Associate Professorship in the History of Contemporary Art with a Tutorial Fellowship

We are looking to appoint an Associate Professor with research and teaching expertise in the History of Contemporary Art since 1945. The appointee will bring together students and scholars working in this period across the Humanities and in Oxford’s collections through a consideration of visual and material cultures that expands Art History's traditional geographic, material and methodological boundaries.

This position provides exciting opportunities for the postholder, who will conduct advanced research and build research networks within and beyond Oxford; give lectures, classes, and tutorials; supervise, support and examine students at the undergraduate and graduate levels; play an important part in the academic life of Wadham College; and take on leadership and administrative roles in the Department of History of Art and, as required, in the History Faculty and College.

A new postholder in Contemporary Art with a global outlook will bring primary research expertise in Contemporary Art to the curriculum, as well as to contribute, through shared undergraduate courses, to the History Faculty's commitment to globalise its curriculum.

The postholder will engage with the wide range of media used by artists since the mid-20th century. The work of the postholder would be of interest not only to colleagues in History of Art and at the Ruskin School of Fine Art, but also to scholars across the Humanities specialising in post-1945 history, literature, music, and film. Depending on their expertise, the postholder could contribute to research centres and networks focusing on sexuality/gender/women’s studies, race/ethnicity, or migration and diasporas.

The postholder would be able to use Oxford collections in their research and teaching, with the possibility of curating shows in the Ashmolean, Weston Library, or the new Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities.

The postholder would be expected to contribute to and take the lead in core undergraduate and graduate courses, and be expected to develop new advanced undergraduate options in Contemporary Art, as well as devise a new Master’s option.

We welcome applications from candidates at all post-doctoral career stages, including at professorial level. We are committed to creating a diverse academic workforce and positively encourage applications from under-represented communities. We particularly encourage applications from women, people with disabilities and Black, Asian, and minority ethnic candidates.

The appointee will be a member of the Department of History of Art, the Faculty of History, and a tutorial fellow and member of the Governing Body of Wadham College.

The post is tenable from 1 October 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The deadline for applications is 12 noon (UK time) on Wednesday 19th February.  Interviews are expected to take place in person on Tuesday 11th March 2025 in Oxford.

The University of Oxford uses the grade of Associate Professor for most of its senior academic appointments. Associate Professors are eligible for consideration through regular recognition of distinction exercises for award of the title of full Professor.  In exceptional cases, the title of full Professor may be awarded on appointment. 

Queries about the post should be addressed to Professor JP Park (email: jp.park@hoa.ox.ac.uk), who is a member of the Department of History of Art, but who is not on the selection committee, or Lynn Featherstone, the Senior Tutor at Wadham College (email: lynn.featherstone@wadham.ox.ac.uk).

All enquiries will be treated in strict confidence; they will not form part of the selection decision.

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