2 Postdoctoral positions in Medieval Literature in Denmark | University of Southern Denmark

The Centre for Medieval Literature (CML) at SDU invites applications for two positions as a 3-year Postdoc in Medieval literature, one at the Department of History and one at the Department for the Study of Culture. The positions are available starting September 1, 2014 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Jointly based at the University of Southern Denmark (Odense) and the University of York (UK), CML is a centre of excellence funded by the Danish National Research Foundation in 2012 for six to ten years.

The CML takes an integrated European approach to the study of Medieval Literature with research ranging from Scandinavia to the Middle East. Our research is organized into three main areas: languages, fictionality, and canon formation. The work of CML is interdisciplinary (crossing literature and history) in studying texts as embedded within social relationships. We also attend to the modern representation of and interaction with medieval literature.

Successful candidates for the postdoctoral positions will be committed to:

• collaboration which unites scholarship across disciplines and languages,
• creating a shared research environment across SDU and York,
• situating their research within a wider European framework. In addition to describing your research topic and how it will fit into one or more of the three strands of CML, your proposal should include a statement of what you think you could contribute to the teamwork that is an important aspect of the CML.

You will hold a PhD in a relevant area of Medieval Studies (Literature, Philology, Linguistics, Manuscript Studies, History) and be able to work at an advanced level in at least two of the languages of Medieval Europe.

The successful candidate will be expected to spend some time based at York. In addition, you will need to participate in international activities in Europe and North America.

This post offers excellent opportunities for career development, as well as experience working as part of an international team, running a major project.

Furthermore each of the postdoc positions includes teaching obligations, up to two classes a week (but with one or two semesters dedicated to research only). Depending on the fields of the succesful candidates, the teaching for the position at the Department of History can be in either classical studies or history (or other duties within the CML); the successful applicant for the position at the Department for the Study of Culture will have her/his duties within the study programme of comparative literature (or possibly English or German) and will also be committed to act as a coordinator between the Department for the Study of Culture and CML.

Conditions of employment

Employment as Postdoc is temporary (max. 4 years). Employment stops automatically by the end of the period.

For these Postdoc positions a completed PhD is required.

The jobdescription will be mainly research, additionally will be teaching to a certain extent and other tasks to a limited extent.

The university will determine the distribution between the various tasks. The extent of the tasks can vary over time.

An upgrade of pedagogical qualifications is not part of the position. Thus employment as Postdoc cannot stand alone as a qualification for later employment as associate professor/senior researcher.

Applications will be assessed by an expert committee. Applicants will be informed of their assessment by the Faculty.