Associate or Full Professor: Philosophy

Associate or Full Professor:
Philosophy and the City

Cities are not just places. They are arenas in which the most urgent philosophical questions about power, justice, materiality, and collective life take concrete form. A long-standing tradition in philosophy has engaged urban life as an object of reflection (Simmel, Addams, Dewey and Chicago Sociology, Lefebvre, Sennet etc.). With this position, we aim to build on that tradition and also explore avenues for the cross-fertilization of philosophical insight and the study of concrete urban contexts.

As Associate or Full Professor of Philosophy (depending on your track record and experience), you will join the thriving and collegial environment of the philosophy department at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASoS), Maastricht University.

FASoS conducts research and education with a focus on societies in transition in four interdisciplinary undergraduate programmes and many Master's and Research Master's Programmes. This senior academic position contributes to a growing research initiative on urban transformations in post-industrial regions. Our focus is anchored in the transforming cities of the Euregion but aims to generate broad theoretical insights that have relevance the world over.

• Our goal: To contribute to a growing research initiative on urban transformations in post-industrial regions, anchored in the cities of the Meuse-Rhine Euregion and aimed at generating theoretical insights with global relevance.
• Your colleagues: At FASoS, you will join an international community of researchers in the humanities and social sciences. FASoS values interdisciplinary collaboration across its research groups and with external partners in the region and beyond. FASoS has five departments (Philosophy, Society Studies, Literature and Arts, History, and Politics) and four interdisciplinary research programmes (MUSTS, AMC, ESPO, and GTD). This position is situated in the Philosophy department and the MUSTS (Maastricht University Science and Technology Studies) Research Programme.

This is a research-led position as Associate or Full Professor of Philosophy (depending on your track record and experience). We are looking for a colleague with an internationally recognised research agenda at the boundaries between philosophy and fields such as urban studies/urban sociology, heritage studies, cultural and human geography, and critical infrastructure studies.

This position anchors philosophical inquiry to FASoS's engagement with urban futures, critical infrastructure, the arts and urban culture, urban heritage, and sociotechnical change in the cities of the Euregio (where Maastricht is located) and beyond.

In this role, you will actively engage in national and international academic networks, attract external research funding at both national and European levels, and build a team around this research line.

In addition, you will build lasting partnerships with local and regional urban communities and institutions, establish national and international academic networks, and collaborate across the university, including with the Faculty of Science and Engineering, the Faculty of Law, and the Maastricht Sustainability Institute.

Your work contributes to Maastricht University's position as a key knowledge centre for the sustainable transformation of urban regions with developing collaborations in local and regional municipalities. You will offer a critical, historical, or conceptual take on urban life and change and bring this body of work into dialogue with UM's strategic ambitions.

• Conduct and publish original philosophical research on the city as a site of political, material, artistic, and social inquiry.
• Teach at BA and MA level within the undergraduate and graduate programmes of the faculty and contribute to teaching and curriculum development across the university.
• Supervise BA, MA and PhD students.
• Contribute to research platforms and projects engaging with urban resilience, critical infrastructure, and post-industrial transformation.
• Develop and apply for external research funding.
• Engage with regional partners, including municipalities and civic institutions, where research interests align.
• Contribute to collegial governance and academic service within FASoS and the broader UM community

• Expert in Philosophy and Urban Life/Philosophy and the City:
  You carry out field‑leading research at the boundaries between philosophy and fields such as urban studies/urban sociology, heritage studies, cultural and human geography, and critical infrastructure studies.
• Interdisciplinary thinker:
  You bring different theoretical and methodological approaches together and can thrive in a context where 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…