Professor in English Literature

ABOUT GHENT UNIVERSITY

 

Ghent University is one of the most important higher education and research institutions in the Low Countries. On a daily basis, over 9,000 staff members and 41,000 students live by its motto "Dare to Think". Ghent University's mission statement emphasizes high-quality teaching, internationally renowned research, and a commitment to social responsibility.

 

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT

 

The Department of Literary Studies contributes to the Bachelor in Linguistics and Literary Studies, three one-year Master’s degrees (Linguistics and Literary Studies, Historical Linguistics and Literary Studies, and Comparative Modern Literary Studies), a two-year Educational Master’s degree, and the one-year Flemish Inter-University Advanced Master’s degree in Literary Studies.

The English section currently counts among its faculty members one assistant professor, two associate professors who hold ERC Starting Grants, and three full professors. The expertise of the section covers literature in English from the Early Modern period until today; it has particular strengths in such areas as authorship studies, digital humanities, environmental humanities, literature and law, memory studies, narratology, and periodical studies.

 

 

JOB DESCRIPTION
 

The Department of Literary Studies has a tenure-track vacancy in the field of Literature in English, to start on 1 September 2021. The position is the equivalent of lecturer in the UK system and assistant professor in the US system, and embraces academic research, teaching, and service. The department looks to hire a scholar whose research focuses on some aspect of post-1800 literature, and who has the capacity to teach and supervise across the period from ca. 1800 to the present.

 

Teaching

You contribute to teaching at all levels, including survey courses and specialist courses, lectures and seminars. The section’s teaching is currently structured as follows:

• Ba1 level: one year-long compulsory course that introduces students to terminology and basic analytical and writing skills for the study of prose, drama, and poetry.
• Ba2 level: two compulsory semester-courses that together offer a survey of English literature and bring analytical and writing skills to a higher level.
• Ba3 level: one compulsory semester-course that offers a survey of American literature; two semester-courses that offer a more specialized approach to the study of literature in English.
• MA level: seven semester-courses that tie in closely with faculty research interests, currently split up into three historical courses and four courses with a more recent focus.

You will be expected to a) design and instruct your own courses and b) contribute to team-taught courses. Courses could initially include English Literature 2: Historical Survey: More Recent Period (Ba2); English Literature III: Older Period (Ba3); Literature in English: Older Period III (MA); and/or Literature in English: Modern Period II (MA).

You will supervise BA and MA theses, most of which are currently written on contemporary literature.

 

Research

You develop high-quality research activities in Literature in English as outlined above, which either complement or expand existing departmental research strengths. A list of research groups in which department members are involved may be found here.

 

Service

You take part in the internal and external service provision of the Department of Literary Studies.

 

PROFILE
 

Experience

• • You have conducted outstanding academic research in the field of Literature in English (ca. 1800-present), which is clearly reflected in publications in high-quality academic journals and peer-reviewed books;
  • You are capable of initiating, supervising, and acquiring the necessary funding for academic research;
  • You possess the didactic skills to help university students acquire and develop academic skills;
  • You possess the knowledge and skills to teach courses in Literature in English;
  • You are proficient in English at (near) native level;
  • If you do not have language proficiency in Dutch at B2 level, you are prepared to obtain that level within five years of your appointment. [artikel II.270 para 2 Codex Hoger Onderwijs]
  • International mobility is an asset.
  • Demonstrable experience in supervising BA and/or MA theses, positively assessed teaching experience at academic level, and involvement in the professionalization of education are desirable.

 

 

Skills / Attitude

• You are quality-oriented;
• You take initiative;
• You can work independently as well as in a team.

 

Admission requirements

• You hold a thesis-based doctorate or a diploma or certificate that is recognised as equivalent (article V.20 Codex Higher Education).

 

Upon evaluation of a foreign (non-EU) diploma, a certificate of equivalence may still have to be requested at NARIC. If this is the case, we advise you to initiate this recognition procedure as soon as possible. You are required to have the recognition no later than on the date of your appointment.

 

• You have at least two years of postdoctoral experience on 1 september 2021. This term of two years is determined by the date written on the above-mentioned required diploma.

 

 

APPOINTMENT INFORMATION

 

We offer you a temporary appointment in a tenure track system for a term of five years. If positively evaluated by the University Board, the term of office will be transferred into a permanent appointment as an associate professor.

 

Should you already be a member of the professorial staff or hold an equal post at another university or research institution, you can immediately be appointed as an assistant professor, without prejudice to the possibility of a temporary appointment offered in article V.28 of the Codex of Higher Education.

 

The recruitment is possible no sooner than 1 september 2021.

 

 

OUR OFFER

 

The career and evaluation policy for Professorial Staff is based on talent development and growth, prioritizing vision development and strategy - at the personal as well as the group level. At UGent we focus on career support and coaching of the Professorial Staff in the different phases of the career. More information can be found on www.ugent.be/en/work/mobility-career/career-aspects/professorial-staff.

 

Ghent University is committed to properly welcoming new professorial staff members and offering them appropriate guidance. The basic teacher training and courses of 'Dutch' and 'English' for foreign-speaking lecturers are only a few examples of our wide range of training and education opportunities. Furthermore, each Ghent University staff member can count on a number of benefits such as a bike allowance, reimbursement of public transport commuting costs, daycare, a wide range of sports facilities and EcoCheques. A complete overview of all our employee benefits (in Dutch).

 

Ghent University also invests in welcoming international professorial staff. It offers various housing options, a relocation bonus, the International School for school-aged children (with a discount on the tuition fee), support when registering at the City of Ghent, support with the procedure of family reunification and other administrative matters in connection with moving to Ghent. More information can be found on https://www.ugent.be/en/work/talent.

 

Candidates who are newly appointed at Ghent University with an appointment as autonomous academic staff of at least 50% or candidates whose appointment as autonomous academic staff at Ghent University is increased to a minimum of 50% receive a Starting Grant of € 210.000 to contribute towards the personnel, operating and/or equipment costs of establishing a research team.

 

 

GENDER AND DIVERSITY

 

Ghent University conducts an equal opportunities policy and encourages everyone to apply. Ghent University also strives for a gender balance. Female applications are thus especially welcomed.

 

 

SELECTION PROCEDURE

 

After the final application date, all received applications will be sent to the faculty assessment committee assembled for this vacancy. This committee will first evaluate the application files. Therefore it will match all elements of the file against the required expertise for the position in terms of education, research and scientific service. Based on this deliberation, relevant candidates will be shortlisted to be invited for further selection (interview, possible presentation or test lecture …). Afterwards, the committee will rank the suitable candidates and present this ranking to the Faculty Board. The advice of the Faculty Board will then be presented to the University Board for approval.

 

Candidates are asked to further discuss their top 5 most important publications or other academic achievements with the highest impact. Next to academic publications, the candidate is thus also able to show merit of knowledge transfer by academic dissemination, social valorisation, public awareness, seminars or conference presentations. These competences are also taken into account when evaluating the candidates.

 

The evaluation of the required international mobility is broad and partly takes the gender perspective into account, thus not only considering longer stays abroad by also other forms of internationalisation.

 

Pregnancy leave, prolonged sick leave, parental leave, filial leave or other forms of absence are taken into account when evaluating the available time for the realisation of academic output.

 

 

HOW TO APPLY

 

Apply online through the e-recruitment system before the application deadline (February 18, 2021). We do not accept late applications or applications that are not sent through the online system.

 

Your application must include the following documents:

 

• In the field ‘Application form: the professorial staff application form (+ all annexes mentioned in the form), merged into one pdf file.
• In the field ‘Cover letter’: your application letter in pdf format
• In the field ‘Diploma’: a transcript of your doctoral degree. If you have a foreign diploma in a language other than our national languages (Dutch, French or German) or English, please add a translation in one of the mentioned languages.
• In the field ‘Certificate of equivalence’: only for diplomas awarded outside the European Union: certificate of equivalence (NARIC) (if already in you possession)

 

Note that the maximum file size for each field is 10 MB.

 

 

MORE INFORMATION

 

For further information regarding this vacancy, please contact Professor Mara Santi (Mara.Santi@UGent.be, +32 (0)9 264 40 43), or Professor Marianne Van Remoortel (Marianne.Vanremoortel@ugent.be, +32(0)9/264 37 93) at the faculty of Arts and Literature, department of Literary Studies.