Pro­fessor of Scand­inavian lit­er­at­ure spe­cial­ising in Swedish-language lit­er­at­ure

The University of Helsinki is Finland’s oldest and largest academic institution, an international scholarly community of 40,000 students and researchers. In international university rankings, the University of Helsinki usually ranks among the top 100 universities in the world. The University of Helsinki is seeking solutions to global challenges and engendering new thinking for the benefit of humanity.

The University of Helsinki's Faculty of Arts (https://www.helsinki.fi/en/faculty-of-arts ) is Finland’s oldest and largest unit of teaching and research in the arts in terms of the organisation and selection of its disciplines. The Faculty is also a significant international community of research, education and culture.

The Faculty of Arts invites applications for the position of

PROFESSOR OF SCANDINAVIAN LITERATURE SPECIALISING IN SWEDISH-LANGUAGE LITERATURE

Scandinavian literature studies examines literature written in the Scandinavian languages (Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic and Faroese) from the perspectives of literary studies and literary history. Special focus areas include modernism, which arose in the 20th century, and subsequent contemporary literature, as well as Swedish-language literature in Finland. Research subjects also include classics of Scandinavian literature, as well as marginalised works and authors, and the societal duties and significance of literature in different time periods in Scandinavia.

The Professor of Scandinavian literature specialising in Swedish-language literature is responsible for the education of Swedish-language students, doctoral education in Scandinavian literature and research in (Finnish) Swedish-language literature. The University of Helsinki, together with Åbo Akademi University, has national responsibility for the training of native language and literature teachers for Swedish-language schools. Public engagement with key Finnish-Swedish actors and institutions is an essential part of the duties of the professor, together with connections to Nordic multidisciplinary research and social institutions. The appointee is expected to consolidate and promote research and instruction in the discipline as well as public engagement.

The successful candidate is a wide-ranging researcher of Scandinavian, in particular Swedish-language, literature with deep understanding of the field of Finnish-Swedish culture as well as experience of national and international research collaboration, acquisition of research funding and researcher education.

The Professor of Scandinavian Literature specialising in Swedish-language literature teaches in the Master's Programme in Scandinavian Languages and Literatures, the Bachelor’s Programme in the Languages and Literatures of Finland, the Doctoral Programme in Philosophy, Arts and Society and also, to some extent, in the Master’s Programme in Literary Studies.

The position is in the Department of Finnish, Finno-Ugrian and Scandinavian Studies and is located in Helsinki.

APPOINTMENT CRITERIA

An appointee to the position of professor must hold a doctoral degree and have high-level academic qualifications; experience in leading scientific research; the ability to provide research-based teaching and supervise dissertations and theses; as well as evidence of international cooperation in the research field they represent. Furthermore, the position also calls for academic leadership skills.

When considering the applicant’s qualifications, attention will be paid to scientific and teaching merits. Scientific qualifications include scientific publications and other research results of scientific value, success in obtaining external research funding, scientific work outside Finland, as well as national and international elected positions. As regards teaching qualifications, teaching experience and pedagogical training, the ability to produce learning materials, other teaching merits and, if necessary, a teaching demonstration, as well as participation in doctoral education will be considered. Furthermore, account will be taken of the applicant’s leadership and interaction skills, as well as activity in the research community.

The language of instruction of the Professor of Scandinavian Literature specialising in Swedish-language literature is Swedish. Attending successfully to the duties of the position excellent proficiency in the Swedish language is required. The recommended language proficiency of Swedish language corresponds with level C2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (https://www2.helsinki.fi/en/language-centre/language-skill-level-descrip... ). More information about language proficiency and its verification: https://www.helsinki.fi/en/about-us/careers/open-positions/qualification... .

An appointee must also have at least satisfactory spoken and written skills in Finnish. Foreign citizens, non-native Finnish citizens or citizens who have not been educated in Finnish may be exempted from this requirement without a separate application.

WHAT WE OFFER

The University of Helsinki offers the appointee a first-class research and teaching environment as well as the preconditions necessary for international cooperation (https://www.helsinki.fi/en/about-us/careers/why-university-helsinki ).

The salary for the position will be based on levels 8–10 of the job requirement scheme for teaching and research staff in the salary system of Finnish universities. In addition, the appointee will be paid a salary component based on personal performance. The annual gross salary of a professor varies between €64,000 and €96,000 depending on the appointee’s merits and work experience.

The University of Helsinki provides its staff with comprehensive services, including occupational health and sports services as well as professional development opportunities (https://www.helsinki.fi/en/about-us/careers/why-university-helsinki/staf... ). International staff are supported in relocating to Finland (https://www.helsinki.fi/fi/node/350 ).

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

The application, together with the required attachments, must be submitted through the University of Helsinki electronic recruitment system by clicking on the link below. Internal applicants (i.e., current employees of the University of Helsinki) must submit their applications through the SAP HR portal.

Applicants are requested to attach the following documents to their applications as a single PDF file:
1) A curriculum vitae
2) A report (max. 5 pages, e.g., an academic portfolio) of the applicant’s teaching
expertise
3) A report (max. 5 pages) describing the applicant’s research activities (activities in the scholarly community,
success in obtaining research funding and international research activity)
4) A brief report (1–2 pages) indicating how the applicant intends to further their research and
what their primary orientation will be, should they be appointed to the position
5) A numbered list of publications.

See instructions at https://www2.helsinki.fi/en/faculty-of-arts/faculty/instructions-to-appl... . Other attachments, including letters of recommendation or certificates, are not required.

Applicants are kindly asked to prepare that the top candidates will be requested to submit for assessment, through the electronic application system, no more than 10 publications of their choosing from their list of publications. The top candidates will be invited to an interview and to give a teaching demonstration as well as to fill a separate questionnaire on teaching qualifications.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Further information on the position is available from professor Hanna Lehti-Eklund, director of the Department of Finnish, Finno-Ugrian and Scandinavian Studies, [email protected] . Further information on the recruitment process is available from HR specialist Anni Kauppinen, [email protected] .