The Department of History, European Studies and Religious Studies of the Faculty of Humanities has a vacancy for a Professor of Medieval History.

Globalization, social diversity, rapid developments in digital humanities, and multidisciplinarity in research and education pose a challenge that requires our study of history to explore new areas. Among the key innovations are the shift to a global history or transregional perspective on the one hand, focussing on historical relations between the western and the non-western world, and the use of the new methodological possibilities that digital techniques and presentation formats have to offer on the other hand.

Comprising 3.6 FTE of permanent staff, the Medieval History chair group has proven rather successful in acquiring major research grants (ESF, NWO). Members of the team publish in high ranking international journals. Nine PhD-students and three postdoc researchers belong to the team. Medieval History is involved in the entire curriculum of the Bachelor's and Master’s programmes of History (especially the MA tracks in General History and Urban History), and also in the Research Master's programme.

The prospective Professor of Medieval History is a historian specialized in the High and / or Late Middle Ages, with particular interest in a transregional or global approach, exploring the relations between medieval Europe and Byzantium, the Near East and/or North Africa. The teaching and research of the Medieval History team is multidisciplinary and methodologically innovative, employing digital techniques and expertise and methods from the social sciences, conflict studies and archaeology.

The professor is expected to be a scholar of international allure and recognition, who takes a broad view of medieval history as a discipline. S/he demonstrates affinity with innovative research in the field, and has a strong track record in acquiring external research funds. Key qualities are administrative competence and sincere involvement in the daily affairs of the chair group Medieval History, the capacity group History and the Department of History, European Studies and Religious Studies. Furthermore the professor should be an appealing lecturer who has the qualities to attract students and win them over to the study of medieval history using new, challenging approaches and methods. Besides it is important that s/he is able to convey the field of study to a general audience.

Teaching

The Medieval History chair group lectures within the entire curriculum of the Bachelor's and Master's programmes in History. The professor lectures on Medieval History to all first-year undergraduates, gives tutorials to second- and third-year Bachelor's students, as well as course-specific lectures within the Master's and Research Master's programmes, in addition to supervising theses.

S/he is expected to be capable of teaching and supervising theses in both Dutch – which is the prevailing language of instruction in the Bachelor's and Master's curriculum – and English, preferably immediately but at any rate within two years. The professor should also contribute to the development of the curriculum and the education programme within History, in cooperation with related disciplines (Art History, Literary Studies, Religious Studies, Archaeology), and in relation to the Faculty research area Medieval and Renaissance Studies.                                                                             

Leadership

The Department of History, European Studies and Religious Studies has five ‘capacity groups’ within its large organization. Its employees are involved in a range of research clusters, while they teach in many Bachelor's and Master's programmes. Major administrative, organizational and coordinating efforts are required at all levels: department chair, capacity group chairs, research school directors, programme directors, Examinations Board chairs and Programme Committee chairs.

Principally, the professor will head the Medieval History chair group, which currently consists of an associate professor, an assistant professor, a lecturer and three postdoctoral researchers. In due course, the professor will also be available as chair of the broad History capacity group, as director of the Amsterdam School of Historical Studies research school (ASH, part of the Amsterdam Institute for Humanities Research AIHR), as Director of Studies or as Department chair. Key assessment criteria include administrative competence and involvement in the internal organization.

Research

Research within Medieval History forms part of the ASH programme. At the national level, the chair group takes part in the multidisciplinary Research School for Medieval Studies. Research in the field of medieval history is embedded in a range of partnerships and projects both nationally and internationally.

The new professor is expected to have an international network and to take part in European or global research programmes. It is vital for the professor to have proven ability in attracting national and / or European research funding, in order to help create a recognizable yet innovative research profile at the University of Amsterdam.

Candidates for the position are expected to meet the following requirements:

• s/he holds a PhD in Medieval history or a related field;
• has an excellent international academic reputation and publication record;
• is an experienced and enthusiastic teacher at all levels of academic training;
• has proven excellent management and leadership qualities, and is a capable and enthusiastic administrator;
• has experience in developing teaching programmes at Bachelor and Master levels;
• can show a track record of acquiring external research funding;
• has experience in the supervision of PhD projects and junior researchers;
• has an extensive national and international network with academic, political and cultural institutions;
• has experience with collaborative projects and is able to establish productive connections with other academic disciplines within as well as outside the department;
• is able to contribute to knowledge exchange in public as well as academic settings.

All foreign employees appointed at the Faculty of Humanities are expected to have a good command of both written and spoken Dutch within two years.

Please also check the document Information about chairs at the Faculty of Humanities.

The appointment will be permanent. The gross salary will normally be conform professorial scale 2 i.e. between €5,582 and €8,127 gross per month (€77,902 to €113,420 per annum, including 8% holiday pay and an 8,3% end of year payment) on a full-time basis (38 hours per week). The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities (Cao NU) applies. In certain cases, however, different terms of employment may be offered.

University of Amsterdam

With over 5,000 employees, 30,000 students and a budget of more than 600 million euros, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is an intellectual hub within the Netherlands. Teaching and research at the UvA are conducted within seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Law, Science, Medicine and Dentistry. Housed on four city campuses in or near the heart of Amsterdam, where disciplines come together and interact, the faculties have close links with thousands of researchers and hundreds of institutions at home and abroad.  

The UvA’s students and employees are independent thinkers, competent rebels who dare to question dogmas and aren’t satisfied with easy answers and standard solutions. To work at the UvA is to work in an independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.

Faculty of Humanities – Department of History, European Studies and Religious Studies

The Faculty of Humanities provides education and conducts research with a strongly international profile in a large number of disciplines in the field of language, history, and culture. Located in the heart of Amsterdam, the Faculty maintains close ties with many cultural institutions in the capital city. Almost 1,400 employees are affiliated with the Faculty, which has about 7,000 students. The Faculty of Humanities consists of eight departments.