Full Professor in Media and Culture

The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam seeks a distinguished scholar for a full professorship in Media and Culture (1.0 FTE) with particular focus on media and the environment. Far-reaching changes to traditional media-industrial structures and media culture’s unprecedented enmeshment with politics and the living world demand new modes of inquiry and a rethinking of received conceptual categories. We offer the opportunity to lead a motivated team, closely cooperate with colleagues from other chair-groups of the Art & Culture cluster and beyond, and be part of a vibrant, friendly and interdisciplinary community. Teaching within our BA, MA, and RMA programmes is systematically research-driven and focuses on media and culture, media aesthetics, media and the environment, the interstices between media, art, architecture, and design, the influence of digitisation processes on media and cultural theory and history, and new developments in media production, distribution and exhibition.

We are looking for a colleague with a strong research agenda and a clear vision on the future of media studies. In particular, we welcome candidates with innovative and interdisciplinary approaches to the critical, theoretical or historical study of: media infrastructure and (audiovisual) media technology; archives, memory and historiography; materiality, eco-media and sustainability; data, platforms and politics; tech industries and governance, or more-than-human entanglements of media, politics and aesthetics. Close affinities with the study of art, design, architecture or visual and material culture are an asset.

As the Chair of Media and Culture, the professorship plays a leading role in research, teaching and public outreach. It carries principal responsibility for media education within the bachelor's programme in Media, Art, Design and Architecture, and in the Comparative Arts and Media Studies specialization within the master’s programme in Arts & Culture. In addition, the Chair holder will supervise PhD candidates and participate in related programmes within the faculty, such as the research master’s specialisations Environmental Humanities and Critical Studies in Art and Culture.

We expect the successful candidate to initiate and stimulate research initiatives, including through international collaborations, and pursue external research funding. Apart from this, the Chair holder will fulfil organizational and managerial tasks and, together with other Chairs and staff, cultivate the curricula, bolster the unique profiles of the programmes, and continue strategically improving their national and international visibility and presence in societal debates.

Your profile

The successful candidate:

• holds a PhD in Media Studies or a related discipline
• actively engages in interdisciplinary research, particularly at the intersection of media, culture, and the environment
• has a leading international scientific reputation and network and demonstrates excellence in research, evidenced by a record of peer-reviewed publications in reputable journals and academic presses
• has an established track record of securing external research funding
• has extensive teaching and student supervision experience at all levels including doctoral
• has a Dutch University Teaching Qualification (BKO) and, preferably, a Senior Teaching Qualification (SKO) or is willing to acquire them
• has proven experience in outreach and collaboration with societal partners, cultural institutions, or community organisations (such as film/media archives and museums, cinemas/film festivals, artist collectives, production companies, television broadcasters, or similar)
• has the leadership skills necessary to lead a talented academic team
• has experience in administrative roles, including departmental leadership or committee involvement
• contributes to the strategic planning and development of academic programmes and curricula
• is fluent in Dutch and English, or willing to quickly acquire B2-level Dutch or C1-level English proficiency

What do we offer?

We offer:

• a salary of minimum € 6.648,00 (H2) and maximum € 9.680,00 (H2) gross per month, on a full-time basis. This is based on UFO profile Professor 2. The exact salary depends on your education and experience.
• a full-time position for 1 FTE. Your employment contract will initially last 1 year and will be changed into permanent upon successful evaluation.

We also offer you attractive fringe benefits and regulations. Some examples:

• a full-time 38-hour working week comes with a holiday leave entitlement of 232 hours per year. If you choose to work 40 hours, you have 96 extra holiday leave hours on an annual basis. For part-timers, this is calculated pro rata.
• 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus
• possibility to save holiday hours, for sabbatical leave
• discounts on collective insurances (healthcare- and car insurance);
• optional model for designing a personalized benefits package

About us

Media and Culture at the Faculty of Humanities
The Chair in Media and Culture leads a compact, thriving team. Since the introduction of the English-language Media, Art, Design and Architecture (MKDA) programme in 2020 (in addition to its established Dutch-language predecessor), undergraduate student numbers have grown rapidly, and the Media specialisation has proven particularly popular. The Media specialisation within MKDA is unique in the Netherlands due to its close interwovenness with art, design, and architecture: It is broader than traditional media studies bachelor’s programmes, yet more focused than liberal arts and science programmes. Our approach to eco-media, practices of spectatorship, and processes of mediation and exhibition is innovative and future-oriented. The master’s in Comparative Arts and Media Studies offers a similarly interdisciplinary, crossmedial approach that accommodates students with affinities for media, culture and environment as well as those with theoretical interests in media technology, media industries and media infrastructures.

In teaching, we strive to empower students to develop media literacy skills, a sense of critical citizenship and civic belonging, and an ability to navigate an increasingly fast-paced audiovisual culture through rigorous engagement with media objects and media culture in both mainstream contexts and on their margins.

Faculty of Humanities
At the Faculty of Humanities we explore the world around us through the study of language, history and philosophy. Three multidisciplinary departments make up the faculty: Language, Literature and Communication; Art & Culture, History and Antiquity; and Philosophy. We call this Humanities+.The plus stands for being open to new ideas, transcending disciplinary boundaries, searching for innovative teaching methods and small-scale personalised classroom environments.

We tackle complex social problems that demand a broad transdisciplinary approach. An approach that inspires us to learn from each other by moving across academic boundaries. Together we enrich our knowledge and creativity. Together we can find solutions that make a positive contribution to society.

Are you interested in joining Humanities? You will be joining an inspiring and personal working environment. Together with your 340 colleagues you will help provide top quality teaching and research.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam stands for values-driven education and research. We are open-minded experts with the ability to think freely. - a broader mind. Maintaining an entrepreneurial perspective and concentrating on diversity, significance and humanity, we work on sustainable solutions with social impact. By joining forces, across the boundaries of disciplines, we work towards a better world for people and planet. Together we create a safe and respectful working and study climate, and an inspiring environment for education and research. Learn more about our codes of conduct

We are located on one physical campus, in the heart of Amsterdam's Zuidas business district, with excellent location and accessibility. Over 6,150 staff work at the VU and over 31,000 students attend academic education.

Diversity
Diversity is the driving force of the VU. The VU wants to be accessible and receptive to diversity in disciplines, cultures, ideas, nationalities, beliefs, preferences and worldviews. We believe that trust, respect, interest and differences lead to new insights and innovation, to sharpness and clarity, to excellence and a broader understanding.

We stand for an inclusive community and believe that diversity and internationalisation contribute to the quality of education, research and our services.

Therefore, we are always searching for people whose backgrounds and experience contribute to the diversity of the VU community.

Interested

Are you interested in this position and do you believe that your experience will contribute to the further development of our university? In that case, we encourage you to submit your application by July 14th, 2024 at the latest.

At this stage, we ask candidates to submit a cover letter (max. 2 pages), and a portfolio including a curriculum vitae, a list of (key) publications, lectures and conferences organized, teaching and supervision activities, major research projects and public outreach activities. Please refrain from sending publication samples or extensive research plans in this phase of the procedure – we will ask shortlisted candidates for additional documents at a subsequent stage of the application.

Submitting a diploma, a reference check and a Certificate of Conduct (CoC) are part of the application procedure.

Applications received by e-mail will not be considered.

Acquisition in response to this advertisement is not appreciated.