiarity with the culture-
specific contexts of at least one Asian country; the ability to speak
and/or read at least one Asian language; experience in image- and
media-related ethnographic fieldwork; and a research focus on the
transcultural flow of images.

(c) Professorship of Art History (with a focus on global flow of art
forms)
Flows of art forms and objects, of settings and of ways of
appreciation and analysis are constitutive factors in the art of Asia
and Europe, and go far back into history. The Professorship in Art
History (with a focus on the global flow of art forms) will join the
efforts made internationally by researchers in academic institutions
and museums to open the way for the study of these cultural flows
across the borders marked by the established disciplines. It will
contribute to bring these studies into a common focus; will link them
to the broader themes in the Cluster; will play a key role in defining
the conceptual framework and providing the data for a database on
transcultural images that is to be developed by the Cluster; and will
provide an institutional anchor for a teaching program in global flows
of art. It will come with a joint appointment in the Institute for
European Art History and will contribute to teaching in this field.
Scholars working in different fields from medieval to modern art flows
and a competence in transcultural art history should apply.
Qualifications include a strong record of scholarly work
(publications, exhibitions) dealing with the cultural flow between
Asia and Europe; a high competence in European art history; and a
familiarity with the theoretical and methodological issues involved. A
solid grasp of the strategies, options, and pitfalls of developing
databases for visual objects would be highly welcome.

(d) Professorship in Buddhist Studies
The dispersion of Buddhism offers one of the richest historical
archives of a transcultural flow in human history and can serve as an
important testing ground for theories about the relationship between
power projection and cultural flows. A Professorship in Buddhist
Studies will be established. It will deal with the different aspects
of the transcultural flow of Buddhism in history and modern times;
will bring together scholars with a South Asian, an East Asian and a
Western focus in this common endeavor; will cooperate in the
development of the databases on translingual concepts and
transcultural images; and will contribute to the development of
teaching programs with a transcultural focus. Qualifications include a
strong record of scholarly publications in Buddhist Studies; the
proven capacity to handle original sources in at least two of the
major Buddhist languages including Classical Chinese; a strong record
in Chinese intellectual history; and a visible commitment to cross-
disciplinary and transcultural studies. The position will come with a
joint appointment at the Centre for East Asian Studies with
institutional links to the South Asia Institute, Religious Studies,
and Philosophy.

(e) Professorship in Cultural Economic History (with a focus on South
Asia)
Research on the historical and cultural aspects of economic activity
has grown in importance and visibility with the growth of economic
centers in Asia and with the increasingly dense transcultural
intermeshing of economically relevant activities. In order to
strengthen its capacity to explore this important field of research,
the Cluster has established a Professorship in Cultural Economic
History. It will have a particular research focus on South Asia. It
will concentrate on the analysis of cultural factors in economic
behavior; will contribute to conceptualizing and profiling the
economic aspects in the history of transcultural flows; will
contribute to the theoretical and empirical foundation of the database
for translingual concepts; and will contribute to the development of
teaching programs with a transcultural focus.
To fill this position we are looking for a historian with a strong
record of scholarly work that shows high competence in (global)
economic history and culture with a research focus on South Asia.
Capacity to handle at least one South Asian language is required. The
position will come with a joint appointment at the South Asia
Institute and will also contribute to teaching in South Asian Studies.

Please visit the homepage for more information:
http://www.vjc.uni-hd.de/ressources/forthcoming/Jobs_Professorships.pdf
>

Please also visit the homepage of the cluster at
http://www.vjc.uni-hd.de/index.htm