[Air-L] Professor of New Media and Digital Culture (University of Amsterdam)

[geert lovink]

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 at uva.nl, or from the chair, Professor F.P.I.M. van Vree,  
tel. 020-525 2980, e-mail f.p.i.m.vanvree at 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.