Assistant or Associate Professorship in Russian Studies 793679

The School of Culture and Society, Department of Global Studies at Aarhus University invites applications for a position as assistant or associate professor of  Russian studies with a special focus on Soviet and post-Soviet socio-political trends in Russia.

If an assistant professor is appointed, the position  will be a three-year probationary position, and subject to the availability of funding,  an associate professorship in the same field will be announced in open competition at the end of the three-year term. If an associate professor is appointed, the position will be a permanent, full-time position.
The position will commence on 1 April 2016 or as soon as possible thereafter.

They are seeing to engage a candidate with broad expertise in Soviet and post-Soviet society and the ability to address key contemporary issues. The position involves research based in any relevant field, including sociology, political science, history, anthropology, international relations or area studies. Commitment to and experience of interdisciplinary research, as well as the ability to place Russian developments in their broader European, Eurasian and/or global contexts, will be considered an advantage.

Applicants must be willing to participate in consolidating and expanding the field in terms of both teaching and research. The Russian studies programme is closely integrated with other area studies programmes as well as with European and International studies. The successful candidate is expected to have sufficient language proficiency in the Russian language in order work in a language-based area studies programme.

As part of the School of Culture and Society, the Department of Global Studies has a focus on regional and trans-regional research, and aims to provide a distinct approach to and understanding of the conditions of our contemporary globality. By combining cutting-edge area studies with history and the social sciences, the Department of Global Studies offers degree programmes and research which combine unique language-based area studies with state-of-the-art research in the emergent field of global studies.

Research
We are seeking a researcher with a strong research profile in contemporary Russia (20th and 21st centuries). In order to be considered for the position of associate professor, the key criteria of the assessment will be the quality of the research output, which is expected to meet international standards, and successful teaching experience at the university level. The successful applicant will be expected to develop new research projects with immediate relevance to the field.
The School of Culture and Society places emphasis on research of a high international standard, including interdisciplinary collaboration, participation in collective research projects and the attraction of external research funding.

Teaching
The successful applicant must be prepared to teach survey courses on Russian history and seminars on contemporary issues in Russia at all levels, i.e. the BA and MA degree programmes in Russian studies and other relevant area studies programmes, including contributions to courses in the broader field of global studies as well as auxiliary theoretical and methodological courses in these programmes.
He or she will also be expected to participate in the further development of a new interdisciplinary MA in global studies with a focus on Russia, and to contribute to the department’s academic environment, including collaboration with other relevant academic programs.
Participation in the daily life of the programme is a high priority, and we emphasise the importance of good working relationships, both among colleagues and with our students.

Talent development
The successful applicant will be expected to develop his or her supervision capabilities at both BA and MA levels. For an applicant qualified for the position of associate professor, he or she will also be expected to supervise PhD students as well as teaching and developing PhD courses.

Knowledge exchange
It is expected that the successful applicant will engage in knowledge exchange as described in the strategy for the Faculty of Arts, for instance in research cooperation with private companies, government consultancy, cooperation with civil society actors or public dissemination of knowledge. Applicants should document any prior experience within the field of knowledge exchange.

Qualifications
Applicants must have a PhD degree or equivalent qualifications in history, political science, anthropology, sociology or related fields.

If an associate professor is appointed, applicants must be able to document the following qualifications and competences:

Applicants for the assistant professorship must be able to document experience of or interest in the points mentioned above at PhD level at a minimum. Applicants for the associate professorship must be able to document competences corresponding to the completion of an assistant professorship.
If an assistant professor is appointed to the post, he or she will be obliged to complete a course in university teaching devised especially for assistant professors.

For further information about the position, please contact Associate Professor Rósa Magnúsdóttir, email slarm@cas.au.dk.

The application must be submitted in English.

If the successful applicant is not fluent in Danish, he or she will be expected to learn Danish within a period of approximately two years.

For more information about the application, please contact HR supporter Marianne Birn, email mbb@au.dk.

All applications must be made online and received by: 01.02.2016