The School of Culture and Society at the Faculty of Arts, Aarhus University invites applications for an assistant professorship in classical archaeology with a specific focus on urban pasts in the Eastern Mediterranean as well as active fieldwork in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The position is a full-time, three-year position. It is embedded within the Danish National Research Foundation’s Centre of Excellence “Urban Network Evolutions” (UrbNet). The position is available from 1 October 2015 or as soon as possible thereafter.
The position
The position is an opportunity to set the agenda for research into the evolution of urban societies and networks from the Hellenistic Period to the Middle Ages, and to participate in one of Europe’s most groundbreaking archaeological research initiatives of this decade.
The centre aims to develop research that will offer comparison of the archaeology of urbanism from Medieval Northern Europe to the Ancient Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean World and determine how, and to what extent, past urban networks catalysed societal and environmental expansions and crises in the past. The newly-opened centre strives to embrace and connect the archaeological research clusters at Aarhus University with new and advanced analytical techniques in geoscience and physics for dating and characterising archaeological sites; and creates a research environment for cross-fertilising approaches from the humanities and sciences.
The position will offer the successful applicant the possibility of being part of the new Danish National Research Foundation’s centre of excellence “Centre for Urban Network Evolutions”, as well as actively participating in research and teaching within the Sections for Archaeology and Classical Studies. The position offers a unique opportunity for carrying out cross-disciplinary research including the implementation of methods from natural sciences. Furthermore, it will give the successful applicant the possibility of qualifying her/himself in the area of teaching through the teaching undertaken during the appointment. The research area of the position focusses on urbanism and understanding the urban past in the Eastern Mediterranean from the Hellenistic to the medieval period, and a strong focus is also put on integration between fieldwork-based research and natural science methods in order to optimise information gathering as well as research output.
We are looking for applicants with the potential to integrate into the centre’s work concerning urban development and networks. Projects should align with one or more of the core agendas of the centre:
- How does the combination of multiple methods and approaches help to characterise the material and/or social biographies of urban sites in the past?
- How does the contextual study of archaeological data, including scientific and historical analysis, clarify the structure, dynamics and agency of urban networks in different periods and regions?
- How do high-definition chronologies, site biographies and recorded history integrate as synthetic accounts of urban societies?
Research
We are looking for applicants with a strong research profile in Eastern Mediterranean archaeology of the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and later periods. Since the centre also focusses on fieldwork projects, we are seeking applicants with proven experience of organising and heading fieldwork who also possess a strong publication profile.
The successful applicant is expected to play an active part within the centre on a daily basis. He/she will also be expected to participate in both teaching and research measures related to the centre’s initiatives, and to be a leading force in pushing forward research agendas within the field of the centre.
Teaching
The successful applicant must be prepared to teach and supervise students at all levels of the undergraduate and graduate programmes in classical studies and other relevant subjects.
The person appointed to the post will be obliged to complete a course in university teaching especially designed for assistant professors.