Faculty of Humanities
The Faculty of Humanities provides education and conducts research with a strongly international profile in a large number of disciplines in the field of language and culture. Located in the heart of Amsterdam, the Faculty maintains close ties with many cultural institutes in the capital city. There are almost 1,000 employees affiliated with the Faculty, which has about 7,500 students.
The Department of Dutch Studies currently has a vacancy for a professor in
Speech Communication
1.0 FTE

Job description

The chair in Speech Communication is charged with teaching and research in the broad field of speech communication, which also includes argumentation and rhetoric in institutional contexts. The Faculty of Humanities consists of six departments: History, Archaeology and Area Studies; Art, Religion and Cultural Sciences; Media Studies; Dutch Studies; Language and Literature; and Philosophy. Each department is made up of sections comprising one or more professors and a number of other academic staff working in the relevant field.
The chair in Speech Communication is part of the Speech Communication, Argumentation Theory and Rhetoric section in the Department of Dutch Studies. The Department further comprises sections of the Dutch Literature and the Dutch Linguistics. At present, the section of Speech Communication, Argumentation Theory and Rhetoric has a staff of more than 12 full-time equivalent positions (FTE). Financial developments permitting, additional staff may be recruited during the coming years.

Tasks

The teaching tasks of the professor of Speech Communication focus mainly on the BA and MA programmes in Dutch Language and Culture, the BA programme in Language and Communication, the dual MA programme in Text and Communication, the Research MA programme in Rhetoric, Argumentation Theory and Philosophy (RAP) and the MA programme track in Discourse and Argumentation Studies (DASA), along with several relevant minors and electives (for the curriculum, please see the UvA’s digital course catalogue: www.studiegids.uva.nl ). The Faculty’s BA programmes are taught within the College of Humanities, while MA and doctorate programmes are administered within the Graduate School for Humanities.
Research activities are to cover the broad field of speech communication, including argumentation and rhetoric in institutional contexts. Depending on the interests and specialisation of the appointee, these research activities will be based at either the Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis (ASCA), the Amsterdam Center for Language and Communication (ACLC) or the interfaculty Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC).
In defining its research programme for the period 2009-2012, the Faculty has identified three research priority areas: Cultural Heritage and Identities (Cultureel Erfgoed en Identiteit), Cultural Transformations and Globalisation (Culturele Transformaties en Globalisering) and the interfaculty area of Cognitive Modelling and Learning (Cognitieve modellen en leerbaarheid). For further information about the Faculty research programme, please see: www.hum.uva.nl/onderzoek.

Profile

The candidate must be able to demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the field, as evidenced by his/her academic qualifications, publications and teaching experience. S/he has completed doctoral work on a topic in this or a related discipline and, as the prospective chair, has a good understanding of the domain as a whole.
The new professor is expected to both implement and further develop the section’s existing ambitious research profile in speech communication, argumentation theory and rhetoric. Specifically, that profile must be expanded to include the study of language usage, aspects of speech acts and stylistic features of written and oral communication. A further, key part of this process will be the reassessment of the
discipline’s educational objectives, with special emphasis on teaching in the Research Master’s programme.
The successful candidate will have wide-ranging experience of university teaching and of supervising students at all academic levels. In addition, s/he must be able to demonstrate familiarity and affinity with ICT developments relevant to teaching and research. S/he can draw on an existing national and international network in the relevant field.
Where education is concerned, the new professor will be responsible for developing and maintaining a high-quality and appealing contribution to the aforementioned study programmes. This shall be done in consultation with other staff. S/he will ensure that teaching programmes respond to society’s demand for graduates capable of making academic knowledge more accessible to a broad audience. The candidate must show willingness to collaborate with various other educational units both within the University and at other higher education institutions. In view of the Faculty’s general policy that academic staff should be capable of flexible deployment, the new professor must be prepared to teach in an interdisciplinary context as well as outside his/her direct field of expertise.
The successful candidate should have experience of teaching at all levels of university education and in all forms 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. S/he must possess teaching and educational skills of a high order and an approachable personality and manner. The candidate must 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.
The importance that the Faculty attaches to this chair is reflected in the standards set for candidates in terms of research experience. The candidate must hold a doctorate degree earned either within this field or in a related discipline. S/he must be able to demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the field by reference to major contributions to international discussions in the broad domain of speech communication and to past publications, including articles in international academic journals and anthologies, as well as to contributions to the wider public debate.
In addition, the successful candidate will be expected to undertake new research, including both independent work and larger-scale projects involving partners outside the Department of Dutch Studies and Faculty of Humanities. S/he must be capable of recruiting the necessary indirect government or private sector funding for this. Further duties include the supervision of doctorate students and postdocs, and candidates are expected to possess experience relevant to the exercise of these responsibilities. In addition, the new 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 activity. First and foremost, this will require inspiring and supportive team leadership. By encouraging staff and providing constructive criticism, the new professor will help to advance the quality and effectiveness of University teaching and research. Specific means of achieving this will include regular team meetings with staff and annual consultations and assessment interviews.
In addition, the new professor will be expected to undertake general administrative and organisational duties both within and outside the Faculty. Substantial evidence of practical experience in these areas is extremely desirable.
In keeping with University policy, candidates should hold a Master’s or doctoral degree and have at least three years subsequent work experience at a university or academic research institute other than the UvA, preferably abroad.

Further information

For further information, please contact the secretary of the selection committee, Mr H.A. Mulder, tel. 020-525 3066, email H.A.Mulder@uva.nl, or the committee chairman, Prof. F.P. Weerman, tel. 020-525 4737, email F.P.Weerman@uva.nl.

Appointments

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 conform to professorial scale 2 (between €4904 and €7142 per month on a full-time basis in
accordance with the salary scale established in January 2009). In certain cases, however, different terms of employment may be offered.

Application procedure

Please submit a letter of application in Dutch or English by no later than 15 May 2010, accompanied by a CV and list of publications. The application should be addressed to the selection committee for the chair in Speech Communication, c/o Mr H.A. Mulder, Office of the Faculty of Humanities, Spuistraat 210, 1012 VT Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and should be sent in an envelop marked ‘strictly confidential’.
Applications will be reviewed by the selection committee, headed by the chair of the Department of Dutch Studies, Prof. F.P. Weerman. The selection procedure includes a formal assessment and a trial public lecture, on the basis of which the committee makes a recommendation to the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities. The committee will make an initial selection before the summer recess and invite candidates for interviews in September.