Professor of New Media and Digital Culture (1 fte) Mediastudies, New Media Program, Humanities Faculty, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. URL: http://www.medewerker.uva.nl/fgw/vacatures.cfm/B7A67CEB-1321-B0BE -6828538BBAA035AF For both internal and external candidates The duties associated with this chair comprise teaching and research in the field of the new media and digital culture. The chair will be part of an academic and cultural network within the city of Amsterdam. This includes the Waag Society for Old and New Media, De Balie (Centre for Culture and Politics), the Mediagilde and the Netherlands Institute for Media Arts (NIM), as well as the other parts of the UvA concerned with information studies, the Hogeschool van Amsterdam and the institutions of higher education in the arts, such as the Rietveld Academie, the Rijksacademie and the Hogeschool voor de Kunsten. The chair in New Media and Digital Culture will form part of the section Media and Culture section. This is one of the two chair groups in the Media Studies department, the other being Archives and Information Studies. The Media and Culture section encompasses existing chairs in Film, Television and Journalism, as well as the chair in New Media and Digital Culture that is now being established. The organisation of the Media Studies department is based on the available teaching and research expertise, with teams being responsible for different parts of the various BA and MA programmes. Teaching activities will focus principally on the BA degree course in Media and Culture, the MA degree course in New Media, and the research-based MA degree course in Media Studies. A number of minors and electives are also on offer. For the curriculum, see the faculty's digital (Dutch-language) prospectus at: http://www.hum.uva.nl/go/go.html and the student blog (in English) Masters of Media at http://mastersofmedia.hum.uva.nl/. Research activities will be directed at the study of New Media and Digital Culture. The new professor's own research will be part of the programme of the Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis (ASCA), the Institute for Culture and History (ICG) or the interfaculty Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC). For further information about the faculty's research programme, see http://www.hum.uva.nl/research/ Requirements The person appointed to the Chair in New Media and Digital Culture will hold a doctorate on some topic within the field of the new media and digital culture or in a related discipline. His/her previous studies, publications and teaching career will give firm evidence of expertise in both the theory and the practice of the new media and of a thorough familiarity both with the scientific study of the internet and digital cultures and with current debates on multidisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity. The successful candidate will possess the ability to reflect on the basic tenets of the field of study and on the research methods currently in use within it. The new professor must see it as a challenge to create a distinctive profile, image and direction for teaching and research in this area and to knit together the relevant technological, philosophical, art historical, information science and historical approaches, most of which are already represented in the present team. In addition, s/he will have a demonstrable interest in issues arising at points where his/her particular field of study interfaces with the other specialisms within the Media Studies department, such as film, television, journalism, archival science and information studies, and with relevant disciplines outside the department. The successful candidate will have wide experience of university teaching and of supervising doctoral and other students. In addition, s/he must be able to demonstrate a familiarity and affinity with relevant ICT developments in the field of education and research. S/he will preferably have access to an existing national and international network in the relevant field. International experience will be seen as an advantage. Where teaching is concerned, the new professor will be responsible for developing and maintaining a high-quality contribution to the Media and Culture programme which is attractive to students. S/he will ensure that teaching programmes respond to society's demand for graduates capable of participating in the popularisation of academic knowledge. It is essential that s/he should be willing to cooperate in the area both of teaching and of research with other units within the faculty, at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam and at other institutions of higher education (including art colleges). In view of the faculty's policy that all academic staff should be capable of flexible deployment within its teaching programme, the new professor will be expected to be prepared to teach outside his/her direct field of academic interest. In addition, s/he will be expected to work together with UvA departments such as Informatics and Communication Studies on cross-faculty programmes directed at the development of joint projects in the fields of digital content, culture and technology. Candidates will be expected to have had experience at all levels of university education of all the forms of teaching employed at the UvA (seminars, lectures, and supervision of dissertations/theses and work experience placements) and also of the methods of assessment associated with each of these. They must possess teaching and educational skills of a high order and an approachable personality and manner. They will also be expected to have a fluent command of both Dutch and English; any appointee lacking this level of linguistic competence will be expected to acquire it within two years of taking up the post. Finally, the new professor must be well-informed about the future employment opportunities open to the section's students. The importance that the faculty attaches to this chair is reflected in the standards set for candidates in the research field. They must be able to demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the field by reference both to past publications, including articles in national and/or international academic journals and anthologies, and contributions to the wider public debate. In addition, it is assumed that the professor will undertake new research, including both individual projects and larger-scale projects involving partners outside the section, the Media Studies department and the faculty. S/he must be capable of recruiting the necessary indirect government or private sector funding for this. The supervision of doctoral students and postdocs will be among his/her duties; candidates will be expected to possess experience relevant to the exercise of these responsibilities. The professor will be expected to maintain close contacts with the field, or to be in a position to establish such contacts. The appointee will have administrative responsibility for his/her own field of study. First and foremost this will require inspiring and supportive team leadership. By encouraging staff and providing positive criticism, the new professor will help improve the quality and effectiveness of the university's teaching and research. Ways of achieving this will include holding regular team meetings with the staff of the section and conducting performance and job evaluation interviews. In addition, s/he must be prepared to undertake general administrative and organisational duties both within and outside the faculty. Demonstrable practical experience of administration and management is highly desirable. More information Further information can be obtained from the secretary of the selection committee, ms drs J.H.J. Kuiper, tel. 020-525 2006, e-mail j.h.j.kuiper@uva.nl, or from the chair, Professor F.P.I.M. van Vree, tel. 020-525 2980, e-mail f.p.i.m.vanvree@uva.nl. Appointment The initial appointment will be on a temporary basis for a period of no more than two years. Subject to satisfactory performance, this will be followed by a permanent appointment. The gross salary will normally be in accordance with professorial scale A (between € 4697 and € 6841 per month on a fulltime basis). In certain cases, however, different terms of employment may be offered. Job application Please submit your letter of application in Dutch or English, accompanied by a curriculum vitae and list of publications, by November 13th 2007. The application should be addressed to the secretary of the selection committee, ms drs J.H.J. Kuiper, Department of Media Studies, Turfdraagsterpad 9, 1012 XT Amsterdam, and should be sent in an envelop marked "strictly confidential". The selection will be in the hands of a committee headed by the Chair of the Media Studies department, Professor F.P.I.M. van Vree. Following an assessment procedure and a trial public lecture, the committee will make a recommendation to the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities.