Tenure-Track Professor in the field of West Slavic Literatures and Cultures

The University of Vienna is internationally renowned for its excellence in teaching and research, and counts more than 7,500 academics from all disciplines. This breadth of expertise offers unique opportunities to address the complex challenges of modern society, to develop comprehensive new approaches, and educate the problem-solvers of tomorrow from a multidisciplinary perspective.

At the Faculty of Philological and Cultural Studies at the University of Vienna seeks to appoint a

The position

The successful candidate has exceptional knowledge of Slavic Literatures and Cultures in present and history with a special focus on one West Slavic literature and culture and competences in at least one other West Slavic literature and culture (Czech and/or Polish and/or Slovak Studies). In addition, she/he is verifiably involved in international research and can apply a broad spectrum of literary, cultural, and methodological concepts necessary for the study of literature and cultures in the field. She/he is expected to participate in research on East Central Europe as well as in interdisciplinary cooperation in research foci of the University of Vienna. Additional in-depth knowledge of adjacent non-Slavic literatures and cultures is an advantage. The successful candidate can actively use at least one West Slavic language in teaching and is willing to contribute to teaching from the entire field of West Slavic literatures and cultures at all curricular levels (Bachelor, Master, Teacher Training, Doctorate), as well as to the supervision of theses and the promotion of young scientists.

The Department of Slavonic Studies at the University of Vienna (hereafter S-VIE) was established in 1849 and is thus the oldest institution of its kind worldwide. It is a specialised academic centre for the study and teaching of Slavic languages, literatures and cultures from a synchronic and diachronic perspective with a view to the wider European linguistic, literary and cultural context. In addition to Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Bulgarian, Czech, Polish, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian and Ukrainian, which can all be selected in the BA and MA degree programmes. BA and MA teaching degree programmes are also offered for the teaching subjects Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Czech, Polish, Russian, Slovak and Slovenian, as well as cross-linguistic extension curricula. The individual research foci contribute synergistically to the broad spectrum of disciplines at the University of Vienna and are designed in such a way that they open up connections to other disciplines represented at the University of Vienna. Research is therefore also conducted on topics that extend into neighbouring disciplines (e.g. Eastern European history and contemporary history; other philologies, especially German, Romance, Finno-Ugric and Baltic studies; Byzantine studies; theatre, film and media studies; interpreting and translation studies; teacher training), but also more widely related fields such as International Business Administration; international relations; cultural and social anthropology; religion and ethics; law; etc. From this perspective, the broad profile of the S-VIE links its research activities in different ways with the main thematic research areas of the Faculty of Philological and Cultural Studies, here especially with the focus on European Cultures and Identities. Further cross-faculty connections concern the thematic foci of Communication: Systemic and Functional as well as Aesthetic and Media-related Dimensions, Aesthetic Communication of Modernity, and finally Language Acquisition, Language Development and Language Contact. Within the academic field, the traditional breadth of S-VIE’s range including Paleo-Slavic Studies and the languages of the Slavic autochthonous minorities in Austria (Burgenland Croatian, Carinthian Slovenian, Czech and Slovak in Vienna) allows for a depth in research that prepares the ground for excellence in specialised fields in which S-VIE can compete with the best institutions worldwide. In addition to that, the S-VIE has always had a special international liaison function due to Vienna’s geographical location and its global networking. This international dimension is underlined by research work in cooperation with renowned academic and university institutions primarily in Europe (Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Ukraine), but also in Kazakhstan, China, Japan, the United Kingdom and overseas (Canada, USA).

https://slawistik.univie.ac.at/en/research/

• Doctoral degree/PhD
• Two years of international research experience during or after doctoral studies
• Outstanding research achievements, excellent publication and funding record, international reputation
• Gender and diversity competence
• Experience in designing of and participating in research projects, ability to lead research groups and acquire third-party funding
• Enthusiasm for excellent teaching and supervision at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral level

We expect the successful candidate to acquire, within three years, proficiency in German sufficient for teaching in bachelor's programmes and for participation in university committees.

• the opportunity to obtain a permanent position and eventual promotion to full professor; the initial contract as Assistant Professor is limited to six years, after positive evaluation of a qualification agreement the contract becomes permanent as Associate Professor; Associate Professors can be promoted to Full Professor through an internal competitive procedure.
• a dynamic research environment
• a wide range of research and teaching support services
• attractive working conditions in a city with a high quality of life
• an attractive salary according to the Collective Bargaining Agreement for University Staff (level A2) and an organisational retirement plan

1. Letter of motivation
2. Academic curriculum vitae
   • education and training (PhD Certificate, PDF)
   • positions held to date
   • career breaks (e.g. relevant parental, family or other care periods)
   • awards and honors
   • commissions of trust
   • previous and current cooperation partners
   • complete list of acquired third-party funding and, if applicable, of inventions/patents
   • list of most important scientific talks (max. 10)
   • teaching and mentoring
   • supervision experience (Master and PhD), if applicable
3. List of publications
   • link to your own publicly accessible ORCID record, with a complete and current publication list
   • three key publications as electronic full text version (PDF, max 30 MB)
4. Research statement
   • most important research achievements (max. 2 pages) and planned future research activities (max. 4 pages)
   • synopsis of three key publications with relevance to the position advertised
   • publication strategy
5. Teaching and supervision statement
   • teaching and supervision concept, including a description of the previous and planned priorities in academic teaching and supervision (max. 2 pages)
   • teaching evaluations (if available, PDF)

tenuretrack.personal@univie.ac.at
Only applications submitted through the link "Apply now" below will be considered.

We look forward to new personalities in our team!
The University of Vienna has an anti-discriminatory employment policy and attaches great importance to equal opportunities, the advancement of women and diversity. We lay special emphasis on increasing the number of women in senior and in academic positions among the academic and general university staff and therefore expressly encourage qualified women to apply. Given equal qualifications, preference will be given to female candidates.

Data protection

​Application deadline: 01/10/2025
Reference no.: 3218