33/2025 W2 professorship for Religious Studies with a focus on transnational entanglements with[...]

33/2025 W2 professorship for Religious Studies with a focus on transnational entanglements with career track to W3 (f/m/x)

The following professorship is to be filled at the Department of Religious Studies in the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Erfurt as of 1 October 2026:

W2 professorship for Religious Studies with a focus on transnational entanglements with career track to W3 (f/m/x)

Re-founded in 1994 as a reform university, the University of Erfurt considers itself as a research-oriented university that is highly committed to international cooperation as well as innovation in teaching and learning, with a special focus on teacher-training programs. With its strong profile in the humanities, cultural studies as well as social sciences and education, it is a cosmopolitan place for academic debate on key social and cultural challenges.

The Faculty of Philosophy explores and develops innovative approaches to teaching and research, reflecting recent approaches in the humanities and cultural sciences.

The Department of Religious Studies at the University of Erfurt focuses on religion(s) as discursive, global, mediated and lived practice(s) in all their diversity. With a particular focus on the present and recent past, gender relations, transnational entanglements and media practices inform the theoretical and methodological basis for the collaborative and cooperative work of all faculty.

Area of Responsibility

The prospective candidate will represent the field of Religious Studies with a focus on Jewish Studies in research and teaching. The focus is particularly on Judaism in Europe and its transnational and global entanglements since the beginning of the modern era. In teaching, the professorship is involved in all degree programs of the Seminar for Religious Studies, including teacher training programs (planned Bachelor of Ethics and Master of Education with a focus on Ethics).

What we expect

In addition to the general requirements under civil service law, proof of the conditions for employment in accordance with Section 84 of the Thuringian Higher Education Act (Thüringer Hochschulgesetz) is required. Furthermore, we expect:

1. Excellent achievements in research and teaching in the field of Religious Studies and/or Jewish Studies, evidenced by, among other things, a habilitation or habilitation-equivalent achievements in the field of Religious Studies and/or Jewish Studies.
2. A specialization in Judaism in Europe and its transnational and global entanglements in modern and contemporary times with at least one of the following focal points: history of knowledge and science, material culture or literary/manuscript culture, gender studies, migration studies, transnational and global history, history of transfer.
3. Proficiency in the relevant source languages (Hebrew/Ivrit) and other source languages where applicable.
4. Experience in the acquisition of third-party funding commensurate with career status and a strong commitment to collaborative research in the department.
5. Expertise and experience in introductory and advanced courses on Judaism at BA and MA level.
6. A gender- and diversity-sensitive attitude and practice, especially in the supervision of junior researchers.

We welcome the commitment to collaborative research with colleagues at the Faculty of Philosophy, other academic institutions and joint projects at the University of Erfurt, as well as centres of Jewish culture and relevant civil society actors in Erfurt and the region.

International experience in research or teaching is also highly welcome. Since university teaching at the undergraduate level is in German, and in the MA program in Religious Studies predominantly in English, we expect the future post holder to offer courses in both German and English starting from the second year after taking up the post at the latest.

For all professorships, we expect a high level of commitment to teaching, the motivation and ability to acquire third-party funding and to participate in academic administration.

What we offer

The University of Erfurt has been audited as a "family-friendly university". It promotes the compatibility of career and family/private life and supports dual-career options. For academic managers, it offers various further training opportunities as well as individual coaching and mentoring as part of academic personnel development.

Comments/Remarks

The German version of this job advertisement alone shall be legally binding.

Career track professors are usually appointed to a permanent W2 professorship from the outset. The career evaluation takes place between the third and fifth year of employment. If the career evaluation is positive, the appointment is made to a permanent W3 professorship.

Further details are regulated by the University of Erfurt's statutes on the appointment of professorships in the tenure track and career track at the University of Erfurt (Tenure and Career Track Statutes) dated 18.06.2024.

The University of Erfurt sees itself as an open-minded employer that values diversity. It is committed to diversity and gender equality and welcomes applications that contribute to this. The University of Erfurt has successfully completed the "shaping diversity" audit and regularly participates successfully in the female professor programme of the federal and state governments. One of the university's strategic goals is increasing the proportion of women in research and teaching. Qualified female scientists are therefore particularly encouraged to apply. Severely disabled persons and those with equal status are given preference in the case of equal suitability, professional performance, and ability.

The University expects the candidate to be willing to relocate to the University or its vicinity. Participation in the interdisciplinary and partly English-language teaching program including Studium Fundamentale is expected.

Part-time employment is possible in principle. The extent to which a part-time request can be met, particularly with regard to the location and scope of the part-time work, must be examined on a case-by-case basis.

Application and Deadline

Please send your complete application (cover letter, academic CV, list of publications and lectures/courses held to date, report on research activities to date including third-party funding, research concept (current and planned projects, max. 2 pages), certificates of academic degrees and appointments, e. g. habilitation) as well as the filled application form quoting the reference number preferred by e-mail (in a PDF-file), by 24 June 2025 to

Please note that applications in electronic form must not exceed a size of 15 MB for technical reasons.

Data protection

The University of Erfurt uses an e-mail system with transport encryption capabilities. Please send your e-mails with transport encryption, too. If you wish to encrypt the content of your e-mail further, please use the following e-mail address instead of the one provided above: bewerbung@uni-erfurt.de. The certificate containing the public key you need to send an encrypted e-mail to that address is available at https://www.uni-erfurt.de/universitaet/arbeiten-an-der-universitaet/stellenausschreibungen. If you choose not to encrypt your e-mail using the certificate, we cannot guarantee that the content of your e-mail will be encrypted at all.

In sending your application files in electronic form, you agree to having your e-mail scanned for harmful coding, viruses and spam, to the temporary saving of the necessary data of your correspondence and to the conducting of further correspondence via e-mail without further encryption.

By submitting your application, you also agree to the further processing of the submitted personal data within the application process. This agreement can be withdrawn at any point in written or electronic form, without specifying your reasons. Please note that withdrawal of your agreement may lead to your application not being further considered for the position applied for.

The University of Erfurt will not reimburse any costs related to the application.

Kennziffer 33/2025 Entgelt / Besoldung W2 Beschäftigungsumfang Vollzeit Einsatzort Universität Erfurt, Philosophische Fakultät, Postfach 90 02 21 99105 Erfurt Bewerbungsfrist 24.06.2025 Bewerbungsadresse Universität Erfurt, Philosophische Fakultät, Dekan, Prof. Dr. Sven Jöckel, E-Mail: dekanat.philfak@uni-erfurt.de, Postfach 90 02 21 99105 Erfurt