Associate or Full Professor in Cultural Studies

Welcome to Maastricht University!
At Maastricht University, we value cultural studies as an interdisciplinary field that examines how culture shapes and is shaped by power, media, identities, economies, and everyday practices. Cultural studies investigates representation, hegemony, resistance, and the circulation of meanings across local and global contexts. The field matters because cultural production influences political debate, social belonging, and public imagination, affecting whose voices are heard and whose experiences are marginalized. By analyzing popular culture, literature and art, institutions, and digital environments, cultural studies equips researchers and students to understand inequality, foster critical literacy, and inform more democratic, inclusive futures in rapidly transforming societies worldwide while promoting ethical engagement across diverse communities everywhere today.

Associate or Full Professor in Cultural Studies

• Our goal: We aim to strengthen our expertise in cultural studies with a focus on literature and art and expand our team with a more senior colleague.
• Your colleagues: You will join the Literature and Art department and the research program Arts, Media, and Culture. Depending on your research focus, you may also collaborate with colleagues in one of our research centers, such as the Center for Gender and Diversity and the Maastricht Center for Citizenship, Migration, and Development.

The position and profile

We offer a position in cultural studies to be filled at the associate or full professor rank, depending on your track record and experience. We seek to recruit an academic with a background in literary studies, film studies, art history, or related fields, whose work broadly addresses how culture – especially literature and art – shapes power, identities, and everyday life, as well as how people resist and reshape it. The ideal candidate will be open to adapting to our interdisciplinary teaching and research environment. We expect you to complement the expertise of colleagues in the Literature and Art department, including the study of representation, popular and subcultures, cultural transformation, and feminist and decolonial approaches to cultural production. Your methods range from cultural analysis, incorporating various reading strategies such as oppositional, reparative, and postcritical reading, to ethnographic approaches and co-creation. You are expected to contribute to the engaged humanities research characteristic of the Arts, Media, and Culture research group, with a willingness to collaborate with relevant societal partners in the Netherlands and especially in the Maas-Rhein Euregion.

What you do

You will contribute to teaching in different BA and MA programs at FASoS, including the BA programs in European Studies, Digital Society, Global Studies, and Arts and Culture, as well as their corresponding MA programs. Teaching responsibilities include tutoring, coordinating, and lecturing courses, and supervising internships and BA and MA theses. You will conduct field-leading research in cultural studies, publish in leading journals, apply for grants to form larger research teams or consortia (with PhD candidates and postdoctoral scholars), and organize research activities such as conferences and expert workshops. You will take on key leadership roles, such as head of department, research program director, and vice-dean of research. At FASoS, teaching and research duties are typically divided as 60% teaching and management and 40% research. Research time can be extended through external fundraising at the national and European levels. FASoS is a collaborative environment, and you are expected to actively collaborate with colleagues from across departments in interdisciplinary teaching and research activities.

What you bring

We’re not looking for someone who is ticking all the checkboxes. We are interested in who you are and what you bring: 

• Expert in cultural studies. You study how culture helps maintain or challenge power structures; how meaning is constructed through language, media, literature, and art; and how identities are culturally constructed, negotiated, and in flux.
• Interdisciplinary thinker. You bring different theoretical and methodological approaches together and can thrive in a context were interdisciplinarity is a leading organizing principle of teaching and research.
• Experienced researcher. You have a proven publication record in high-ranking venues, a strong track record in grant acquisition and the leadership of research teams, and you have an excellent international reputation as a scholar with a distinct research profile.
• Engaged scholar. You actively share your insights beyond academia and collaborate with relevant partners and stakeholders, in the Maas-Rhein Euregion, the Netherlands, and beyond.
• Inspiring teacher. You have demonstrated experience in course coordination, teaching innovation, and thesis supervision. You encourage active student participation and value team teaching within our Problem-Based Learning (PBL) system. You have obtained the Dutch University Teaching Qualification (UTQ) or an equivalent.
• Experienced manager. You have successfully fulfilled senior management roles, such as director of an educational or a research program, head of department, and vice-dean of education or research. You have excellent people management skills.
• Collegial and community minded. You contribute to our academic environment through openness, collaboration, and a willingness to take on shared responsibilities.
• Multilingual communicator. You have excellent command of English (C1 level, written and spoken). Non-Dutch speakers are expected to acquire an intermediate level of Dutch (B1) within three years.

What we offer 
At Maastricht University, you’ll work in an international, open, and engaged environment. We offer:

• A 18-month contract (1,0 fte) with the prospect of a permanent contract based on mutual satisfaction.
• A gross monthly salary between €6835 - € 8673 (Associate Professor) or  €8011 and €10441 (Full professor) based on full-time employment of 38 hours per week). 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% year-end bonus.
• 29 vacation days (based on full-time), four additional days off (Carnival Monday and Tuesday, Good Friday, and Liberation Day), and the possibility to accrue up to 12 extra days through compensation hours.
• Flexible working hours, a home office allowance, and the option to work from home.
• Freedom and space to shape your work independently and develop your ideas.
• A close-knit community of colleagues to collaborate and grow with.
• A solid pension plan via ABP, company fitness schemes, and access to various university sports facilities.
• An inspiring work environment in the heart of Europe.

About the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASoS)
FASoS is a close-knit, international community of thinkers, doers, and connectors. We offer interdisciplinary education in cultural and social sciences, and our research focuses on societies in transition. Creativity and collaboration are central; ranging from European integration, digitalization, and culture to innovative educational projects. FASoS is small-scale, informal, and diverse, with room to follow your own path.

About the Literature and Art department
The expertise of the colleagues in the Literature and Art Department spans a wide range of disciplines, including art and literary studies, media and cultural studies, the digital humanities, heritage and memory studies, cultural industries and cultural policy, gender and diversity studies, and sociolinguistics. Most of its staff members are affiliated with the research program AMC and many contribute to MACCH and the Center for Gender and Diversity. The department delivers teaching capacity to most notably the BA and MA Arts and Culture and the BA Digital Society and MA Media Studies: Digital Cultures at FASoS. It also offers an extensive catalogue of courses at the liberal arts program of University College Maastricht. Our teaching highlights different methods of analysis like narrative, visual, and discourse analysis, (digital) ethnography, and design thinking.

Interested?
Do you want to know more about this position or what it’s like to work at our university? Contact Prof. Dr. Aagje Swinnen (chair of the Literature and Art department) at a.swinnen@maastrichtuniversity.nl. 

Please upload the following documents

• Your PhD degree certificate;
•  A full CV (including a complete list of publications with clear differentiation between peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed publications and an overview of teaching experience, funding acquisition, management experience, and outreach activities);
• A motivation letter (2 to 3 pages);
• A research & teaching statement;
• A document on leadership experience and vision;
• Teaching evaluations;
• A writing sample (preferably a published article or book chapter);
• The contact information of up to three academic referees (including e-mail, phone number, and relationship to the applicant). 

Your motivation letter, research and reaching statement, and document on leadership should include the following elements  
Clearly explain why you are a strong fit for the position of Associate or Full Porfessor in Cultural Studies at FASoS and how you meet the expectations for a, 18-month tenure-track appointment at our university. Please address the following elements: 

1. Motivation and fit 
•    Explain your motivation for applying to our department and faculty;
•    Describe how your expertise in cultural studies aligns with our existing strengths, research themes, and curriculum;
•    Indicate your interest in contributing to interdisciplinary initiatives, research groups, or societal impact activities. 

 2. Research profile and agenda 
•    Summarize your research background, including your main areas of specialization (AOS) and competence (AOC) within cultural studies;
•    Highlight your most significant contributions to date (e.g., published papers, book projects, working papers);
•    Provide a concise overview of your research agenda for the next 3–5 years, including planned publications, funding applications, and potential internal and external collaborations; 
•    Describe experience with grant acquisition, research leadership (such as PhD and postdoc supervision), and societal engagement. 

3. Teaching experience and philosophy 
•    Outline your teaching experience, including courses taught, levels (BA/MA), formats (lectures, seminars), and responsibilities (course coordination, assessment);
•    Describe your teaching philosophy, especially how you engage students in questions related to cultural studies, and support an inclusive learning environment;
•    Indicate which courses in our curriculum you feel prepared to teach and what your contributions could be to further develop these courses;
•    Mention any experience with supervising theses, mentoring students, or co-developing new courses. 

4. Leadership experience and vision
•    Provide an overview of leadership roles (e.g., head of department, research program leader, (vice-)dean) that you have fulfilled;
•    Describe your key values and strengths as a leader;
•    Include examples that demonstrate your leadership style.

5. Contribution to Academic Community 
•    Describe your experience with academic service, such as committee work, organizing workshops or conferences, peer review, or other contributions;
•    If applicable, mention experience fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

6. Contact Information and referees 
Provide your full contact details and include links to: 
•    Your ORCID profile or other relevant links
•    The names of up to three academic references who can speak to your qualifications for the vacancy.  

The first interview round is planned on Monday 20 April and the second interview round will take place on Tuesday 12 May 2026. 

Apply now via the button below. We look forward to getting to know you!

About Maastricht University
At Maastricht University, we collaboratively seek solutions to help move the world forward. We do this with 23,300 students and 5,400 employees across 5 regional locations, 6 faculties, and more than 70 research institutes. We encourage you to push boundaries and discover new opportunities for yourself and the world around you. Together, we can find the answers for tomorrow.

The vacancy is open for internal and external candidates. In case of equal qualifications, internal candidates will be prioritized.
An assessment will be part of this procedure.

At Maastricht University, we prefer to contact potential candidates directly. We therefore kindly ask that no agencies or intermediaries submit offers or approaches.

Maastricht University is committed to promoting and nurturing a diverse and inclusive community. We believe that diversity in our staff and student population contributes to the quality of research and education at UM, and strive to enable this through inclusive policies and innovative projects led by teams of staff and students. We encourage you to apply for this position.