Postdoctoral Researcher in Japanese Art History / Postdoctoral Researcheress in Japanese Art History

Postdoctoral Research Opportunity in Japanese Art History

The University of Zurich, Switzerland's largest university, offers a range of attractive positions across various subject areas and professional fields. With around 10,000 employees and 12 professional apprenticeship streams, the University provides an inspiring working environment marked by cutting-edge research and top-class education. Put your talent and skills to work with us and discover more about UZH as an employer!

Your Responsibilities

• Develop and conduct an independent postdoctoral research project in Japanese Art History leading to further academic qualification, including publications and conference presentations.
• Actively contribute to the Chair's research, teaching, and academic administration, focusing on Japanese Art History and Digital Art History.
• Teach 2-4 semester hours per week (SWS; one SWS equals 45 minutes), typically encompassing one or two courses per semester. Teaching may include theoretical, methodological, and object-based formats developed in collaboration with museums and collections.
• Integrate digital methods into art-historical research and teaching, including the development of suitable learning formats and research resources.
• Participate actively in the intellectual and organizational life of the Chair and the Department of Art History, contributing to research projects, workshops, exhibitions, public events, and international collaborations.

Your Profile

• A Ph.D. in Japanese Art History or a closely related discipline, with a clearly identifiable specialization in Japanese Art History, completed or in the final stages of completion by the start date.
• A defined and original postdoctoral research project in Japanese Art History.
• A strong record of high-quality research demonstrating the potential to achieve international scholarly recognition, evidenced by publications and conference presentations appropriate to the candidate's career stage.
• A demonstrable interest in integrating digital approaches into art-historical research and teaching, evidenced through relevant experience, training, and clearly articulated plans for their use in the proposed research project and future teaching.
• Japanese-language proficiency sufficient for research with relevant primary sources.
• Excellent spoken and written English.

Desirable Qualifications

• Experience of university-level teaching.
• Practical experience in the application of digital methods relevant to humanities or art-historical research, demonstrated through completed research projects (including datasets and code), publications, teaching, or other scholarly activities. Relevant approaches may include digital image analysis, GIS, network analysis, and corpus construction from digital repositories.
• Experience in museum or curatorial practice or collections research.
• Experience with collaborative or interdisciplinary research projects.
• Knowledge of German.

This position offers the opportunity to establish an independent postdoctoral research profile in a dynamic and internationally connected environment at the Chair of East Asian Art History and the University of Zurich (UZH). The successful candidate will join the Chair and benefit from its scholarly expertise, collaborations with visiting researchers, and partnerships across Switzerland, Europe, and Asia. Participants will engage with Digital Art History in relation to Japanese art, developing a distinctive and internationally competitive academic profile, enhancing future career prospects.

Postdoctoral researchers at UZH have access to an extensive range of career-development and research-support opportunities, including transferable-skills training, individual coaching, career counselling, internal research and mobility funding, and advice on national and international grant applications. Relevant services are provided mainly through the UZH Graduate Campus, the Research and Grants Office, and faculty-level structures.

UZH is dedicated to equal opportunities, diversity, and accommodating the compatibility of academic careers with family life. Employment conditions and salary are governed by the regulations and salary scales of the University of Zurich and the Canton of Zurich.

Apply online using the form below. Only applications matching the job profile will be considered.

For inquiries, please contact:
Vera Müller-Hellstern
HR Manager