Assistant Professor of Digital Transformations and Didactics of Aesthetic Fields

The School of Communication and Culture at Aarhus University invites applications for the position of assistant professor of digital transformations and the didactics of aesthetic fields, based at one of the three departments within the aesthetic disciplines: Dramaturgy and Musicology, Literature and Rhetoric, or Art History, Aesthetics & Culture and Museology.

The assistant professorship is a full-time, three-year fixed-term position. Subject to the availability of funding, there may be an opportunity to apply for a subsequent associate professorship. The position will begin on 1 August 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter.
The School of Communication and Culture is committed to diversity and encourages all qualified applicants to apply regardless of their personal background.

The position

The creative industries and the cultural sector – including literature and rhetoric, music, visual arts and theatre – are undergoing profound transformations driven by digitalisation. We are seeking a colleague who can help strengthen the school’s research and teaching profile in this area, with a focus on how digital technologies and platforms transform creative practices, cultural production and the broader conditions for art and culture. Possible focal areas include AI and algorithmic creativity, digital media aesthetics, data-driven culture, new forms of the dissemination of art, literature, theatre and music, and digitally mediated collaboration.

At the same time, the position addresses the need to explore how such digital transformations affect university education and didactics within the cultural and aesthetic fields. The successful applicant will therefore be expected to engage with digital pedagogies and investigate how teaching and learning in culture, art and the creative disciplines can evolve to equip graduates with digital literacy, creative agency and the critical reflection skills required in a rapidly changing labour market.

We welcome applicants with a research profile that bridges digital cultural analysis, creative practice and pedagogical innovation, and that may also include practice-based or experimental forms of research and dissemination.

The successful applicant will be expected to work closely with colleagues across the school, the university’s innovation hub, The Kitchen, and relevant cultural and creative institutions such as theatres, museums, concert venues, literature centres and festivals, contributing to collaborative projects and knowledge exchange.

The position will be based in one of the three departments within the aesthetic disciplines – Dramaturgy and Musicology, Literature and Rhetoric, or Art History, Aesthetics & Culture and Museology – but the successful applicant will be expected to develop the digital and didactic profile across all three departments.

In sum, we are looking for an innovative and dedicated applicant who will strengthen the research and teaching profiles of one or more of the three departments, both nationally and internationally, and who will also contribute to Aarhus University’s core activities in research, teaching and supervision, talent development and knowledge exchange.

Research

The aesthetic disciplines at the School of Communication and Culture at Aarhus University have a pronounced and significant international profile and robust research networks. Researchers in the aesthetic disciplines engage with both contemporary and historical aspects of fields such as literature, music, visual arts and theatre, and they often collaborate with external partners from the creative industries and the cultural sector.

We are looking for an applicant who can develop and thus strengthen the school’s research in digital transformations and the didactics of aesthetic fields. The successful applicant will be expected to publish original peer-reviewed research internationally and to make scholarly contributions to developments within the field. The successful applicant will also be expected to contribute to research initiatives in both the field of aesthetic transformations in a digital age and the research community, including new collaborative research projects with internal and external partners and in connection with external research funding.

Teaching and supervision

The successful applicant will be expected to participate in teaching and supervision activities within the Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes across one or more of the aesthetic disciplines (Dramaturgy, Musicology, Art History, Aesthetics & Culture, Comparative Literature and Rhetoric). Applicants should indicate in their application which courses from one or more of the disciplines they are able to teach and how they might integrate digital skills into those courses. The successful applicant will also be expected to employ innovative teaching methods, with a particular emphasis on developing digitally informed didactics and enhancing students’ digital competencies. As we are currently creating collaborative and multidisciplinary courses in the Master’s degree programmes, the successful applicant will be required to play a key role in this development, especially with regard to the digital dimension and new didactic formats.

The successful applicant will be expected to teach in Danish and/or English. The successful applicant may also be asked to teach academically relevant courses at other departments within the school.

We are looking for applicants with teaching experience in or related to the subject area of digital transformations and the didactics of aesthetic fields at university level.

The person appointed to the position of assistant professor must complete Aarhus University’s teacher-training programme for assistant professors designed for university teaching.

Knowledge exchange

The successful applicant will be expected to engage in knowledge exchange, for instance through research collaboration with private companies, government consultancy, collaboration with civil society and the public dissemination of knowledge.

The successful applicant will have excellent opportunities to take part in collaborative initiatives with partners both inside and outside Aarhus University.

Qualifications

Applicants for the position of assistant professor must hold a PhD or equivalent qualifications in a relevant field related to digital transformations and the didactics of aesthetic fields. Applicants must be able to document, relevant to the position:

• an internationally oriented research profile within or related to the subject area of digital transformations and the didactics of aesthetic fields, demonstrated by a PhD dissertation and/or research publications
• relevant university-level teaching experience, including innovative teaching methods, documented in a teaching portfolio
• experience with, or an interest in developing, the integration of digital methods in research and didactic contexts.

Furthermore, it will be considered an advantage if applicants can document:

• sufficient proficiency in Danish to support the didactic development of Danish-language teaching staff and to work effectively with Danish-speaking external partners
• experience of participation in national and international research networks
• time spent abroad working at one or more internationally recognised research institutions
• experience of outreach and collaboration with external partners
• experience of applying for external research funding.

Finally, all applicants are asked to provide a research plan for the next three years, as well as to describe how they perceive their own and the department’s contribution to future research developments within the field, including plans for publication, funding applications and collaborations with external partners.

Please note that although the application process can be completed on the Aarhus University system without uploading publications or a teaching portfolio, applications that do not include uploaded publications (maximum two) and a teaching portfolio (or equivalent documentation of teaching experience and qualifications) will not be considered.

Although the Aarhus University application system includes an option to upload letters of recommendation, applicants are asked not to include letters of recommendation or references with their application. Applicants who are invited to an interview may be asked to provide references.

Work environment

Active participation in the daily life of the department is a high priority, and we emphasise the importance of good working relationships, both among colleagues and with our students. In order to maintain and develop the department’s excellent teaching and research environment, the successful applicant is expected to be present at the department on a daily basis.

We respect the balance between work and private life and strive to create a work environment in which that balance can be maintained. You can read more about family and work-life balance in Denmark.

International applicants

International applicants are encouraged to read about the attractive working conditions and other 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 wide variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including a relocation service and an AU Expat Partner Programme. You can also find information about the taxation aspects of international researchers’ employment by AU.

An appointee who does not speak Danish will be required to acquire sufficient proficiency in Danish to handle tasks, including administrative and managerial responsibilities, and to participate fully in the activities of the School of Communication and Culture within approximately three years of commencing the appointment. These include, but are not limited to, reading work-related texts and participating in meetings and collegial gatherings in Danish.

The departments

For further information about the three departments, see their websites:
Dramaturgy and Musicology
Art History, Aesthetics & Culture and Museology
Comparative Literature and Rhetoric
The place of employment is Langelandsgade 139, DK-8000 Aarhus C.

School of Communication and Culture

The school is part of the Faculty of Arts. You will find information about the school and its research programmes, departments and diverse activities on its website.

Contact

For further information about the position, please contact one of the following heads of department:

Steen Kaargaard Nielsen, Dramaturgy and Musicology: musskn@cc.au.dk
Lise Skytte Jakobsen, Art History, Aesthetics & Culture and Museology: kunlsj@cc.au.dk
Karen-Margrethe Simonsen, Comparative Literature and Rhetoric: litkms@cc.au.dk

If you need help uploading your application or have questions about the recruitment process, please contact Arts HR support by email: hsi@au.dk.

Qualification requirements

• Faculty of Arts refers to the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Danish Universities (the Appointment Order).
• Appointment shall be in accordance with the collective labour agreement between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations.
• Further information on qualification requirements and job content may be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities .
• Further information on the application and supplementary materials may be found in Application Guidelines.
• The application must outline the applicant's motivation for applying for the position, attaching a curriculum vitae, a teaching portfolio, a complete list of published works, copies of degree certificates and examples of academic production (mandatory, but no more than two examples). Please upload this material electronically along with your application.

Faculty of Arts

The Faculty of Arts consists of the School of Communication and Culture, the School of Culture and Society, the Danish School of Education, and the Centre for Teaching Development and Digital Media. Each of these units has strong academic environments and forms the basis for interdisciplinary research and education.

The faculty's academic environments and degree programmes engage in international collaboration and share the common goal of contributing to the development of knowledge, welfare and culture in interaction with society.

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/