Assistant Professor in Italian Studies (MLAC_05)

Working at Durham University

A globally outstanding centre of teaching and research excellence, a warm and friendly place to work, a unique and historic setting – Durham is a university like no other.

As one of the UK’s leading universities, Durham is an incredible place to define your career. The University is located within a beautiful historic city, home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and surrounded by stunning countryside. Our talented scholars and researchers from around the world are tackling global issues and making a difference to people's lives.  

We believe that inspiring our people to do outstanding things at Durham enables Durham people to do outstanding things in the world. Being a part of Durham is about more than just the success of the University, it’s also about contributing to the success of the city, county and community.

Our University Strategy is built on three pillars of research, education and wider student experience, but also on our keen sense of community and of inspiring others to achieve their potential. 

Our Purpose and Values

We want our University to be a place where people can be free to be themselves, no matter what their identity or background. Together, we celebrate difference, value one another and are each responsible for creating an inclusive community that is respectful and fair for all.

Find out more about the benefits of working at the University and what it is like to live and work in the Durham area on our Why Durham? information page.   

The School

The School is one of the largest and most successful Schools of Modern Languages in the UK bringing together research in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hispanic Studies, Italian, Japanese and Russian Studies. It is consistently ranked in the top five in national league tables, such as the Guardian University Guide. The School’s reach spans Europe, the Arab world, Russophone Eurasia, Hispanic America, and East Asia, and their mutual socio-cultural, intellectual and linguistic relations. The School federates expertise to generate innovative research practices and activities that cross historical, geographical and methodological boundaries. Its research focuses on the transnational study of literatures, cultures and histories. The School has particular strengths in medieval and early modern studies, and its members work closely with over 100 research-active colleagues across the university affiliated with the Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies. Further specialisms include interests in visual arts and culture, the relationship between the sciences and the humanities, and considerable strengths in 19th to 21st century literature and culture, textual scholarship, gender and sexuality studies, critical and cultural theory, travel literature, creative writing, and translation. Indeed, translation — understood in its broad sense of transmission, interpretation and sharing of languages, ideas and histories — underpins the School’s collective practices. The School’s forward-thinking research agenda was highlighted in its major conference ‘Our Uncommon Ground’, held in Durham in 2018, and a further conference ‘Where Are We Now? The Location of Modern Languages and Cultures took place in April 2023. These conferences brought together speakers from across the world to articulate and embrace the values of a discipline equipped to study cultures and their interactions in historical perspective.

 In the School, staff and postgraduates are brought together in interdisciplinary discussions and collaboration through a set of research groups. These currently include Bodies, Texts, Nations; Digital Studies; Performance and Performativity; Living Texts; Translating Languages and Cultures; Decolonisation; and Transnational Cinema. The School plays a leading role in the Institute of  Medieval and Early Modern Studies, the Centre for Culture and Ecology, the Centre for Visual Arts and Culture, and the Institute of Medical Humanities, and has an important role in the University’s prestigious Institute of Advanced Study, which promotes world-class research across the Faculties. The School is also a key contributor to one of four major research programmes to which the UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) awarded funding in 2016 as part of its Open World Research Initiative (OWRI). It is part of a consortium headed by the University of Manchester, which has been awarded c. £4 million to develop a large interdisciplinary research programme titled ‘Cross-Language Dynamics: Reshaping Community'. The School is also a significant contributor to the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) project Living Deltas. As part of its commitment to local regeneration through internationalisation, the School is engaged in collaborative activities with The Auckland Project around the Spanish Art in County Durham initiative and the Zurbarân Centre for Spanish and Latin American Art.

The Department 

Italian at Durham is one of the top Italian units in the UK: it was ranked 2nd in the Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024, and it regularly appears in the top five in major national league tables, contributing to Durham University’s top-30 placing for Arts and Humanities in the THE World Reputation Rankings 2022, and 32nd in the QS World University Rankings 2023.

  Italian Studies at Durham is firmly embedded within the broad research culture of the School of Modern Languages and affiliated research institutes and centres. There are currently three members of academic staff in Italian actively engaged in research and publication in the School, part of an overall complement of over fifty research-active staff. Individual staff research expertise ranges from medieval and early modern studies to the modern and contemporary period and includes literature, cinema, visual arts and culture, critical theory, cultural studies, heritage studies, cultural translation, gender studies, feminist theory and trauma studies, with colleagues often working from a comparative, interdisciplinary, and transnational perspective. Teaching-focused staff in Italian are at the forefront of scholarship pertaining to inclusive, intercultural, and transnational language pedagogy, as well as technology-enhanced approaches that draw on translation studies, e-learning and learners’ autonomy. At Durham, we are committed to research-led and small group teaching, and we actively strive to create close synergies between language and cultural modules.

Italian Studies at Durham contributes in crucial ways to the School’s international and interdisciplinary projects listed above. At the same time, it nurtures well established links with local institutions in County Durham, such as Ushaw College and The Bowes Museum, as well as institutions in Italy and across the Atlantic — in the US, Canada and Mexico, as well as Chile, Brazil and Argentina. In Italian-speaking areas, close ties have been developed with the Università degli Studi and the Università per Stranieri in Siena, Roma Tre, Università della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano-Mendrisio, and Villa I Tatti in Florence. Italian Studies hosts the ’Durham-Cini Research Collaboration’, a research initiative which involves (amongst other things) a jointly-funded visiting fellowship scheme to the Fondazione Giorgio Cini in Venice. It also runs a language exchange programme with the Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia.

More detailed information on the unit, its staff and modules, is available from Italian Studies Durham Universit y and related webpages.

The Post

Italian Studies at Durham University seeks to appoint a talented individual to the role of Assistant Professor. We welcome applications from those with research and teaching interests in the broad field of Italian Studies (from the Middle Ages to the present day) that complement the research strengths of the language area and the School of Modern Languages and Cultures. The latter include literary studies, visual arts and performance studies, transcultural and translation studies, digital, environmental and/or medical humanities, as well as cultural heritage and the creative industries.

This post offers an exciting opportunity to make a major contribution to the development of internationally excellent research and teaching while allowing unrivalled opportunities to progress and embed your career in an exciting and progressive institution. For more information, please visit our Department pages at https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/academic/modern-languages-cultures/

Assistant Professors at Durham 

Assistant Professors on the Education and Research track are encouraged to focus on research and teaching, but are also expected to engage in wider citizenship to enhance their own development, support their department and discipline, and contribute to the wider student experience. 

Academic colleagues are supported to publish excellent research in their area of interest with a focus on high quality outputs (including monographs and journal articles), rather than quantity. We aim to support your research needs, including practical help such as resources to attend conferences and to fund research activities, as well as a generous research leave policy and a designated mentor.  

Durham University is also committed to ensuring outstanding teaching quality, stimulating learning environments, and innovative curricula for all our students. You will be supported to develop your teaching expertise and skills. 

We are confident that our recruitment process allows us to attract and select the best talent to Durham. We, therefore, offer a reduced probation period of 1 year for our Assistant Professors and thereafter, subject to satisfactory performance, your position will be confirmed as permanent. 

Applicants must demonstrate high quality research in the broad field of Italian Studies, with the ability to teach our students to an exceptional standard and to fully engage in the services, citizenship and values of the University. 

We strive to provide a working and teaching environment that is inclusive and welcoming and where everyone is treated fairly with dignity and respect. Candidates will be expected to demonstrate these key principles as part of the assessment process. 

Key responsibilities: 

• To pursue research that is high quality in terms of originality, significance and rigour.  
• To develop clear plans for the pursuit of national and international funding opportunities to support research and end-user engagement. 
• To play a role in relevant teaching and research supervision, and contribute to ongoing curriculum development. 
• Contribute to enhancing the quality of the research environment in the Department, the wider University and beyond through collaborative research activity. 
• Demonstrate a willingness to contribute to the administrative work, citizenship and values of the Department.  
• To deliver lectures, seminars and tutorials at undergraduate and taught postgraduate levels, as well as engaging in related activity such as assessment.
• To fully engage in and enhance the values of the Department.
• To contribute to attracting and supervising research students, and to enhance the Department’s commitment to its vibrant and inclusive postgraduate culture.  
• Carry out other duties as specified by the Head of Department. 

Durham University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion 

Equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key component of the University’s Strategy and a central part of everything we do.  We also live by our Purpose and Values  and our Staff Code of Conduct.   At Durham we actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive. It’s important to us that all colleagues undertake activities that are aligned to both our values and commitment to EDI. 

We welcome and encourage applications from those who are currently under-represented in our work force, including people with disabilities and from racially minoritised ethnic groups.

If you have taken a career break or periods of leave that may have impacted on the volume and recency of your research outputs and other activities, such as maternity, adoption or parental leave, you may wish to disclose this in your application. The selection committee will take this into account when evaluating your application.

The University has been awarded the Disability Confident Employer status. If you are a candidate with a disability, we are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process. We will make adjustments to support the interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so and, where successful, reasonable adjustments will be made to support people within their role. 

Person Specification 

Candidates will have completed their PhD (or be close to completion) and should outline their experience, skills and achievements to date, which demonstrate that they meet the essential criteria.

Research  

Candidates must have the capacity for and be progressing towards the independent development of internationally excellent research that produces high-quality outcomes, including some work that is recognised as world-class or that has world-class potential.   

Essential Research Criteria

Education 

Candidates must demonstrate the development and delivery of high-quality teaching that contributes to providing a supportive and enabling learning environment and curricula which encourage students to achieve their potential.

Essential Education Criteria 

Services, Citizenship and Values

Active engagement in administrative and citizenship requirements and to fostering a respectful environment, including a demonstrable commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion.

Essential Services, Citizenship and Values Criteria

Desirable Criteria

The desirable criteria for this post (for which candidates should provide evidence of some if not all criteria) are:

1. Research and teaching expertise in the broad field of Italian Studies (from the Middle Ages to the present day) that complements the research strengths of the department and the School of Modern Languages and Cultures. The latter include literary studies, visual art and performance studies, transcultural and translation studies, digital, environmental and/or medical humanities, as well as cultural heritage/the creative industries. We are particularly eager to hear from applicants with research and teaching expertise in the medieval period. 

2. Qualification – candidates to hold or have the ability to attain the rank of Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/individuals/fellowship/fellow ), which is the national body that champions teaching excellence (or Equivalent).   

3. Research Leadership – experience, skills and/or achievements that demonstrate experience of, or the potential to, contribute to the leadership of research groups and mentoring of early career researchers. (Candidates may choose to include information about research group leadership, mentoring of research colleagues, invitations to external events, engagement with international networks or projects).  

4. PhD Supervision – involvement in the provision of excellent supervision for PhD students.    

5. Research Impact – evidence of or the potential to demonstrate the impact of the Candidate’s research beyond their institution.     

6. Income Generation – evidence of engagement in the development of successful research projects and quality research grant proposals.   

Contact Information 

Department contact for academic-related enquiries 

Professor David Cowling, [email protected]

Contact information for technical difficulties when submitting your application 

If you encounter technical difficulties when using the online application form, we prefer you send enquiries by email.  Please send your name along with a brief description of the problem you’re experiencing to [email protected]  

Alternatively, you may call 0191 334 6801 from the UK, or +44 191 334 6801 from outside the UK. This number operates during the hours of 09.00 and 17.00 Monday to Friday, UK time.  We will normally respond within one working day (Monday to Friday, excluding UK public holidays).  

University contact for general queries about the recruitment process 

Lauren Gulliver-Recruitment Coordinator [email protected] 

How to Apply  

We prefer to receive applications online.    

Please note that in submitting your application, we will be processing your data.  We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement https://www.dur.ac.uk/ig/dp/privacy/pnjobapplicants/  which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.  

What to Submit 

All applicants are asked to submit: 

• A CV  
• A covering letter which details your experience, strengths and potential in the requirements set out above. 
• Personal research plan. 
• 2 of your most significant pieces of written work.  Where possible your written work should have been published or submitted since 2018, however work prior to 2018 may be submitted where candidates have had career breaks. 
• An EDI & values statement – (of no more than 500 words) which outlines work which you have been involved in which demonstrates your commitment to EDI and our values. I.e. Involvement in equality, diversity, and inclusion activities such as mentoring, volunteering, or attending conferences.

Where possible we request that you provide accessible web links to your publications, which the hiring Department will use to access your work. The application form contains fields in which to enter each of the web links.

Please note we are unable to access publications behind a paywall.  

In the event you are unable to provide accessible links to online hosting of your work, publications should be uploaded as PDFs as part of your application in our recruitment system.

Please ensure that your PDFs are not larger than 5mb. Your work may be read by colleagues from across the Department and evaluated against the current REF criteria. 

All application documents should be uploaded with your name and document type as PDF files. 

We will notify you on the status of your application at various points throughout the selection process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system.  Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to ensure you receive all emails.  

Referees 

You should provide 3 academic referees they should not (if possible) include your PhD supervisor(s).  The majority should be from a university other than your own.

References will be requested for candidates who have been shortlisted and will be made available to the panel during the interview process. 

As part of your application, you will be asked whether you give your consent to your academic references being sought should you be invited to attend an interview. We will only request references where permission has been granted.  

Next Steps 

All applications will be considered; our usual practice is for colleagues across the Department to read the submitted work of long-listed candidates.   

Short-listed candidates will be invited to the University, either virtually or in-person and will have the opportunity to meet key members of the Department.  The assessment for the post will normally include a presentation to staff and students in the Department followed by an interview and we anticipate that the assessments and interviews will take place over two days in late April.

If you are unable to attend on the date offered, it may not be possible to offer you an interview on an alternative date. 

Applicant Guidance  

For further guidance on your application please see HERE