Assistant or Associate Professorship in Public History with a specialisation in Modern History

The Department of History and Classical Studies, School of Culture and Society, invites applications for a position as assistant or associate professor in Public History with a specialisation in Modern History (after 1750). The successful candidate will be expected to take special responsibility for teaching collaborations with museums, cultural institutions and other external partners.

The position will be available from 1 August 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter.

If the successful candidate is employed in an assistant professorship, the position is a full-time (37h/w), three-year training position that involves research and teaching at the BA and MA level and includes an obligatory course in university teaching for assistant professors. Following the assistant professorship period, an associate professorship within the same academic field will be announced in open competition.

An associate professorship is a full-time (37h/w) permanent position.

Place of employment: Aarhus University, Department of  History and Classical Studies, School of Culture and Society, Aarhus, Denmark.

In its pursuit of academic excellence, the Faculty of Arts is committed to creating an inclusive working environment and therefore encourages all qualified candidates to apply, regardless of personal background, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, ethnicity, etc.

The position

The position is a combined teaching and research position associated with the History programme at the Department of History and Classical Studies.

The position as assistant or associate professor is offered with a view to attracting talented applicants with a well-documented track record in innovative and internationally recognised research in the field of Public History. The successful candidate will have expertise in any field of modern history, broadly defined.

With this new position, the department seeks to strengthen its relationships beyond academia. Applicants are invited to reflect on how they will extend and enhance the department's relationships with relevant external partners with a focus on teaching.

Research

The successful applicant will contribute to core activities at the School of Culture and Society and Aarhus University in general and will strengthen the research activities of the Department of History and Classical Studies in particular. They will be expected to participate actively in the research programmes in History, and more broadly within the School of Culture and Society, the Faculty of Arts, and beyond.

The successful applicant will be expected to develop new research projects with internal and external partners and to raise external research funding.

The applicant’s research credentials and publications record within the field will be assessed on the basis not only of existing publications and other research contributions, but also on research potential.

Past research achievements will be assessed based on the active research time of the applicant in question. We therefore ask applicants to specify any career breaks they have had (for instance due to maternity/paternity leave) in order to gauge their research productivity.

Education

The successful applicant should have teaching experience at university level and will be required to teach and supervise student theses in relevant fields as part of the department’s BA and MA degree programmes. If an associate professor is hired the successful applicant is also expected to teach and supervise PhD courses and students. Furthermore, the successful applicant will be responsible for teaching collaborations with museums, cultural institutions, local councils and other relevant partners.

We emphasise the importance of maintaining a dedicated and respectful relationship between staff and students. Applicants should be able to demonstrate and exemplify their commitment to participatory teaching initiatives and student involvement as part of their teaching portfolio.

Knowledge exchange

It is expected that the successful applicant will engage in knowledge exchange as described in the strategy for the Faculty of Arts https://arts.au.dk/om-arts/strategi-arts-2020-2025/, for instance, research cooperation with private companies, government consultancy, cooperation with civil society partners or the public dissemination of knowledge. Applicants should document any prior experience within the field of knowledge exchange.

Qualifications as Assistant Professor

Applicants must hold a PhD or equivalent qualifications in any field of Modern History and demonstrate expertise within Public History. They must also be able to document the following at the level of a completed PhD education:

• An internationally oriented research profile documented through relevant academic publications, and possibly other research contributions
• Experience of university-level teaching and an interest in teaching development and the supervision of student projects
• Experience of or interest in collaboration with museums, cultural institutions and other relevant external partners
• Experience of or interest in building or participating in networks with academic and non-academic partners
• Experience of or interest in active participation in international research collaboration
• Experience of or interest in obtaining external research funding

Qualifications as Associate Professor

Applicants must hold a PhD or equivalent qualifications in any field of Modern History and expertice within Public History. They must also be able to document the following:

• An internationally oriented research profile documented through relevant academic publications, and possibly other research contributions
• Experience of university-level teaching and a commitment to teaching development and the supervision of student projects. A teaching portfolio and documentation of completed university pedagogical courses should be uploaded as appendixes to the application.    
• Experience of collaboration with museums, cultural institutions and other relevant external partners
• Experience in building or participating in networks with academic and non-academic partners
• Experience of active participation in international research collaboration
• Experience of obtaining external research funding

Only submitted publications will be assessed; a list of publications is not sufficient. Applications without submitted publications will not be assessed.

References or recommendations should not be included with the application. Applicants who are selected for a job interview may be asked to provide professional references.

Language and further information

Applicants must be able to teach and supervise in English at university level.

If the successful applicant is not fluent in Danish, s/he will be expected to acquire the language within a period of approximately two years.

In order to maintain and develop the department’s research environment, the person appointed is expected to be present at the department on a daily basis.

Applications must be uploaded in English.

For further information about the position, please contact Head of Department Nina Koefoed, hisnk@cas.au.dk

For further information about the application procedure, please contact HR supporter Gerd Bech Thomsen (gebeth@au.dk)

International applicants

International applicants are encouraged to check Working and living with your family in Denmark for further information about the benefits of working at Aarhus University and in Denmark, including healthcare, paid holidays and, if relevant, maternity/paternity leave, childcare and schooling. Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including a Relocation Services for Professors and Postdocs at Aarhus University and career counselling for expat partners. For information about taxation, see Taxation aspects of international researchers' employment by AU.

The work environment

History is part of the Department of History and Classical Studies at AU. Most of the teaching in this position will be within the history programmes (BA and MA). The history community at Aarhus University includes Ancient History, in collaboration with our colleagues in Classical studies. Much of the Department’s research and teaching is concerned with the history of what is now Denmark since the early medieval period, understood within its broader transnational (Nordic, European and global) contexts, but also themes in the history of European and non-European societies in collaboration with our colleagues in the Department of Global Studies. The department has clusters of expertise in the following areas: cultural history; urban history; digital history; public history; political and international history. Our research profile is continuously developing, supported by the History Research Programme and the seminars and other events it organises.

The Department of History and Classical Studies values its collegial community and seeks  a colleague committed to contributing to our community intellectually, socially and through administration. Applicants are invited to reflect on how they might contribute in these ways in their cover letters.

The School of Culture and Society

At the School of Culture and Society, the object of research and teaching is the interplay between culture and society in time and space:

- From the traditional disciplines of the humanities and theology to applied social research
- From Antiquity to the issues facing contemporary societies
-  From local questions to global challenges

The school’s ambition is to produce compelling research with an international resonance as well as to offer teaching and talent development of the highest quality. The school has a broad cooperative interface with society as a whole, both in Denmark and abroad, and contributes to social innovation, research communication and further and continuing education.
For further information about the school, please see School of Culture and Society - Aarhus University

Read more at arts.au.dk/en

The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.

Aarhus University

Aarhus University is an academically diverse and research-intensive university with a strong commitment to high-quality research and education and the development of society nationally and globally. The university offers an inspiring research and teaching environment to its 38,000 students (FTEs) and 8,300 employees, and has an annual revenues of EUR 935 million. Learn more at www.international.au.dk/