Junior or senior professor of contemporary Anglophone literature of North America

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The Department of Literature in the Faculty of Arts has the following full-time vacancy: junior or senior professor of contemporary Anglophone literature of North America

Position

You will contribute to the University of Antwerp’s three core tasks: education (40 %), research (40 %) and service (20 %). Your role also includes organisational and managerial aspects.

Education

• You will provide high-quality education in the Bachelor and Master of Linguistics and Literary Studies.
• In the three-year bachelor’s programme you will teach three courses:
  • 20th-Century Literature in English II, a course in BA3 with capita selecta from Anglophone literatures for the period 1950-2000 (3 ECTS, i.e., a semester course with weekly lectures of approximately 1.5 hours for 75 to 100 students on average);
  • 21st-Century Literature in English, according to the same format (BA3; capita selecta from Anglophone literatures of the 21^st century; 3 ECTS; 1 semester with weekly lectures of approximately 1.5 hours for 75 to 100 students on average);
  • an elective course for students from BA2 and BA3 on a self-selected topic from 20^th- and/or 21^st-century (preferably North American) literature (3 ECTS; 1 semester with weekly seminars of approximately 1.5 hours).
• In the one-year master’s programme you will teach two courses:
  • a seminar on a topic from 20^th- and/or 21^st-century (preferably North American) literature that ties in closely with the desired expertise as a researcher (6 ECTS; 1 semester with weekly 3-hour seminars);
  • a seminar on (an important current within) contemporary narratology (6 ECTS; 1 semester with weekly 3-hour seminars).
• In your teaching, you must pay attention to students’ needs with respect to English language acquisition.
• The teaching load may evolve in function of the course programme and internal consultation with colleagues. The total teaching load will remain more or less the same as the above (with a maximum of 24 ECTS and a minimum of 18 ECTS).
• You will play a role in developing activating, student-centred and competence-driven programme components and study programmes.
• You will supervise students during the writing of bachelor’s and master’s papers.

Research

• You will develop high-quality scientific research in the field of 20^th- and/or 21^st-century Anglophone literature with a focus on contemporary theories of migration, diaspora, interculturality and/or transnationalism. The emphasis in your research will be on North American literature, including the respective cultures and literary traditions from which investigated writers originate.
• A strong familiarity with critical race theory, the Black Atlantic, the decolonisation debate and/or gender and queer studies from an intersectional perspective is recommended.
• You initiate new research traditions and coordinate the progress of scholarly research projects.
• You look actively for opportunities to collaborate with colleagues from different disciplines and faculties inside the University of Antwerp (e.g., the Network on Migration and Global Mobility, the Urban Studies Institute, research initiatives within the Faculty of Arts such as Across Borders).
• You will acquire and manage national and international research funding.
• You will publish in international, peer-reviewed journals and will write, edit or contribute to books published by leading academic publishers.
• You will develop an international scientific network.
• You will supervise PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. Their number depends on the acquisition of fellowships and project subsidies from national and international institutions. On the one hand, talented young researchers can initiate research themselves by applying for individually awarded fellowships and involving you as their adviser. On the other, you are expected as a junior or senior professor to acquire research funding yourself, with which you can then recruit fitting doctoral and/or postdoctoral researchers.

Services

• You will play a role in the provision of both academic services and service to society, within the institution and externally. Among other service activities, you will participate in student recruitment, boards and committees, and popular communication to a non-academic audience.

Organisation and leadership

• You will accept coordinating responsibilities in the areas of education, research and/or service provision and you will contribute to policy-making at the level of the research unit, department, programme committee and/or faculty to which you belong.
• Your leadership style will be motivating and coaching. You will be attentive to junior researchers’ growth, mental well-being and career planning and to the social cohesion among researchers in the department.

Profile

• You hold a PhD in Anglophone literature or related disciplines (such as comparative literature).
• You can demonstrate several years of postdoctoral experience (or equivalent).
• Your research qualities are in line with the faculty and university research policies.
• You have established an excellent international research portfolio with academic peer-reviewed publications that irrefutably demonstrate your expertise in 20^th- and/or 21^st-century North American literature and contemporary theories of migration, diaspora, interculturality and/or transnationalism.
• Your teaching competences are in line with the University of Antwerp’s educational vision. You are motivated to develop your teaching skills further through the professionalisation opportunities available.
• Your teaching load includes solely courses that are taught in English. Because the programme is aimed at students who wish to study the English language and literatures in English at the highest level, your writing and speaking proficiency should be at the level of native speakers (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages C2 level of proficiency)
• If you do not speak Dutch, the administrative language of the university, you should be willing to obtain a CEFR B2 level of proficiency in Dutch. As soon as you take on teaching duties in Dutch as a programme component coordinator, you should be able to demonstrate a CEFR C1 level of proficiency in the language of instruction. The University of Antwerp supports international staff members through an integration trajectory and offers tailor-made language coaching in compliance with Flanders’ statutory language regulations.
• You demonstrate leadership potential and organisational skills.
• You act with attention to quality, integrity, creativity and cooperation.
• You commit yourself to turning your work environment into an inclusive place in which diversity is valued and all students, including those with special vulnerabilities, feel safe.

What we offer

• We offer a full-time appointment as a member of the Senior Academic Staff (Dutch: Zelfstandig Academisch Personeel, ZAP). The level of your appointment (assistant professor, associate professor, professor or full professor) is determined on the basis of your professional experience and academic qualifications. Junior ZAP members are usually offered temporary appointment as a tenure track assistant professor for five years, which is then followed by permanent appointment as an associate professor. Appointment as an associate professor or higher leads to permanent appointment (tenure) after a maximum of three years. A favourable performance appraisal is always required for permanent appointment.
• We offer, after a positive evaluation of a PhD project application you submit, an attractive starter package consisting of a four-year PhD project and €15 000 of consumables to boost your research from the start of your employment at the University of Antwerp.
• Your gross monthly salary is calculated according to the pay scales for Senior Academic Staff.
• You will receive ecocheques, a laptop, a workplace, an Internet-connectivity allowance and a bicycle allowance or a full reimbursement of public transport costs for commuting.
• The planned starting date is 15 September 2024 or as soon as possible thereafter.
• You will do most of your work at the City campus of the University of Antwerp (Prinsstraat 13) in a dynamic and stimulating working environment.
• Find out more about working at the University of Antwerp here and discover all the other benefits.

Want to apply?

• You can apply for this vacancy through the University of Antwerp’s online job application platform up to and including 26 February 2024 (by midnight Brussels time). Click on 'apply', complete the online application form and don’t forget to include the following documents:
  • (1) your motivation letter,
  • (2) the completed job application appendix for ZAP,
  • (3) your academic CV

Please supply all documents in English.

A research plan is only requested from those who will be invited to the selection interview.

• The selection committee will review all of the applications as soon as possible after the application deadline. As soon as a decision has been made, we will inform you about the next steps in the selection procedure. We kindly request that you already reserve 23 April 2024 for a selection interview and a teaching sample on campus. If you are invited to the selection interview, you will also be asked to propose a topic for a four-year PhD project.
• If you have any questions about the online application form, please check the frequently asked questions or send an email to jobs@uantwerpen.be. If you have any questions about the job itself, please contact Prof. Bart Eeckhout, full professor of literatures in English, at the mailing address Bart.Eeckhout@uantwerp.be.

The University of Antwerp received the European Commission’s HR Excellence in Research Award for its HR policy. We are a sustainable, family-friendly organisation which invests in its employees’ growth. We encourage diversity and attach great importance to an inclusive working environment and equal opportunities, regardless of gender identity, disability, race, ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation or age. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds and with diverse characteristics to apply.