University of Basel 
Basel, Switzerland Offer Summary
The University of Basel invites applications for a Senior Research Fellow (Oberassistenz) in Cultural Studies and European Ethnology. This postdoctoral position, starting in spring 2027, is a part-time role at 60% FTE with an initial two-year contract, extendable by four years. The primary research focus involves visual, material, media, and digital culture, museums, and memory studies, aiming to support habilitation completion. Responsibilities include expanding collaborative networks with cultural institutions and civil society, teaching two hours weekly, supervising students, and contributing to departmental administration. Candidates require a doctorate in relevant fields, empirical-qualitative research experience, and excellent command of German and English. Preferred qualifications include museum work experience and familiarity with multimedia software. Applications must be submitted via the online portal by December 6, 2026.
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Project Description
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 December 6, 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 contact veronique.hilfiker@unibas.ch.
