Position: Tenure Track Professorship (career level I - Associate Professor)
Academic unit: School of Humanities
Study Area: Russian and Eastern European Studies
The position will be filled by 01.09.2020
Application Deadline March 10, 2020
Description of the field of academic activity: Studies of the Russian language and culture, research on the Russian diaspora that includes language, culture and / or literature. The professor is responsible for promoting and leading interdisciplinary research activities in the field of Russian Studies at Tallinn University.
Studies of the Russian language and literature, including diaspora culture, are important and vibrant. School of Humanities at TLU: 2 MA curricula, one BA curriculum and one BA module in Liberal Arts are related to Russian language and literature studies. The links between the culture of the Estonian Russian diaspora and Estonian culture have been studied in several research projects, researchers in the field participate in Estonian and international networks, organise international conferences and publish high-quality articles. Scientists are curating an international conference of young philologists, which has been held at TLU for 20 years, and editing the "Studia Slavica" collection of young philologists (Grade 1.2). Russian philologists from TLU also publish a scientific journal "Slavica Revalensia" (Class 1.2, started for process 1.1).
The strategic importance of the professorship at the School: The professor will continue to work with a long tradition in a strong field of research, including new developments. Area-based research, including Russian and Eastern European studies, plays an important role in the curriculum, so the Russian Studies professor has strong potential to link these area-based studies to other fields of research: literary studies, linguistics, history, philosophy, semiotics, cultural theory. In view of the trend of the HHI towards interdisciplinarity, the Russian Research Professor will contribute to cooperation with other fields (theoretical / methodological and practical / didactic). The professorship therefore plays an important role in achieving and further developing the objectives of the Centre for Excellence in Intercultural Studies.
Relevance of the field to the development priorities of TLU, Estonia and Europe: Russian culture is large and diverse on a global scale. Studies of Russian culture include the study of language and literature, which is conducted using interdisciplinary procedures integrated in the context of history, art, politics, sociology, semiotics, philosophy and cultural theory, and not only in Russia but in the whole world. The works of Russian culture have influenced European cultural heritage and reflect the achievements of European culture. Russian is the mother tongue for some 300 million people and ranks second on the Internet, becoming one of the official languages of the United Nations and the working language of the OSCE. Thus, the professorship is of strategic importance on an international scale. On the one hand, the culture of the Russian diaspora is an integral part of a larger Russian culture and, on the other hand, a small special culture with a large number in the world. One of the areas of research is the Estonian Russian diaspora, which extends from Ivan the Terrible to the present day, including the language and culture of the Old Believers. The contemporary culture of the Estonian Russian diaspora, which reflects the peculiar phenomena of Estonian culture, deserves special attention. This is evidenced by the results of previous SF and IUT grants.
Requirements for the candidates
Candidates for the tenure system position shall meet at least the requirements of career level I of tenure system professor, tenure track associate professor (stipulated in Annex 2 and respectively in Annex 9 and 10 to the Employment Relations Rules).
The elected professors will begin their career in the first career level of the tenure system, with the title of tenure track associate professor. The aim for that is to support them as a leader in the relevant field of research and study and, upon successful evaluation to progress to the second career level of the tenure system, with the title of professor.
- Doctorate in Russian Literature, Russian, or Russian Studies.
Job responsibilities
In accordance with Annexes 1, 2 and 10 to the Employment Relations Rules: The first level of the tenure system: associate professor.
- In addition to the above, the task is to plan research in their field, to set up a research group and to apply for research projects.
- The professor teaches subjects and research seminars in the curricula of Russian Philology (BA), Slavonic Languages and Cultures (MA), teacher of Russian and Literature (MA), cooperates within other joint courses of the School of Humanities.
- Possible research and teaching areas includes studies of Russian culture, Russian diaspora, Russian literature and / or Russian language. The professor actively participates in the dissemination and popularization of research results in Estonian society and abroad.
Language skills
- English as required for teaching and research.
- Russian as mother tongue or C2 level.
- Estonian is an advantage in teaching, administrative work and communication with the public.
Load: 1,0.
Salary: to be agreed upon according to the Tallinn University Remuneration Regulation.
Location: Tallinn
Start of the contract: 01.09.2020
Additional information: Please address your administrative questions to konkurss@tlu.ee, and questions on the content to the Administrative Head of the School Terje Kalamees, terje.kalamees@tlu.ee
Required application documents shall be submitted by 10th March 2020 (incl) to Personnel Office of Tallinn University.