Research assistant in assyriology - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

The Department of Linguistics and Philology is involved in research and education in a number of languages and language-related subjects and provides an international work environment. The department´s activities cover many of the classical and modern languages and cultures in large areas of Europa, Asian and Africa, as well as computational and general linguistics. Education if offered at the Bachelor, Master and PhD levels.

Duties:

The position is attached to the research project Geomapping Landscapes of Writing (GLoW): Large-Scale Spatial Analysis of the Cuneiform Corpus (c. 3400 BCE to 100 CE) funded by The Swedish Foundation for Humanities and Social Sciences (grant number MXM19-1160:1) and headed by Jakob Andersson (PI) and Rune Rattenborg (Co-PI). GLoW aims to assemble and analyse a full digital record of the cuneiform corpus drawing on recent advances in digital humanities and geospatial data mapping. Next to developing an updated metadata and geospatial data record of cuneiform texts in collaboration with primary online indices, GLoW will also explore large-scale analytical perspectives on the distribution, composition, use and materiality of writing across the full life-span of the cuneiform script.

The primary tasks of the research assistant will be to assist project researchers with text metadata collection in collaboration with primary online text databases. Secondly, the successful applicant will work with project researcher Seraina Nett to assemble a lemmatised digital corpus of transliterations of Sumerian texts for the study of linguistic variation in Sumerian. The exact nature of further tasks will be defined in accordance with the personal skillset of the applicant, but could include database management, editing for print and online publication, public outreach, conference organisation. The tasks may also comprise a degree of teaching duties at the Department of Linguistics and Philology subject to the qualifications of the applicant.

Requirements:

Master's degree in Assyriology or equivalent degree, coupled with an expert knowledge of cuneiform script and ancient Near Eastern culture and advanced knowledge of Sumerian linguistics and ancient Near Eastern philology. Excellent collaborative skills and ability to work within a tight-knit research group, ability to independently track and execute administrative and research-related tasks supervised by senior research staff. Fluency in spoken and written English.

Additional qualifications:

Demonstrated ability to manage multiple tasks with a high degree of autonomy and monitor own work progress in a timely manner, previous experience with working within humanities or social science research projects, ability to oversee and participate in discussions on research programme planning and outcomes. Aptitude for curating and working with digital data collections in philology and archaeology.

Further skills of advantage for the fulfilment of the tasks described above could include, for example: experience with editing and preparing research articles and monographs for publication, writing and disseminating research through digital and printed outlets, outreach activities for the general public, teaching activities, etc. Demonstrable experience in working with applications for text, image, and data management, e.g. Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite, FileMaker Pro or similar relational or graph database management software will be considered a merit. Knowledge of one or more programming languages, for example SQL, Python, HTML, CSS is desirable, but is not a requirement. Further language skills are considered an advantage.

Application procedure:

The application should be written in Swedish or English and contain the following:

• Letter of motivation (max. 2 pages)
• CV including list of publications (max. 5 pages)
• Copies of diplomas and transcripts
• Contact details of two academic references

Uppsala University strives to be an inclusive workplace that promotes equal opportunities and attracts qualified candidates who can contribute to the University’s excellence and diversity. We welcome applications from all sections of the community and from people of all backgrounds.

Salary: Individual salary.

Starting date: 01-01-2020 or as otherwise agreed.

Type of employment: Permanent employment. Probationary period may be applied.

Scope of employment: 75 %

For further information about the position please contact: Senior lecturer Jakob Andersson, email Jakob.Andersson@lingfil.uu.se, phone 46 (0)18 471 2097

Please submit your application by 28 October 2019, UFV-PA 2019/3134.

Are you considering moving to Sweden to work at Uppsala University? If so, you will find a lot of information about working and living in Sweden at www.uu.se/joinus. You are also welcome to contact International Faculty and Staff Services at ifss@uadm.uu.se.