The Heidelberg University Cluster of Excellence “Asia and Europe in Global Perspective: Shifting Asymmetries in Cultural Flows” brings together scholars in East and South Asian, Middle Eastern and European Studies. To further develop the transcultural and transdisciplinary research potential of the Cluster and to strengthen its capabilities in handling transcultural flows that cross linguistic, geographic, cultural and media borders, five new professorships have been established.

These are in
(a) Intellectual History (with a focus on translingual concepts)
(b) Visual and Media Anthropology
(c) Art History (with a focus on the global flow of art forms)
(d) Buddhist Studies
(e) Cultural Economic History (with a focus on South Asia)

The professorships will be open in rank from junior professor with tenure option, to full professor with tenure. The Ph.D. dissertation must have been completed by the time of application. The Cluster strongly encourages qualified women scholars to apply. The positions are open as of now. Searches will continue until the positions are filled. Once a position is filled, it will be announced on the Cluster web-site. Since the common language of the Cluster is English, proficiency in English is required. The positions withal entail teaching duties, so successful candidates are expected to acquire German language skills within three years of their appointment. All successful candidates are expected to cooperate in the development of master and postgraduate programs with a transcultural focus

Further information on the Cluster and its aims can be found at http://www.vjc.uni-hd.de/

Applications are to be submitted until January 25th, 2008, with the usual documentation (C.V., list of publications, list of courses taught, names of three scholars familiar with your work)

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(a) Professorship in Intellectual History (with a focus on translingual concepts) Concepts are part of the transcultural flow between and within Asia and Europe studied in the Cluster. This flow is instrumental in constituting the conceptual arsenals of the different vernaculars, both historically and in the present. The development of such translingual concepts has an intellectual dynamism of its own that links many key concepts through their common origin to other cultural milieus. The Professorship in Intellectual History with a research focus on the dynamics of translingual concepts will contribute to linking and integrating studies on the flow of key concepts between particular languages; to developing the methodology for analyzing the dynamics of these conceptual flows; and to exploring their impact on interlingual and intercultural communications. It will be the anchor for the development of a database of translingual concepts and their vernacular adaptations. The required qualifications are proven experience and a strong publication record in researching conceptual flows between Asia and Europe, with competence in handling at least one relevant Asian language; familiarity with the methods and challenges of a transcultural and translingual conceptual history. A solid grasp of the strategies and options of database development would be welcome. Scholars working in different fields of intellectual history in Asia and Europe (such as philosophy or history including the histories of social thought, science or law) are encouraged to apply.
(b) Professorship in Visual and Media Anthropology The Cluster will set out to overcome the borders separating different fields according to the textual, visual, aural etc. media under study. A strong effort will be made to integrate audio-visual media into the overall agenda by throwing into analytical focus: their own forms of coding and communication; their potential and their actual uses for governments, institutions, and particular - including marginal - groups or individuals to inform and impact the public; the dynamics of their diffusion; and their role in forming the imaginaire of communities, including their images of self and other, governance and civil society, health, heritage and space/ place. The professorship in Visual and Media Anthropology will deal with the methodological, theoretical as well as empirical issues that attend the transcultural flows of images. These images range from popular culture to cartoon, film, museum piece, and marginalized or subaltern media; and these issues involve the agency of their production, dissemination, consumption/reception, and contestation, as well as their impact. It will contribute to the relevant aspects of work in the Research Areas and provide data for and theoretical input into the database for transcultural images. It will contribute to make these visual data and their contexts accessible to a wider public. It will contribute to research work and teaching in general anthropology as well as its particular area of expertise. The position will come with a joint appointment in Anthropology. Qualifications include a strong research record in both the theoretical and empirical realms of Visual and Media Anthropology. This should show familiarity with the culture-specific contexts of at least one Asian country; the ability to speak and/or read at least one Asian language; experience in image- and media-related ethnographic fieldwork; and a research focus on the transcultural flow of images.

(c) Professorship of Art History (with a focus on global flow of art forms) Flows of art forms and objects, of settings and of ways of appreciation and analysis are constitutive factors in the art of Asia and Europe, and go far back into history. The Professorship in Art History (with a focus on the global flow of art forms) will join the efforts made internationally by researchers in academic institutions and museums to open the way for the study of these cultural flows across the borders marked by the established disciplines. It will contribute to bring these studies into a common focus; will link them to the broader themes in the Cluster; will play a key role in defining the conceptual framework and providing the data for a database on transcultural images that is to be developed by the Cluster; and will provide an institutional anchor for a teaching program in global flows of art. It will come with a joint appointment in the Institute for European Art History and will contribute to teaching in this field. Scholars working in different fields from medieval to modern art flows and a competence in transcultural art history should apply. Qualifications include a strong record of scholarly work (publications, exhibitions) dealing with the cultural flow between Asia and Europe; a high competence in European art history; and a familiarity with the theoretical and methodological issues involved. A solid grasp of the strategies, options, and pitfalls of developing databases for visual objects would be highly welcome.

(d) Professorship in Buddhist Studies The dispersion of Buddhism offers one of the richest historical archives of a transcultural flow in human history and can serve as an important testing ground for theories about the relationship between power projection and cultural flows. A Professorship in Buddhist Studies will be established. It will deal with the different aspects of the transcultural flow of Buddhism in history and modern times; will bring together scholars with a South Asian, an East Asian and a Western focus in this common endeavor; will cooperate in the development of the databases on translingual concepts and transcultural images; and will contribute to the development of teaching programs with a transcultural focus. Qualifications include a strong record of scholarly publications in Buddhist Studies; the proven capacity to handle original sources in at least two of the major Buddhist languages including Classical Chinese; a strong record in Chinese intellectual history; and a visible commitment to cross-disciplinary and transcultural studies. The position will come with a joint appointment at the Centre for East Asian Studies with institutional links to the South Asia Institute, Religious Studies, and Philosophy.

(e) Professorship in Cultural Economic History (with a focus on South Asia) Research on the historical and cultural aspects of economic activity has grown in importance and visibility with the growth of economic centers in Asia and with the increasingly dense transcultural intermeshing of economically relevant activities. In order to strengthen its capacity to explore this important field of research, the Cluster has established a Professorship in Cultural Economic History. It will have a particular research focus on South Asia. It will concentrate on the analysis of cultural factors in economic behavior; will contribute to conceptualizing and profiling the economic aspects in the history of transcultural flows; will contribute to the theoretical and empirical foundation of the database for translingual concepts; and will contribute to the development of teaching programs with a transcultural focus. To fill this position we are looking for a historian with a strong record of scholarly work that shows high competence in (global) economic history and culture with a research focus on South Asia. Capacity to handle at least one South Asian language is required. The position will come with a joint appointment at the South Asia Institute and will also contribute to teaching in South Asian Studies.