The Willem de Kooning Academy, Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences (WdKA/RUAS), offers a variety of Bachelor and Master programs in the field of visual culture, art, design, education in arts, and leisure management. One half of WdKA's Bachelor curriculum consists of traditional art and design disciplines, the other half of transdisciplinary study programs in Autonomous, Social, and Commercial Practices where students of all disciplines mix. The Stations (advanced workshops focused on Research through Making) complete the three pillars of the institute.
At the moment we are looking for:
Teaching Positions (0,1 - 0,2 fte contract depends on student enrollment in the programmes)
Practice Teacher (Course: Critical Studies, year 3 and Minor)
Practice Teacher (Course: Public and Private, year 3)
Theory Teacher (Course: Hacking, year 3)
Research Lecturer Positions (one year appointment 0,2 fte)
The candidates will be required to start teaching in September and join their new team for two preparation sessions in early and mid July.
Closing date: June 9, 2021 | Apply here.
ABOUT THE AUTONOMOUS PRACTICES
Positioning
The Autonomous Practices is one of three transdisciplinary graduation profiles at the Willem de Kooning Academy, which welcomes students from all majors currently offered at the academy. Students within the Autonomous Practices are encouraged to radically experiment with what art and design can be, and to develop projects that might not even be strictly identifiable as such anymore. At the core of the curriculum lies a critical inquiry into and experimentation with what autonomy can mean today, how it relates to life praxis, and how autonomy can be (re)defined and practiced in various creative disciplines.
Research
Autonomy Lab, our current artistic research project founded by Dutch Research Council (NWO), investigates how autonomy is understood and practiced today, in its diverse meanings, both locally and internationally. Conducted as a collective endeavour, with students, teachers and external practitioners, it manifests itself through conversations and workshops accompanied by small publications (such as zines and podcasts). A particular focus is on collective, self-organized art practices, the concepts of autonomy they embody and represent, how those concepts differ from established notions of artistic autonomy, and what other societal actors learn from them.
For our previous research project please visit: https://autonomousfabric.org.
Courses
In year 1 and 2 all WdKA Bachelor students participate in short-term workshops that introduce them to the WdKA’s Practices at large. The following courses are currently being taught within the Autonomous Practices in year 3 and 4.
- Critical Studies encourages students to question their reality and how to think in a transformative way. Inspired by the emancipatory program of critical theory, the course is oriented towards investigating and exposing power structures, including those in art and design. The Critical Studies curriculum actively seeks to blur boundaries between making, thinking and being.
- Hacking focuses on the critical analysis and deconstruction of systems of any kind, including social, cultural and technological systems. It encourages students to develop their own subversive strategies in order to unsettle the world as we know it.
- Digital Craft critically investigates current and future developments in digital technology and explores new intertwined relationships between lives and technologies.
- Public and Private starts from the notion that public space is a political territory that is under constant pressure of many agendas. In order to interact with public space, one needs to reclaim it, which requires (self-)organization.
TEACHING POSITION
Within the Autonomous Practices team, you will be teaching in primarily one of the programs mentioned above. Additionally, you might be asked to teach in short term workshops for Bachelor study year 1 or 2 that introduce students to the Autonomous Practices.
Main tasks:
- Developing and executing full lesson plans in a collaborative process with your teaching team.
- Organizing resits and guiding students during mandatory self-directed study periods at the end of each term.
- Participating in the development of the Autonomous Practices curriculum with other faculty members.
- Reporting to the Autonomous Practices coordinator and WdKA's educational managers for quality assurance, guidance and feedback.
Other tasks:
- Conducting integrated Competency Assessments of 3rd or 4th year students.
- For theory teachers: guide students in the writing of research papers, by pointing out theoretical references and closely relating them to students' art/design practice.
- Participating in required training sessions, such as acquiring a BKE (teacher) certification or Competency Assessor training, and in Education Days.
- Participating in para-curricular events such as WdKA's Open Day and Graduation Show.
- Participating in extra-curricular activities organized within Autonomous Practices
RESEARCH LECTURER
To further advance the WdKA’s transdisciplinary Practices curriculum as a field of enquiry and knowledge, each Practice appoints a temporary (one-year) Research Lecturer. The focus of the Research Lecturer’s work is on bridging ‘research’ and the ‘classrooms’ by strengthening the collaboration between existing Research Professors (readers/‘lectoren’), Practice teachers and students. This research position aims to both advance the specific Practice to which it has been assigned and stimulate WdKA’s research culture at large.
Research Lecturers will be situated within WdKA’s Research Station which functions as a podium, interface, network and studio to embody and (re)present contemporary research questions.
Goals for the Research Lecturers 2021-2022 are, to further the development of research perspectives of Autonomous Practices, to translate them to (extra)curricular activities. To stimulate curricula change (to lay the conceptual groundwork for future Bachelor and Master programs). And to contribute to ‘cross-Practice’ (public) seminars and exchange. The position of the Research Lecturers is always partly a teaching position.
PROFILE
We warmly welcome applicants from underrepresented, minority, and non-conforming communities. Our staff is diverse, not just in terms of practice profiles but also in terms of culture, gender, and ethnicity.
Attitude and Practice
You(r):
- self-describe as a critical practitioner
- support intersectional perspective in art and design
- have the ambition to translate your life and work experience into inspiring and inclusive education
- are caring towards students
- you have a both material and critical research practice
- are open to collective teaching
- have an active network in Rotterdam's cultural/arts sector to situate our curriculum in a wider field of local practitioners, or be willing to cultivate it
- are proactive and have good organizational, communicative and interpersonal skills, also in the framework of a large organization
- (Research Fellow) have a reputable critical, informed and networked research perspective
- (Research Fellow) practice represents a relevant perspective for the Autonomous Practices and its four current fields of inquiry i.e. Political, Bodily, Technological, Economical Autonomy
- (Research Fellow) have a proven to be able to relate to the existing work but also able to renew this
- (Research Fellow) have a proven to be able to bridge ‘research’, ‘theory’ and ‘practice’ in their individual and collaborative work
We are aware that you might not have experience and full qualifications in all the domains listed below. If this is the case, please specify in which areas you need to further develop on the job.
Experience
You have:
- Preferably a relevant Master-level degree in the creative/cultural fields or a demonstrable work/project portfolio that provides equivalence
- experience in working in the cultural sector or related fields
- experience in teaching (formally or informally) with a focus on transformative and experimental pedagogies
- EU/ECC work authorization
- fluency in verbal and written English (knowledge of Dutch is a plus)
OFFER
The Willem de Kooning Academy/Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences (Hogeschool Rotterdam) offers you a temporary contract as a teacher, depending on specific tasks and student enrollment in the programs. The salary range is HBO-CAO grade 10/11 (€ 2,845.48 minimum and € 5,026.85 maximum gross per month) for full-time employment, exclusive of 8% holiday pay and 8.3% end-of-year bonus. Perks include a Hogeschool Rotterdam discount on your health insurance via Achmea and a solid pension package.
All staff members of Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences must be able to submit a Certificate of Conduct (Verklaring Omtrent Gedrag, VOG) issued by the Dutch Minister of Justice and Security.
A dynamic and versatile working environment in the center of Rotterdam that appreciates self-initiated projects. For us, teaching is a continual learning process done as a community.
Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences works with a limited travel reimbursement (maximum of 20 km).
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
- CV.
- Brief motivation letter, stating your interest in the specific course (Critical Studies, Hacking, Public & Private), your teaching philosophy, and how this relates to your research and practice.
- If you also apply for a Research Lecturer position include a research proposal related to the research focus of Autonomous Practices.
- Portfolio with relevant work or link to your website.
All documents should be written in English.
The selection procedure will take place in two phases. A short list of applicants will be drawn based on CV, letter of motivation and portfolio, followed by interviews.
INFORMATION
For brief information you can contact Weronika Zielinska, coordinator of Autonomous Practices, via email: w.a.zielinska@hr.nl.
Closing date: June 9, 2021, Apply here.
