Senior Research Fellow (Oberassistenz) in Cultural Studies and European Ethnology - Postdoc

University of Basel; Basel; On-site; CHF 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

The Department of Cultural Studies and European Ethnology at the University of Basel invites applications for a Senior Research Fellow (60%), beginning in spring semester 2027. The role focuses on visual, material, media, and digital culture, museums, and memory studies, with the aim of completing habilitation.

Responsibilities include expanding collaborative networks with museums and cultural heritage organizations, teaching two hours per week, supervising theses, and active participation in

Qualifications

• Doctorate in European Ethnology/Empirical Cultural Studies, or Social and Cultural Anthropology.
• Research focus on visual, material, media, and digital culture, museums, and memory studies.
• Experience in empirical qualitative research within a European context.
• Experience collaborating with museums, heritage organizations, collections, civil society or arts.
• Experience teaching at university level.
• Excellent command of German and English; Italian is a plus.
• Independent, structured, and team‑oriented working style.
• Preferred: museum/curatorial exposure and collections management; multimedia teaching/exhibition work.

Responsibilities

• Research on visual, material, media, and digital culture, museums, and memory studies with habilitation in mind.
• Expand networks with museums, cultural heritage bodies, and collections (e.g., EKWS) as well as civil society and artists.
• Teach (2 hours per week) and supervise bachelor’s and master’s theses.
• Contribute to committee work and self-administration.

Skills

German language

English language

Team collaboration

Multidisciplinary work

Education

PhD in European Ethnology/Empirical Cultural Studies or Social and Cultural Anthropology

Tools

Video editing tools

Audio editing tools

Job description

60%, 1.2.2027

The Department of Cultural Studies and European Ethnology at the University of Basel fosters a dynamic intellectual environment and is dedicated to conceptually rigorous, empirically grounded, and applied research across the following areas: culture, everyday life, and politics; globalization, migration, and mobility; anthropology of knowledge and science and technology studies; the body, senses, and health; visual, material, media, and digital culture; museums; and memory and narrative studies.

The department invites applications for a Senior Research Fellow position (60%), beginning in the spring semester of 2027.

Your position

• Research on visual, material, media, and digital culture, museums, and memory and narrative studies, with the aim of completing a habilitation
• Expand the department's collaborative networks with museums, cultural heritage organizations, and collections (e.g., the multimedia archive of Swiss Empirical Cultural Studies, EKWS), as well as with civil society and artistic actors in Basel and beyond
• Teach (2 hours per week) and supervise students, including bachelor's and master's theses
• Contribute to committee work and self-administration

Your profile

• A doctorate in European Ethnology/Empirical Cultural Studies, or Social and Cultural Anthropology
• Research focus on visual, material, media, and digital culture, museums, and memory and narrative studies
• Experience in empirical-qualitative research within a European context, with an optional extension of fieldwork to non-European settings as well
• Experience collaborating with museums, cultural heritage organizations, collections, civil society organizations, or artistic communities
• Experience teaching at the university level
• Excellent command of German and English; Italian is a plus
• An independent, structured, and team-oriented way of working
• Preferred: experience in museum, exhibition, or curatorial work, and/or collections management
• Preferred: familiarity with multimedia software (video and audio) and experience with multimodal teaching or exhibition projects

We offer you

The opportunity to pursue a habilitation at a workplace in the heart of Basel, with scope to shape your own work within a committed team. Terms of employment follow University of Basel guidelines. The Oberassistenz appointment runs for two years, with the possibility of extension for a further four years.

Application / Contact

Please send your application - including a cover letter, CV, academic transcripts, an outline of your research and teaching concept (max. 2 pages per document), and a sample essay or qualifying thesis - by November 30, 2026, exclusively through the University of Basel's online application portal. Interviews will be held in Basel on January 18, 2027.

We can only accept applications submitted through the online application tool.

For questions, please [e-mail].

www.unibas.ch