Professor of Sociology

Sapere Aude—dare to be wise—is our motto. Our students and employees develop knowledge and expertise that enrich both people and the world around them. Our academic environment is characterised by curiosity, courage and perseverance. Gender equality, diversity and a democratic approach form the foundation of our organisation. We are located in an active and scenic region and we promote sustainable development in close collaboration with the wider society.
Karlstad University has a total of approximately 1,400 employees and 19,000 students spread across two inspiring campus environments in Karlstad and Arvika.
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Would you like to help develop an exciting research environment in the discipline of Sociology at a multidisciplinary department?

Description

The Department of Social and Psychological Studies at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences is now accepting applications for a professor of sociology. Sociology is a well-established subject at Karlstad University, which offers a PhD programme as well as courses, programmes and cutting-edge research with a distinct sociology profile. You will have the opportunity to work closely with colleagues from various disciplines, with excellent conditions for interdisciplinary research collaborations. There is a strong culture of embracing new initiatives in education and research.

Sociology is part of a multidisciplinary department that also includes Social Work, Psychology, and Gender Studies. The discipline comprises approximately 20 sociologists conducting research and teaching various courses. We participate in several research projects, as well as partnerships and networks both in Sweden and abroad. Our research explores many different areas within sociology, and we organise our research into three overlapping research groups: Personal Life and Everyday Social Interaction; Sociology of Ageing; Resistance, Power and Knowledge.

Personal Life and Everyday Social Interaction: The group comprises researchers that conduct theoretical and empirical research on topics such as love, loyalty, suicid, death, singlehood, transnational relationships, fraud, sperm donations, and democracy. It is a diverse group in terms of approaches, united by a passion and curiosity for understanding how emotions, personal identities, and people’s everyday lives are related to broader social and cultural structures. Symbolic interactionism and sociology of emotions are key sources of inspiration.

Sociology of Age: The Sociology of Age aim to map out, analyse, and elaborate different age-related issues. Aspects include how “age” interseacts with, as well as generates various relations of power. The group explores and problematises prejudices around age and how they can be challenged.

Resistance, Power and Knowledge: The group comprises researchers that examine knowledge as a key factor in political activism and #MeToo, as well as within academia as a social institution. Sociology of knowledge, resistance studies, critical theory and Foucaultian perspectives on power are important sources of inspiration.

We aim to contribute with specialised research, as well as to contribute to creating solid conditions for a dynamic and creative research environment with a strong sense of community. In addition, several multidisciplinary research projects are conducted with other subjects at the department.

Sociology offers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral level courses and programmes. Sociology offers a bachelor’s programme: The behavioural science Programme, and a Master’s (120 credits) programme:

Critical Social Analysis. We have the equivalent of approximately 230 full-time students annually.

Duties

Duties include research, teaching and supervision. We are looking for applicants who want to contribute to the development of our research environment. Duties include further developing and maintaining the high quality of courses and programmes, research, and collaboration efforts. We constantly strive to have several externally funded research projects going at any time. As professor, you are expected to actively pursue external research funds with colleagues at the university and to develop collective procedures for applications and application drafts in order to increase the amount of externally funded research at the subject. Duties also include applying for funding for doctoral students.

Since a professor leads the research efforts as well as the development of the research environment, we especially welcome applicants who conduct research connected to one or several of our three research groups. You will also be expected to promote collaboration with the larger community as well as with other higher education institutions in Sweden and abroad. We expect you to be a present and active part of the day-to-day operations and workplace community, in order to contribute to a positive and vibrant work environment.

Qualification requirements

To be eligible for the position of professor of Sociology, applicants are required to hold a PhD or equivalent in Sociology or closely related field as well as having documented research and teaching expertise. The position requires a good command of Swedish and English.

Pursuant to Karlstad University’s Appointments Procedure, teachers must have the personal qualities required to perform all duties involved in the appointment. A professor must also have completed courses in higher education teaching and doctoral student supervision. In special circumstances, the courses in higher education pedagogy may be completed within two years of employment. For other eligibility requirements, refer to the Higher Education Ordinance, Chapter 4 Section 3, and Karlstad University’s Appointments Procedure.

Assessment criteria

Equal weight will be given to research and teaching expertise.

Special weight will be given to the demonstrated ability to cooperate, strong academic leadership qualities, the ability to create a good research environment, and the ability to successfully apply for external research funding.

Considerable weight will be given to administrative skills and familiarity with the Nordic academic system for higher education.

In the assessment of research expertise, recently documented ability to secure funding for research, as well as experience from international assignments or national and international networks, are considered particularly valuable qualifications. Previous experience in research leadership within the research areas present at the subject is considered a particularly valuable qualification.

Recent experience of community collaboration and communication of both research findings and development efforts are also considered valuable qualifications.

Terms

This is a permanent full-time position starting at the earliest convenience, as agreed upon by both parties. We expect the person appointed to be physically present in our environment.

Application

Submit the application via the university’s web-based recruitment tool, Varbi. For advice on how to draft your application, refer to “What should be included with my application?”.

Applicants are responsible for submitting a complete application in accordance with the advertisement, for providing translations of any documents written in a language other than Swedish or English, and for ensuring that the documentation allows for objective and qualitative assessments. A complete application should be submitted by the application deadline. An incomplete application may jeopardise a fair assessment of qualifications.

The application should include:

• CV
• cover letter
• an in-depth account of teaching experience
• certificate to verify a completed course in higher education pedagogy or an account of equivalent skills
• an in-depth account of research experience
• documented and successful experience as a doctoral supervisor
• an account of other experiences of importance
• an account of managerial and administrative experience
• plans for future work
• an account of collaborations, international network experience, etc.
• a list of publications (in multi-authored publications, the role of the applicant must be specified)
• language proficiency certificates
• copies of relevant course transcripts, degree certificates, and other certificates
• no more than 10 scientific publications and no more than 5 materials intended to convey knowledge, such as textbooks, computer programs for teaching, or popular science articles
• two references, at least one of which is a current or former supervisor.

Attach all the documents and publications you wish to be considered to the electronic application (do not just provide links). Name each uploaded document to clearly indicate its content.

Documents that cannot be submitted electronically, such as books or publications, should be sent in triplicate to the following address:

Karlstad University
HR Office
Ann-Louise Gustafsson
651 88 KARLSTAD SWEDEN

Application deadline: 1 May, 2024

State the reference no: REK 2024/23

We look forward to your application!

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