Job Description
The University of London
The University of London is a leading UK provider of distance and digital education internationally, offering programmes to 45,000 students in 190 countries around the world. Although proudly rooted in London, our community and impact are global. We are a national leader in the humanities, and we promote their value to society and the economy through knowledge creation and exchange.
We are also a federation of 17 world class higher education institutions, with collaboration at the heart of our ethos. The University of London federation is a collective community of more than 240,000 learners and 50,000 staff, delivering world-leading research across all disciplines.
Our passion for increasing access to education and mobilising the collective power and expertise of the federation is central to our ability to transform lives around the world and address the global challenges of the future.
The School of Advanced Study – a nationally and internationally recognised centre of excellence in the promotion and facilitation of research in the Humanities and Social Sciences. It comprises eight research institutes as well as centres in Digital Humanities and Public Engagement. It has four recognised specialist research libraries.
The Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies; the Research Centre for German & Austrian Exile Studies; and The School of Advanced Study
The Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies (ILCS) supports research in the integrated study of languages, cultures, and societies. Though its strengths reside primarily within the fields of French and Francophone, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin American/Caribbean studies, it supports the transnational study of languages and cultures while seeking to advance connections with organisations that focus on cultural and linguistic experience in other global contexts. Its staff’s expertise bridges literary, historical, ethnographic, and digital research, with a particular emphasis on postcolonial and migration studies, and the environmental humanities.
The work of the Research Centre for German & Austrian Exile Studies, based at the Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies and established in 1995, focuses on the history of German-speaking emigrés who found refuge in Britain, their personal recollections and experiences, their reception in British society, and their enrichment of the life of their new country of residence in such varied spheres as the professions, industry and commerce, literature, art and culture, politics, publishing, the media, and the world of leisure and entertainment. The concept of German-speaking exile extends to those who came from the former Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and other European countries, as well as Germany and Austria.
The Martin Miller and Hannah Norbert-Miller Trust was established in 2009 to support the work of the Centre and includes funding for bursaries for doctoral study and Visiting Fellowships at the Institute, the Miller Memorial Lecture and the Miller Archive Project. The Archive Project began in 2012 and aims to catalogue and promote the archives of individuals and organisations relating to the Centre’s work. These include the papers of several exiles known for their activities in the fields of art, culture and politics, including actors Martin Miller, artist Margaret Berger Hamerschlag and political activist Margaret Mynatt, as well as a growing collection of oral history interviews. Further information about the archives can be found on the Institute’s webpage: https://ilcs.sas.ac.uk/library/germanic-archives.The material is held at Senate House Library on behalf of the Institute.
Along with seven other discipline-specific research institutes and specialist hubs for Digital Humanities and Public Engagement, ILCS forms part of the School of Advanced Study. As the only institution that is nationally funded to promote and facilitate research in the humanities, the School of Advanced Study performs a vital role as a driving force for knowledge sharing across the humanities in the UK and beyond, and receives special funding for this purpose from Research England. SAS’s 2021-26 strategy encompasses four key themes:
- Creating and supporting the next generation of advanced humanities researchers
- Innovating and facilitating new humanities research methods
- Initiating and advancing cross-disciplinary and cross-sector initiatives
- Providing unique resources and capabilities for humanities research.
The Role
Project Archivist (Martin and Hannah Norbert-Miller Trust)
The Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies (ILCS) is recruiting a Project Archivist. The post is available on three-year fixed-term and is funded by the Martin Miller and Hannah Norbert-Miller Trust. The post holder’s task is to catalogue the archival material relating to German/Austrian exiles donated to the Research Centre for German & Austrian Exile Studies and/or the ILCS according to professional standards and to promote the resulting Archive collections to public and academic audiences.
The post holder will be based in the Senate House Library, and work closely with the ILCS and Research Centre for German & Austrian Exile Studies in promoting the archives and public engagement.
If you would like a confidential conversation about this opportunity before applying, please contact Professor Godela Weiss-Sussex at the Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies (godela.weiss-sussex@sas.ac.uk).
For a full role profile, please refer to the job description below.
Further Information
To be considered for this opportunity, please submit your application and CV (by clicking ‘apply for job’ at the bottom of this page) before the closing date at midnight on Friday 2nd June 2023.
The University of London is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive working environment where we can all be ourselves and succeed. We particularly encourage applications from members of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic communities as this group is currently under-represented at all levels within the University. All appointments will be made on merit, based on the criteria identified in the job description.
Pursuing excellence in education and equal opportunities.