Full Professor in Contemporary Art and Global and Social Challenges

Utrecht University (UU) invites applications for a Full Professor in ‘Contemporary Art and Global and Social Challenges’. The Chair is situated in the Art History Section, at the Department of History and Art History (GKG). We are looking for an experienced researcher and educator who aspires to be at the forefront of their field of study, who is committed to designing and teaching inspiring teaching programmes and who is an emphatic and engaging leader.

Art History in Utrecht focuses on art, architecture and cultural heritage from the Middle Ages to the present. We look at our own geography and at transcultural relations and exchanges with other places in Europe and the world. We seek the challenging, new and relevant questions that can provide art and architectural history and the heritage sector with creative, critical ideas, analyses and solutions. To this end, we engage in critical scholarship and theoretical reflection. We develop creative and innovative research methods, also inspired by interdisciplinary technical, digital and other perspectives. We seek to deepen the study of objects and images by connecting them to ideas, environments and people, from makers and commissioners to mediators and users. This connects us to the heritage sector. We maintain productive relationships with museums, heritage institutions and other cultural and art institutions and places at home and abroad. There is significant potential for interdisciplinary collaboration with other departments and research domains within History and within cross-departmental and faculty-wide research hubs, including for example the Heritage and Public History Lab, the Network for Environmental Humanities, the Center for Digital Humanities and with research groups from other faculties.

At the Department, and the UU in general, we encourage interdisciplinary dialogue and are committed to the core values of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We are looking for you if you have strong social skills, you are committed to work together with a diverse team of scholars, university staff, students, and societal partners. You are expected to take on management tasks and lead a team in which your colleagues enjoy working together and contribute to cutting-edge and significant scholarship.

As a Chair your research focusses on modern and contemporary art’s encounters with global and social challenges such as, but not limited to, ecology and climate change, transcultural exchange, and identity. We welcome candidates who also consider the roles museums, art and heritage institutions, curators and other cultural mediators play in relation to global, environmental and social challenges. If you have or are willing to develop and sustain strong ties with the art institutional and museum and heritage field you are especially encouraged to apply.

Our successful candidate will teach and co-teach several courses per year, including participation in first-year introductory and other undergraduate courses. Teaching and supervision also involves the (Research) Master and related programmess at University College Utrecht (UCU). Being able to contribute to the ongoing process of re-thinking courses and programmes with new and exciting lectures and topics is an essential requirement of the position.

You are expected to:
- supervise and initiate research, publish nationally and internationally and attract research funding from Dutch, and/or European or international schemes;
- participate in local, national, and international research and professional networks and build and sustain collaborations with museums, art institutions and other curatorial, artistic or heritage partners;
- teach and supervise in the Art History Bachelor and (Research) Master programmes and possibly also in related programmes at the department, faculty, or the University College Utrecht, and actively participate in curriculum development and programme coordination;
- take up management and leadership tasks and board functions within the Art History section, Department and/or the strategic themes;
- develop a research agenda that relates to the University’s strategic themes Institutions for Open societies and/or Pathways to Sustainability and the impact agenda of the Faculty of Humanities;
relocate to the Netherlands (in case this is relevant).

Your competences:
- You have a PhD and disciplinary background in art history, with a focus on modern and contemporary art and its relations with global and/or social challenges.
- You have an excellent track record in research, including international publications and has had demonstrable success in acquiring research funding.
- You are a good networker, you actively participate in symposia and congresses on an international level and you are eager to work with artists and/or professionals in museums and other art institutions.
- You have relevant teaching experience at BA and MA level; you are looking forward to coaching young researchers, especially PhD candidates, and is keen to contribute to the development and coordination of our teaching;
- You are able and willing to teach in Dutch (within two years if you do not speak Dutch) and in English.
- You are a team player with proven managerial and interpersonal skills in the collaboration with colleagues and are ready to take on a leadership role in the Art History section and/or larger History and Art History department.

We offer:
- Dutch language courses in order to master the Dutch language within two years;
- position of 1.0 FTE;
- a full-time gross salary between €6,648 and €9,680 in scale H2 of the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities (CAO);
- 8% holiday bonus and 8.3% end-of-year bonus;
- a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave, and flexible employment conditions based on the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities.

In addition to the employment conditions from the CAO for Dutch Universities, Utrecht University has a number of its own arrangements. These include agreements on professional development, leave arrangements, sports and cultural schemes, and you get discounts on software and other IT products. We also give you the opportunity to expand your terms of employment through the Employment Conditions Selection Model. This is how we encourage you to grow.

Application:
To apply, upload the following documents to the portal: https://ssl1.peoplexs.com/Peoplexs22/CandidatesPortalNoLogin/ApplicationForm.cfm?PortalID=4124&VacatureID=1216707
- a letter of motivation;
- a cv, including a clear list of publications and taught courses;
- a research plan (max 1,500 words);
- a teaching philosophy (max 1,000 words).

Application deadline: January 15, 2024.
Candidate interviews will be held in Utrecht on March 4, 2024 (first round) and March 28, 2024 (second round). A trial lecture and an assessment may be part of the application procedure.

For more information about this position, please contact
Patrick van Rossem (https://www.uu.nl/staff/PvanRossem), Section head Art History: p.vanrossemuu.nl.

The full vacancy text can be found at the website of Utrecht University: https://www.uu.nl/en/organisation/working-at-utrecht-university/jobs/full-professor-in-contemporary-art-and-global-and-social-challenges-10-fte).