Lecturer-PhD position (1.0 FTE)

• This Lecturer-PhD position is part of the interdisciplinary UU PhD programme of the Faculty of Humanities, funded by the administrative agreement (‘bestuursakkoord’) between the Ministry of OCW and the universities.
  

Do you want to work at the crossroads of digital humanities, technical art history and heritage studies? The Department of History and Art History of Utrecht University invites applications for the lecturer- PhD-project “The (R)evolution of Reconstruction: an analysis of digital facsimiles.” This project analyses the value of digital facsimiles for researchers, heritage institutions, and museum visitors, in the past, present and future.
You will develop both teaching and research skills, gaining relevant working experience for your future (academic) career.
Over a period of six years, you will conduct doctoral research and you will teach students. You will spend 60% of your time on your research and 40% on teaching. The exact details of your schedule will be determined in close consultation between you, your supervisors and the education coordinators. The schedule may vary per period, but will be determined well in advance. Working time is reserved for training and development, amongst others for obtaining your Basic Teaching Qualification and for PhD courses. Within the period of six years, the progress of your research and your work as a teacher will be evaluated on predetermined moments.
For the PhD part of this function, you will focus on digitally reconstructing the medieval altarpiece for St. John's Cathedral in Den Bosch, created by the Utrecht sculptor Adriaen van Wesel. Although partially preserved, this object is considered the finest example of a fifteenth-century altarpiece in the Northern Netherlands.
The case study:

The PhD research includes the following activities:

• Conduct in-depth art historical research on the Altarpiece for St. John's Cathedral, analyzing existing fragments using technical art history methods and archival sources.
• Utilize digital reconstruction techniques to recreate the altarpiece in its original form, with a particular focus on accurately representing the original topography and the polychromy of the remaining fragments.
• Collaborate with technical art historians, experts in digital humanities and heritage studies to develop and validate the methodology of digital reconstruction.

For the teaching part of this function, you have a (research) Master degree in art history, technical art history, heritage studies or another relevant art historical or historical discipline. We are looking for a candidate with a demonstrable interest in medieval or early modern history or art history and a strong record of undergraduate and Master's degree work.
Furthermore the successful candidate has:

• A demonstrable interest in digital humanities.
• Excellent analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, coupled with a creative approach to finding innovative solutions.
• Strong communication and collaboration abilities, with the capacity to work effectively in an interdisciplinary team.
• Proficiency in reading Dutch  is required for working with historical sources. Having an active command of Dutch, including the ability to teach courses in Dutch, is considered advantageous.
• You will be expected to teach and co-teach seminars and organise and supervise excursions in the BA Art History. You will participate in teaching survey courses.
• An interest in academic teaching and a strong aspiration for personal development in this field. Prior teaching experience would be advantageous.

We offer a temporary position (1.0 FTE) for the duration of six years. During this time you are expected to obtain a PhD and a University Teaching Qualification (‘BKO’). The Employment will become effective on 1 September 2023 or, by mutual agreement, shortly thereafter. The gross salary ranges between €2,960 and € 4,670 (scale 10 according to the Collective Employment Agreement of the Dutch Universities) per month for a full-time employment. Salaries are supplemented with a holiday bonus of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3% per year. 

In addition, Utrecht University offers excellent secondary conditions , including an attractive retirement scheme, professional development , (partly paid) parental leave, sports  and flexible employment conditions (multiple choice model). For more information, please visit working at Utrecht University .

Everyone deserves to feel at home at our university. We welcome employees with a wide variety of backgrounds and perspectives.
To apply, please send your curriculum vitae, including a letter of motivation, via the ‘apply’ button. We would like to know what makes you a strong candidate for this research project, such as your ability to combine skills in art history and digital humanities. Additionally, take the opportunity to reflect on your teaching abilities in your letter.
Candidates who make the shortlist will be interviewed in person in Utrecht on 26 or 28 June.