Vacancy: Assistant Professor of Geography of Conflicts

The Human Geography group at Radboud University is looking for a new Assistant Professor of Geography of Conflicts to further expand the research and teaching in this field. For more information about the posting click here.

You will contribute to the high quality of research and teaching, notably research in the Geography and Geopolitics of Conflicts and related issues, teach courses and lead fieldwork excursions at the Master’s degree level, and supervise students writing their Master’s theses, specifically in the very popular master track called ‘Conflicts, Territories and Identities’. Your high-quality research should lead to disseminations in academic and professional outlets (international journals, books etc.). Experience in the dissemination of research results through contacts with practice organisations and practitioners, policymakers and/or media is advantageous. You may also be asked to contribute to the supervision of PhD candidates. Together with colleagues, you will contribute to the further development of the Human Geography research agenda by participating in developing research projects and applying for external research funding.

The Human Geography group covers a broad scope of different topics but is united in the application of a diverse set of socio-spatial theories and approaches to these topics, which can be characterised as critical but constructive. In the field of conflict studies, the group closely collaborates with the Centre for International Conflict Analysis and Management. They seek to enhance this collaboration with expertise explicitly focused on the geographical and geopolitical aspects of conflicts which could include knowledge on one or more relevant topics, such as conflicts over natural resources, land grabbing, socio-spatial identification, polarisation, terrorism, radicalisation, racism, postcolonial divides, populist and counter movements, urban uprising/violence, defence and security policies, new modalities and technologies of warfare, and climate change and conflict.

 

Profile

  • You hold a PhD degree in a relevant discipline (e.g. human geography, conflict studies, geopolitics, political science, sociology, development studies, anthropology) and a demonstrable affinity with human geography.
  • You have the capacity to contribute to academic debates on geographical aspects of peace and conflict as demonstrated by publications in international journals.
  • You are enthusiastic about teaching, and you have ample teaching experience, as evidenced by good teaching evaluations, and a willingness to obtain a university teaching qualification within the first 4 years of the contract.
  • You have experience in teaching courses in the geography of conflicts.
  • You have expertise in qualitative and/or quantitative research methods.
  • You have the ability to supervise Master’s students.
  • You have a keen interest in participating in social theoretical debates related to research on geographical and geopolitical aspects of conflicts.
  • You are an ambitious and enthusiastic scientist and a keen team player, devoted to research and education.
  • You have international experience and an international network.
  • You have excellent English language skills and a willingness to learn Dutch (if applicable).

Rabound University are explicitly looking for an inspiring colleague and team player. They are  committed to the ‘recognition and rewarding’ initiative of Dutch universities; they believe that the best way to foster and support their high ambitions is by contributing to a lively and inspiring research and teaching culture and community.

The University

The Human Geography Group focuses on research and teaching in Urban and Cultural Geography, Border Studies, Political Geography and Geopolitics, Conflict Studies, Globalisation, Migration and Development, Economic Geography, and Cultural Geography of Tourism. They are committed to a critical but constructive approach and want to make a difference in respect to current societal problems. At the same time, they are academically ambitious and inspired by international academic debates and the latest developments in social theories, which they experience as highly relevant to their research and teaching. They closely collaborate with other disciplines within Radboud University (e.g. the Centre for International Conflict Analysis and Management within the Nijmegen School of Management, or the Department of Anthropology and Development Studies of the Faculty of Social Sciences), with other universities in the Netherlands (e.g. the Cultural Geography Group of Wageningen University and Research), and with universities and institutions abroad such as the University of Zurich, University of Neuchatel, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Open University in Milton Keynes, University of Eastern Finland in Joensuu, Universitat Pompeu in Barcelona, University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg, South Africa), the Mahanirban Research Group (Calcutta, India), etc.

The Nijmegen School of Management is an academic centre of research and higher learning. It has seven focus areas: Business Administration, Public Administration, Political Science, Economics, Social and Political Sciences of the Environment, Human Geography, and Spatial Planning. NSM strives for a multidisciplinary approach whenever possible.  Altogether, NSM employs 350 FTEs, 75% of whom are academics.

Both Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes are offered in the seven focus areas mentioned above. The educational programme is characterised by small-scale teaching and provides a stimulating learning environment with an emphasis on the development of academic skills. NSM currently has approximately 5,000 students. NSM’s research activities fall under the responsibility of the interdisciplinary Institute for Management Research (IMR). Under the motto ‘Responsible Governance for Sustainable Societies’, their researchers carry out state-of-the-art research into complex problems of governance and management, in order to explain the causes of these problems, and to use that knowledge to create potential solutions. They combine knowledge and expertise from multiple disciplines with collaboration with relevant societal actors.

Radboud University
They want to get the best out of science, others and themselves. Why? Because this is what the world around us desperately needs. Leading research and education make an indispensable contribution to a healthy, free world with equal opportunities for all. This is what unites the more than 24,000 students and 5,600 employees at Radboud University. And this requires even more talent, collaboration and lifelong learning. You have a part to play!