Deadline: 31st Jan 2013
SOAS, University of London, (School of Oriental and African Studies) will launch the SOAS China Institute (SCI) in Autumn 2013. The SCI will be at the forefront of a major strategic initiative, designed to confirm and strengthen the position of SOAS as the UK’s foremost centre of research, teaching, and outreach with reference to China. The Institute will be an interdisciplinary
“knowledge hub” bringing together the expertise of the largest community of China scholars housed under one roof in the Western world. It will promote independent, critical analysis of China, provide new and exciting opportunities for postgraduate training and postdoctoral research, and produce scholarly work of the highest international quality.
To lead this initiative, the School seeks to appoint a senior scholar in the field of contemporary China studies, with particular reference to the social sciences, to assume the inaugural Directorship of the SCI, either immediately upon appointment or after an appropriate period of familiarization with the institution. The position comes with a professorial appointment in one of the departments in the School, although the postholder’s creative energies will overwhelmingly be directed to shaping and developing the activities of the SCI.
You will play a key role in designing a suite of Masters-level courses on contemporary China, with input from all SOAS departments in which China is covered. Specifically, you will deliver and lead a one-year MA Contemporary China Studies programme focused on the social sciences.
You will oversee the development of the SCI as an active, cross-departmental and interdisciplinary community of scholars and studies, and will take the lead in shaping the Institute into a vibrant postgraduate and postdoctoral research centre of international importance. With the support of dedicated administrative staff, you will formulate, plan and organize relevant outreach and media-facing activities. Working alongside colleagues in the SOAS Development and Alumni Relations office, you will also play a major part in attracting external funding to support the further expansion of SCI activities.
You will have a proven track record of excellence in research and teaching with reference to contemporary China, preferably in an area of the social sciences. You will also have extensive and demonstrable experience in attracting external funding and in providing academic leadership, plus a strong commitment to cross-disciplinary scholarship in general, and to language-based area studies in particular.
A competitive salary package will be offered.
For more details, please visit External Link.