Vacant Position: “Tenure-track assistant professorship in Religious Studies with Special Focus on East Asian Religions/The Religions of East Asia”

Copenhagen, Denmark
Deadline: 4th Sep 2014

The Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies (ToRS), Faculty of Humanities, Copenhagen University, Denmark, invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professorship in Religious Studies to be filled by 1 January 2015  or as soon as possible thereafter.

The position will link the Religious Studies programme at ToRS with Asian studies programmes in Japanese, Korean and Chinese Studies. It requires a command of a relevant East Asian language as well as a disciplinary foundation in Religious Studies including the theories, methods, and research history of Religious Studies.

The Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies works with languages, cultures, religion
and society, primarily in the world outside Western Europe and the US. Cross-cultural competences
and knowledge of the complexity of the world are of vital importance in the globalised world –
politically, economically, and culturally. Further information can be found at http://ccrs.ku.dk/

Job content

The tenure-track assistant professorship is offered in Religious Studies with focus on modern Asian religion(s).

In selecting an applicant, special emphasis will be placed on the scope of the applicant’s research, future research plans and the research’s solid and well-documented grounding in knowledge of a relevant Asian language and its cultural and social contexts.

The successful applicant must be able to teach and supervise at BA and MA levels and in relation to religion in the relevant Asian society, and, where necessary, he/she must be able to include materials in the relevant language in his/her teaching. He/she must be able to supervise at PhD level.

The successful candidate should be willing to undertake outreach activities and to communicate academic research to the general public.

The applicant must be able to document experience in research-based teaching at all levels
in his/her disciplinary field.

The applicant should be willing to contribute to cross-disciplinary teaching and research
within the department.

Applicants specializing in the religion(s) of any of the modern East Asian regions are encouraged to apply. The department expects that the applicant’s research on and teaching of the modern religion(s) of the region is based on good and well-documented historical knowledge and acquaintance with the relevant classic religious traditions.
The applicant should demonstrate some experience in university administration.

A tenure-track assistant professorship is a six-year, fixed-term academic position involving research and teaching. The person appointed to the post will be obliged to complete a course in university teaching designed especially for assistant professors, and is expected to be able to take part in all the activities of the Department, including examinations and administration.
Approximately six months before the end of the six-year period as assistant professor, a committee set up by the Dean will assess if the assistant professor can be considered for promotion to a tenured position as associate professor.
Read more about the tenure-track program at the University of Copenhagen at this homepage: http://employment.ku.dk/tenure-track/

Qualification requirements

Applicants must have a PhD degree or its equivalent within the area advertised. Furthermore, it will be considered an advantage if applicants can demonstrate teaching experience at university level.

The duties of the position are evenly distributed on tasks related to teaching and tasks related to research (including relevant administration and knowledge-sharing). Documented competences in both of these main fields of activity, as well as the ability to reflect on them, will be weighted in the assessment process (see further below).

Furthermore, emphasis will be placed on the following academic and personal qualifications:

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  • Research qualifications, which will be assessed in relation to the period of active research, the degree of originality, and academic output.
  • The applicant’s scientific record, academic breadth and depth, rigour, thoroughness, and accuracy
  • Teaching qualifications. See also our Educational Charter at http://www.humanities.ku.dk/about/vision_and_goals/educational_charter/
  • Experience and qualifications with regard to dissemination of research, knowledge-sharing and engagement with the wider public, the media and the world of politics
  • Documentation of possible administrative qualifications

Tenure-track assistant professors must hold an academic record demonstrating internationally competitive research, and/or have internationally recognized potential to make a future impact.

Assessment of applicants will primarily consider their level of documented, internationally competitive research. Teaching qualifications are not mandatory, but documented teaching qualifications and teaching experience will be taken into account. Applicants’ outreach qualifications, including the ability to attract external funding, will also be considered.

Within a reasonable period of time (max. 2 years), non-Danish-speaking appointees are expected to acquire proficiency in Danish sufficient to teach in Danish as well as interact with colleagues and students.

For further details about the qualification requirements for assistant professorships, please refer to the job structure for academic staff  http://ufm.dk/lovstof/gaeldende-love-og-regler/uddannelsesinstitutioner/job-structure-for-academic-staff-at-universities-2013.pdf

For further information about the position, please contact Head of Department, Ingolf Thuesen, e-mail: i-leder.tors@hum.ku.dk.

Application
Applications must be submitted online in Adobe PDF or Word format. ZIP-files cannot be uploaded.

Please note that each field in the application form must contain a single file of max. 20Mb.

Please click on the “Apply online” icon at the bottom of the page.

The application must include the following enclosures:

 

Application letter/cover letter

Appendix 1:    CV.
Appendix 2:     Documentation of qualifications (examination certificates/PhD diploma, etc.).
Appendix 3 :  List of referees/reference letters
Appendix 4:     Complete and numbered list of publications. The enclosed publications must be marked with *.
Appendix 5:    Research plan, including a short description of previous research and a plan for
the coming years that includes an account of involvement in organising research, establishment of research seminars, symposia and congresses, etc.
Appendix 6:    Documentation of teaching qualifications and research dissemination (organisation of classes, materials, courses and other forms of teaching).

Appendix 7:     Publications. Applicants may choose a maximum of five publications for assessment, of which at least two must have been published within the five years immediately preceding the deadline for applications. At least two of these publications must have been published in internationally recognized, peer-reviewed journals or in comparable high-ranking series published with internationally recognized publishing houses. Publication dates must be clearly marked on the publication list. The publications selected must be uploaded as attachments and listed from 1
to 5.

Should any material submitted consist of work with named co-authors, or work that is otherwise the result of collective academic endeavours, the extent of the applicant’s contribution to the work must be clearly stipulated. The Faculty may ask for a signed statement from the co-authors stipulating the extent and nature of each individual’s contribution.

Only material in English, German, French, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish will be assessed.

All material will be shredded at the end of the appointment procedure.

 

Appointment procedure

After the application deadline, the Dean will set up an expert assessment committee to evaluate applicants in relation to the advertised position. The applicants will be informed about the composition of the committee, and will have the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment relating to themselves before the appointment is finalised.

Applicants will be continuously informed about the progress of the procedure by e-mail.

Further information about the application procedure is available from HR and Personnel Officer Mette Christensen, e-mail: VIPadmin@hum.ku.dk

 

Salary and conditions of employment

The post will be filled according to the agreement between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. Additional bonuses may be negotiated on an individual basis.  Compensation packages comprising a relocation bonus for international scholars and a special tax scheme are offered to researchers recruited abroad. As for the latter, see www.movingtodenmark.ku.dk

As a tenure-track assistant professor at the Faculty of Humanities you are offered a Start-up Package. See more at http://humanities.ku.dk/about/tenuretrack/

If you consider applying from abroad, you may find useful information on what it is like working in Denmark before you apply for a position at University of Copenhagen. See: http://ism.ku.dk/, http://workingconditions.ku.dk/ and https://www.workindenmark.dk/

The University of Copenhagen wishes to encourage everyone interested in this post to apply, regardless of personal background.

The closing date for applications is 4 September 2014, 23:59 CEST.

Applications or supplementary material received thereafter will not be considered.

Please quote reference number 211-0118/14-4000 in your application.

 

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