W2 Professorship (tenure track) "Art and Society" - Faculty of Humanities

The German federal state of Hessen, the city of Kassel, the documenta and Fridericianum Museum gGmbh and the University of Kassel have agreed to pursue the development of a documenta Institute in Kassel, Germany, where the world art exhibition is staged every five years. The aim of this undertaking is to establish an independent scholarly institution of international renown that takes the history of the documenta and its ongoing present day continuation as the occasion and starting point for transdisciplinary research initiatives. Under the thematic frame of the "exhibition", understood as a means by which societies encounter and address themselves, the relationships between art and society, art and knowledge as well as between art and various economies shall be analyzed and explored. The inventories of the documenta archiv will serve as an important foundation for the work of the documenta Institute and will be fully integrated into the new Institute. This facility should become a leading research institute and cultural meeting place for an international public as well as for citizens of the region in the periods between documenta exhibitions.

To realize this concept, a call for applicants is being made for three professorships which will be established in addition to the documenta Professorship that already exists at the Kunsthochschule Kassel. These three positions will be located in the Faculty of the Humanities, the Faculty of Social Sciences, and the Faculty of Architecture, Urban Planning, Landscape Planning. For all of the professorships a further membership in the Kunsthochschule Kassel and involvement in the planned interdisciplinary Centre for Exhibition Studies at the University of Kassel is expected. These positions will also involve teaching responsibilities in the degree programs of the respective faculties, work in the area of structured supervision of doctoral candidates, and involvement in university self-government. Experience in securing third-party grant funding is highly desirable.

Persons from all academic disciplines with an international reputation resulting from outstanding research work as well as a readiness for transdisciplinary cooperation are being sought for these positions.  Relevant qualifications in addition to a doctoral degree and university teaching experience are post-doctoral thesis work or additional scholarly activities in the areas cited below in the respective position descriptions. Applicants will be expected to present a concept for innovative research and teaching in connection with the planned documenta Institute.

The professorship involves research and teaching on the connections between contemporary art and society in the context of exhibitions. The main focus are questions of the public discourse on contemporary art, the scholarly reflection on art, the linguistic and communicative approaches to art, the aesthetic (literary, filmic, visual, etc.) engagement with art, as well as the societal expectations with regard to contemporary art and the reception of art in the public sphere.  In addition, questions concerning the mediation of art in the public sphere (public programs, art education, exhibition catalogues, art criticism, etc.) are subjects of research and teaching for this professorship. Particular attention is to be directed to perspectives pertaining to the humanities, to cultural studies and to art historical studies.

Prof. Dr. Andreas Gardt, Department of German (Tel.: +49 (0)561/804-3327; gardt[at]uni-kassel[dot]de) as well as Prof. Dr. Nora Sternfeld, Kunsthochschule Kassel (Tel.: +49 (0)151/684 04 568; nora.sternfeld[at]uni-kassel[dot]de) are available to answer any questions that applicants for this position may have.

The employment and performance requirements apply pursuant to §§ 61, 62, 64 of the Higher Education Act of Hessen.

The University of Kassel is highly interested in its employees' professional satisfaction. Therefore its Dual Career Service and its Family Welcome Service aim to promote the balance between partnerships, families and professional development. Among the strategic goals of the University of Kassel is to considerably increase the proportion of women in research and teaching. Therefore, applications from women are especially desired. Applicants with disabilities, who are equally qualified and suitable, will receive preference. Please submit your application including CV, certificates, credentials, list of publications, 3 selected reprints, presentation of research strategy, list of courses taught, statement of teaching strategy. Applications in German or English language can be sent, with reference number, in electronic form to the President of the University of Kassel, 34109 Kassel or to bewerbungen[at]uni-kassel[dot]de. In the event of any differences between the German and English versions of this call for applications, the German wording is legally binding.