Join us!
The Special Chair of Dutch History and Heritage of Slavery – Repair and Social Engagementwill be established by NiNsee, with co-funding from the Amsterdam University Fund, and hosted by the Faculty of Humanities at the UvA.
NiNSee is the center for knowledge and expertise on the Dutch history of slavery and its legacy. Its mission is to collect, manage, further develop, and share broadly within society knowledge, interpretations, and representations of the transatlantic slavery and colonial past, thereby contributing to a foundation for a shared future based on equality. To that end, NiNsee initiates research, develops educational programmes and exhibitions, and facilitates the distribution of information and documentation of the Dutch slavery past and its legacy.
The Faculty of Humanities at the UvA provides education and conducts research with a strong international profile across a wide range of disciplines: from languages, literary studies, history and philosophy to media studies, arts, religious studies and archaeology. The faculty is a vibrant academic community of nearly 1,000 staff members and approximately 8,000 students. Its academic staff are committed to interdisciplinary collaboration and are active in several teaching programmes. Located in the heart of Amsterdam, the faculty maintains close ties with many cultural institutions in the capital.
This is what you will be doing
Context of the chair
The special chair in Dutch History and Heritage of Slavery - Repair and Social Engagement contributes to scholarly analysis and to societal knowledge of the Dutch history of slavery and its legacy from multiple perspectives. It is inspired, among other things, by recent methodological shifts towards, for instance, the stronger emphasis on oral history, storytelling and critical fabulation (liming method), art and aesthetics, and the formation of knowledge through encounter, dialogue and shared remembrance. The focus is on the Dutch history of slavery, with a regional focus on the Caribbean, but also on, for instance, topics that have come to a greater public awareness only more recently, like slavery among the Indigenous population. The chair will research the ongoing impact of the history of slavery, in order to confront, commemorate, remember and process that past and reassess its legacy.
The chair plays an important societal role by emphasising knowledge sharing, translating academic insights into accessible knowledge products, collaborating with societal partners, and actively contributing to the public debate on the field. Taken together, these efforts will leave a mark on Dutch society and beyond, thereby contributing to the emancipation of the descendants of the enslaved and to redressing accumulated social disadvantages. Attention is also paid to the ongoing impact of, and avenues for repair related to, the Dutch history of slavery for other groups in Dutch society beyond the descendants of the enslaved.
The chair will be established within the Faculty of Humanities and hosted by the Departments of Arts and Culture Studies and History, European Studies and Religious Studies. The chair will not only examine the manifestations of slavery from a historical perspective and as a developmental process unfolding in different phases, but will also situate the subject within heritage studies, with a strong focus on the social, cultural and artistic expressions of the enduring impact of this past on contemporary society.
The board of NiNsee has selected the University of Amsterdam as the host institution for the special chair. Since the 17th century, Amsterdam has played an important role in the Dutch slave trade. The traces of this history of slavery are clearly visible in the city’s physical environment, its public spaces and its demographic composition. Amsterdam is also a key site for forms of commemoration and public-facing initiatives, such as the new Suriname Museum, the renewed exhibition “Our Colonial Inheritance” at the Wereldmuseum, and the Slavery Museum currently in development.
Teaching
The chair can contribute to teaching and research by explicitly integrating Caribbean perspectives, in line with its aim of adopting a multiplicity of perspectives.
Within the Department of Arts and Culture Studies, degree programmes such as the Bachelor in Global Arts, Culture and Politics—particularly the major in Culture and Social Justice—as well as the Master’s in Arts, Culture and Politics and especially the Dual Master’s in Heritage Studies, provide suitable frameworks for teaching to be developed by the new chair. In addition, relevant contributions may be made to the curriculum within the History programme.
Research
The enduring effects of the shared history of slavery manifest themselves, among other things, in family and parenting crises, violations of human rights and forms of social inequality. To date, insufficient attention has been paid to the ways in which the legacy of slavery also constitutes an important cultural, artistic and enriching inheritance for relevant communities and for society as a whole, as well as to the structural and infrastructural patterns and dynamics that remain active in contemporary culture, the arts, politics and the economy.
Collaboration
The chair can serve as a linking pin to global initiatives that study the history of slavery. This includes activities in the Caribbean islands—particularly at the University of Curaçao, the University of Aruba, the University of St. Martin and the Instituto Pedagogico Arubano—and in Suriname, especially through the Knowledge and Research Agenda on Slavery and Its Afterlives in a Multiperspective Framework at the Anton de Kom University of Suriname. It also involves cooperation with relevant chairs in the Netherlands, such as the Anton de Kom Chair in the History of Colonialism and Slavery and their Contemporary Social, Cultural and Legal Impact at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; the Special Chair in the Intergenerational Impact of Slavery and Colonialism at Utrecht University on behalf of the KNAW; the Special Chair in the History of Suriname since 1873 in a Comparative Perspective at the University of Amsterdam; as well as other relevant chairs and the wider international field of slavery studies.
Your tasks and responsibilities
- Organising and teaching courses, in particular in the BA Global Arts, Culture and Politics, BA History, and MA programmes such as Arts, Culture and Politics, History, Curating Arts and Cultures, or Heritage and Memory Studies;
- conducting and initiating research in relevant fields, such as Heritage Studies, the history of a relevant region, and the Dutch history of slavery;
- supervising Bachelor and Master students, as well as PhD candidates;
- enhancing the visibility and impact of the chair through active and engaging outreach activities both within and beyond the UvA;
- contributing to research grant applications;
- engaging with relevant societal groups and advocating their interests.
To research this multi-faceted impact and heritage, the chair will strive for methodological innovation by introducing research methods that do justice to social groups—both in Suriname and the Caribbean islands and in the Netherlands—that have not yet been central in research on Dutch slavery history, such as Indigenous enslaved people. This can include, but not be restricted to, approaches such as oral history and storytelling with a focus on lived experience; the Caribbean “liming methodology,” centred on the formation of knowledge through encounter, dialogue and shared remembrance; approaches to artistic and aesthetic practices; and critical fabulation. While the intention is not to focus solely on the transatlantic slave trade, the chair will strengthen the scholarly exchange among the Caribbean and the Netherlands and explicitly forge connections with Africa, particularly Ghana, in order to examine and teach the historical, cultural and societal ramifications of the Dutch history of slavery in a comprehensive manner.
This is what we ask of you
The successful candidate will have a strong academic track record, an international reputation, and leadership skills to inspire colleagues and students alike.
- You hold a PhD and have an proven research record, as evidenced by a portfolio of relevant publications and other academic activities;
- You have broad and demonstrable expertise in the field of the Dutch history of slavery and/or relevant contemporary cultural dimensions of its legacies, as well in as the cultures of relevant regions and communities;
- You have an extensive national and international network, including contacts with academic, political and cultural institutions;
- You have strong teaching skills and experience in teaching at university level in both Dutch and English, demonstrated, among other things, by having obtained the University Teaching Qualification (BKO) from a Dutch university. Candidates who do not yet hold this qualification are expected to obtain it within three years of appointment*.
- You have proven experience in supervising BA, MA and PhD students;
- You are able to contribute effectively to knowledge exchange and societal impact in public as well as academic arenas;
- You possess strong interpersonal and organisational skills and demonstrate clear leadership qualities.
- You have a good command of Dutch and English. Candidates who are not yet fluent in Dutch are expected to acquire active and passive proficiency within the first two years of appointment by passing the State Examination in Dutch as a Second Language, programme II*.
(*) The Faculty will assist in this process.
This is what we can offer you
The appointment is on a part-time basis of 15.2 hours per week (on average two days per week) for a fixed term of five years. An extension will depend on a substantive and financial evaluation at the end of this period. The professorship by special appointment does not constitute an employment relationship with either the University of Amsterdam or the establishing foundation (NiNsee), nor is it compatible with any form of employment at the UvA Faculty of Humanities.
The chair is funded by NiNsee and the Amsterdam University Fund. An annual budget of €50,000 is available, which serves as salary compensation for the chairholder to cover the costs associated with performing the duties of the chair and to facilitate the availability of the special professor. In addition, there is a modest research budget, of which the allocation will be determined in consultation with the Curatorium. The chair is supervised by a Curatorium consisting of three members, with whom an annual evaluation of the chair and its activities will be conducted
The intended start date is 1 September 2027.
What else do we offer?
- the opportunity to collaborate in interdisciplinary teams;
- an inspiring academic and international working environment in the heart of Amsterdam;
- the opportunity to collaborate with leading researchers at research institutes that - partly as a result of their interdisciplinary approach - are world-renowned.
This is where you’ll be working
The University of Amsterdam is the Netherlands' largest university, offering the widest range of academic programmes. At the UvA, 42,000 students, 6,000 staff members and 3,000 PhD candidates study and work in a diverse range of fields, connected by a culture of curiosity.
The Faculty of Humanities provides education and conducts research with a strong international profile in a large number of disciplines in de field of language and culture. Located in the historic heart of Amsterdam, the faculty maintains intensive contacts with many partners in culture, society and business. Research and teaching staff focus on interdisciplinary collaboration and are active in several teaching programmes.
The National Institute for the Study of Dutch Slavery and its Legacy (NiNsee) and the University of Amsterdam (UvA) are looking to appoint a Professor by Special Appointment of Dutch History and Heritage of Slavery – Repair and Social Engagement.
Join us!
The Special Chair of Dutch History and Heritage of Slavery – Repair and Social Engagementwill be established by NiNsee, with co-funding from the Amsterdam University Fund, and hosted by the Faculty of Humanities at the UvA.
NiNSee is the center for knowledge and expertise on the Dutch history of slavery and its legacy. Its mission is to collect, manage, further develop, and share broadly within society knowledge, interpretations, and representations of the transatlantic slavery and colonial past, thereby contributing to a foundation for a shared future based on equality. To that end, NiNsee initiates research, develops educational programmes and exhibitions, and facilitates the distribution of information and documentation of the Dutch slavery past and its legacy.
The Faculty of Humanities at the UvA provides education and conducts research with a strong international profile across a wide range of disciplines: from languages, literary studies, history and philosophy to media studies, arts, religious studies and archaeology. The faculty is a vibrant academic community of nearly 1,000 staff members and approximately 8,000 students. Its academic staff are committed to interdisciplinary collaboration and are active in several teaching programmes. Located in the heart of Amsterdam, the faculty maintains close ties with many cultural institutions in the capital.
This is what you will be doing
Context of the chair
The special chair in Dutch History and Heritage of Slavery - Repair and Social Engagement contributes to scholarly analysis and to societal knowledge of the Dutch history of slavery and its legacy from multiple perspectives. It is inspired, among other things, by recent methodological shifts towards, for instance, the stronger emphasis on oral history, storytelling and critical fabulation (liming method), art and aesthetics, and the formation of knowledge through encounter, dialogue and shared remembrance. The focus is on the Dutch history of slavery, with a regional focus on the Caribbean, but also on, for instance, topics that have come to a greater public awareness only more recently, like slavery among the Indigenous population. The chair will research the ongoing impact of the history of slavery, in order to confront, commemorate, remember and process that past and reassess its legacy.
The chair plays an important societal role by emphasising knowledge sharing, translating academic insights into accessible knowledge products, collaborating with societal partners, and actively contributing to the public debate on the field. Taken together, these efforts will leave a mark on Dutch society and beyond, thereby contributing to the emancipation of the descendants of the enslaved and to redressing accumulated social disadvantages. Attention is also paid to the ongoing impact of, and avenues for repair related to, the Dutch history of slavery for other groups in Dutch society beyond the descendants of the enslaved.
The chair will be established within the Faculty of Humanities and hosted by the Departments of Arts and Culture Studies and History, European Studies and Religious Studies. The chair will not only examine the manifestations of slavery from a historical perspective and as a developmental process unfolding in different phases, but will also situate the subject within heritage studies, with a strong focus on the social, cultural and artistic expressions of the enduring impact of this past on contemporary society.
The board of NiNsee has selected the University of Amsterdam as the host institution for the special chair. Since the 17th century, Amsterdam has played an important role in the Dutch slave trade. The traces of this history of slavery are clearly visible in the city’s physical environment, its public spaces and its demographic composition. Amsterdam is also a key site for forms of commemoration and public-facing initiatives, such as the new Suriname Museum, the renewed exhibition “Our Colonial Inheritance” at the Wereldmuseum, and the Slavery Museum currently in development.
Teaching
The chair can contribute to teaching and research by explicitly integrating Caribbean perspectives, in line with its aim of adopting a multiplicity of perspectives.
Within the Department of Arts and Culture Studies, degree programmes such as the Bachelor in Global Arts, Culture and Politics—particularly the major in Culture and Social Justice—as well as the Master’s in Arts, Culture and Politics and especially the Dual Master’s in Heritage Studies, provide suitable frameworks for teaching to be developed by the new chair. In addition, relevant contributions may be made to the curriculum within the History programme.
Research
The enduring effects of the shared history of slavery manifest themselves, among other things, in family and parenting crises, violations of human rights and forms of social inequality. To date, insufficient attention has been paid to the ways in which the legacy of slavery also constitutes an important cultural, artistic and enriching inheritance for relevant communities and for society as a whole, as well as to the structural and infrastructural patterns and dynamics that remain active in contemporary culture, the arts, politics and the economy.
Collaboration
The chair can serve as a linking pin to global initiatives that study the history of slavery. This includes activities in the Caribbean islands—particularly at the University of Curaçao, the University of Aruba, the University of St. Martin and the Instituto Pedagogico Arubano—and in Suriname, especially through the Knowledge and Research Agenda on Slavery and Its Afterlives in a Multiperspective Framework at the Anton de Kom University of Suriname. It also involves cooperation with relevant chairs in the Netherlands, such as the Anton de Kom Chair in the History of Colonialism and Slavery and their Contemporary Social, Cultural and Legal Impact at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; the Special Chair in the Intergenerational Impact of Slavery and Colonialism at Utrecht University on behalf of the KNAW; the Special Chair in the History of Suriname since 1873 in a Comparative Perspective at the University of Amsterdam; as well as other relevant chairs and the wider international field of slavery studies.
Your tasks and responsibilities
- Organising and teaching courses, in particular in the BA Global Arts, Culture and Politics, BA History, and MA programmes such as Arts, Culture and Politics, History, Curating Arts and Cultures, or Heritage and Memory Studies;
- conducting and initiating research in relevant fields, such as Heritage Studies, the history of a relevant region, and the Dutch history of slavery;
- supervising Bachelor and Master students, as well as PhD candidates;
- enhancing the visibility and impact of the chair through active and engaging outreach activities both within and beyond the UvA;
- contributing to research grant applications;
- engaging with relevant societal groups and advocating their interests.
To research this multi-faceted impact and heritage, the chair will strive for methodological innovation by introducing research methods that do justice to social groups—both in Suriname and the Caribbean islands and in the Netherlands—that have not yet been central in research on Dutch slavery history, such as Indigenous enslaved people. This can include, but not be restricted to, approaches such as oral history and storytelling with a focus on lived experience; the Caribbean “liming methodology,” centred on the formation of knowledge through encounter, dialogue and shared remembrance; approaches to artistic and aesthetic practices; and critical fabulation. While the intention is not to focus solely on the transatlantic slave trade, the chair will strengthen the scholarly exchange among the Caribbean and the Netherlands and explicitly forge connections with Africa, particularly Ghana, in order to examine and teach the historical, cultural and societal ramifications of the Dutch history of slavery in a comprehensive manner.
This is what we ask of you
The successful candidate will have a strong academic track record, an international reputation, and leadership skills to inspire colleagues and students alike.
- You hold a PhD and have an proven research record, as evidenced by a portfolio of relevant publications and other academic activities;
- You have broad and demonstrable expertise in the field of the Dutch history of slavery and/or relevant contemporary cultural dimensions of its legacies, as well in as the cultures of relevant regions and communities;
- You have an extensive national and international network, including contacts with academic, political and cultural institutions;
- You have strong teaching skills and experience in teaching at university level in both Dutch and English, demonstrated, among other things, by having obtained the University Teaching Qualification (BKO) from a Dutch university. Candidates who do not yet hold this qualification are expected to obtain it within three years of appointment*.
- You have proven experience in supervising BA, MA and PhD students;
- You are able to contribute effectively to knowledge exchange and societal impact in public as well as academic arenas;
- You possess strong interpersonal and organisational skills and demonstrate clear leadership qualities.
- You have a good command of Dutch and English. Candidates who are not yet fluent in Dutch are expected to acquire active and passive proficiency within the first two years of appointment by passing the State Examination in Dutch as a Second Language, programme II*.
(*) The Faculty will assist in this process.
This is what we can offer you
The appointment is on a part-time basis of 15.2 hours per week (on average two days per week) for a fixed term of five years. An extension will depend on a substantive and financial evaluation at the end of this period. The professorship by special appointment does not constitute an employment relationship with either the University of Amsterdam or the establishing foundation (NiNsee), nor is it compatible with any form of employment at the UvA Faculty of Humanities.
The chair is funded by NiNsee and the Amsterdam University Fund. An annual budget of €50,000 is available, which serves as salary compensation for the chairholder to cover the costs associated with performing the duties of the chair and to facilitate the availability of the special professor. In addition, there is a modest research budget, of which the allocation will be determined in consultation with the Curatorium. The chair is supervised by a Curatorium consisting of three members, with whom an annual evaluation of the chair and its activities will be conducted
The intended start date is 1 September 2027.
What else do we offer?
- the opportunity to collaborate in interdisciplinary teams;
- an inspiring academic and international working environment in the heart of Amsterdam;
- the opportunity to collaborate with leading researchers at research institutes that - partly as a result of their interdisciplinary approach - are world-renowned.
This is where you’ll be working
The University of Amsterdam is the Netherlands' largest university, offering the widest range of academic programmes. At the UvA, 42,000 students, 6,000 staff members and 3,000 PhD candidates study and work in a diverse range of fields, connected by a culture of curiosity.
The Faculty of Humanities provides education and conducts research with a strong international profile in a large number of disciplines in de field of language and culture. Located in the historic heart of Amsterdam, the faculty maintains intensive contacts with many partners in culture, society and business. Research and teaching staff focus on interdisciplinary collaboration and are active in several teaching programmes.
If you see yourself in the profile and are interested in the position, we look forward to receiving your application.
Your application should include the following information:
- a cover letter (max. 2 A4 pages);
- a detailed CV (no photographs please);
- a list of publications.
Please submit the required information as a single PDF file.
The vacancy closes on 01 October 2026. Only complete applications received within the response period will be considered.
Appointment procedure
The Special Professor is selected by the Appointment Advisory Committee, consisting of the Curatorium of the special chair and a number of experts. The Committee submits a nomination to the Board of NiNsee, and the Board of AUF, which is subject to the final approval of the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and the Executive Board of the UvA.
The first round of interviews will be held in the course of late October – early November 2026. A trial lecture and research presentation may be part of the selection procedure.
Questions?
For questions about the position or our Faculty, you can contact us during office hours at:
Prof. dr. Julia Kursell, Chair of the Department Arts and Culture.
