University of Essex - JOB DESCRIPTION – Job ref RE693

Working at The University of Essex

Benefits

The Project - Meeting Margins – Transnational Art in Europe & Latin America 1950-1978

Administration

The AHRC-funded 3-year research project Meeting Margins: Transnational Art in Europe & Latin America 1950-1978 is a collaboration between the University of Essex (Department of Art History) and the University of the Arts London (TrAIN Research Centre), under the direction of Professor Valerie Fraser at Essex, and with Co-Investigator Dr Michael Asbury, and Research Officer Dr Isobel Whitelegg at TrAIN.  A further post-doctoral researcher will be appointed at Essex.  The project has appointed a number of external advisers including Dr Andrea Giunta of the University of Texas Austin, and Taína Caragol of the Museum of Modern Art New York.  The Project Support Officer will be based in the Department of Art History and Theory at Essex and will support all aspects of the research and related activities.  He/she will make travel arrangements for the researchers and external advisers as required, arrange, service and document meetings and workshops both at Essex and TrAIN, and provide administrative support for the final conference.  He/she will liaise with the University of Essex Collection of Latin American Art (UECLAA) and provide appropriate support for any exhibitions or residencies arising from the research.   

Research content

The Meeting Margins research project will explore the production, dissemination and reception of Latin American art in the post-war period.  It aims to question the place of New York as the dominant force in post-war art by examining relations between Latin American and European art as well as intra-Latin American exchanges. 

During the post-war era artists from Latin America the destination of choice continued to be Europe, particularly Paris, rather than New York.  This was partly for historical but also for historical reasons: repressive regimes such as those in Brazil in the 1960s and Argentina in the 1970s forced artists into exile and the politicized milieu of cities such as London and Paris proved both attractive and sympathetic.  Movement between countries in Latin America, again often politically-motivated, also stimulated new collaborations and artistic responses, and generated debates about the particularity of a Latin American avant-garde. 

The Department of Art History and Theory

The Department of Art History and Theory has a strong research culture (see http://www2.essex.ac.uk/arthistory/research/research_in_the_department.asp for further details) and an enviable track record for major research grants.  Recent AHRC-funded projects include Concepts of Self in the Theory and Practice of Architecture and Town-Planning since 1945, directed by Professor Jules Lubbock; Centre for Studies of Surrealism and its Legacies, directed by Professor Dawn Ades, and The Moral Nature of the Image in the Renaissance directed by the late Professor Puttfarken.  Professor Margaret Iversen is currently working on a project entitled Aesthetics after Photography in collaboration with the University of Warwick.  Professor Valerie Fraser recently completed a one-year speculative research project, also funded by the AHRC, Modern and Contemporary Latin American Art and the UK:  history, historiography, specificity, which provided the groundwork for the present project.  She has previously received other AHRC awards for research relating to Latin American Art including a 3-year Resource Enhancement Grant to develop an online catalogue of the University of Essex Collection of Latin American Art, UECLAA OnLine (www.ueclaa.org.uk)

General Information

Informal enquiries may be made to Professor Valerie Fraser (tel: (44) (0) 1206873004, email: [email protected]).  However, applications must be made online.

This post is 18 hours per week.  The hours of work are to be arranged on agreement by the post holder and grant holder but must include the flexibility to attend occasional meetings in London when required.

Working at the University of Essex

The University of Essex is a top-ranking research intensive institution, which prides itself on its accessibility to students with a range of different qualifications and backgrounds.  It is the UK’s most internationally diverse campus university, with students and staff from some 130 different countries.

Its three campuses, in Colchester, Southend and Loughton, provide choice, flexibility and support to students in a safe and friendly environment. The University is committed to being environmentally responsible.

The University of Essex – a profile

The University of Essex was founded in 1964 when it opened its doors to a cohort of just 122 students. Since then, the University has grown in both reputation and size. There are now more than 8,000 students studying at three campuses - in Colchester, Southend and Loughton (East 15 Acting School) – and 18 academic departments. The University employs more than 2000 members of staff and is worth over £200 million to the local economy.

Since its inception the University has prided itself as a research intensive institution. In the UK’s most recent research assessment exercise Essex was ranked tenth, out of 136 institutions, for the quality of its research, with many departments rated as outstanding by international standards.

In 2008 Essex was ranked 25th out of 113 universities in The Good University Guide. Despite its high rankings, the University remains accessible to all students. The University has a long tradition of admitting students, including mature students and those from non-traditional backgrounds, who do not have standard entry qualifications but who will make good use of the opportunity to study for a degree.

Students at Essex enjoy a flexible degree structure which allows them to try new subjects during their first year, change degree choice at the end of the first year and take a number of optional courses.  Resources and facilities include the Albert Sloman Library which holds more than a million books, pamphlets, e-publications and microforms, the myEssex web portal, open access computer laboratories as well as network connections in all student study bedrooms, the 1000-seat Ivor Crewe Lecture Hall, and specially equipped dance and drama studios. The University’s outstanding Latin American art collection has recently received national accreditation.

Essex offers three friendly campus environments. The Colchester Campus, Essex’s largest and original site, is set in 200 acres of parkland. It incorporates teaching buildings, shops, banks, a gallery and theatre, bars and cafes, and sufficient student accommodation to house over half of its student population. In 2007 the University won an award under the Energy Efficiency Accreditation Scheme for its continued investment into energy efficiency.

In 2000, when East 15 Acting School merged with the University, Essex gained a second campus in Loughton which is just five minutes from London Underground’s Central Line. The University’s newest campus, on Southend’s bustling High Street, opened in 2007 and houses three academic departments.

Essex has been ranked fifth in a national league table rating the quality of life at UK universities. The league table – which places Essex above Oxford and Cambridge – incorporated factors including house prices, crime rates, traffic congestion and schools in the area, as well as average academic salaries and the proportion of staff on permanent contracts.

Retirement

The University of Essex operates two normal retirement ages of 65 for Grades 1 to 6, and 30th September following the 67 birthday for Grades 7 to 11. It is normal policy to only accept job applications from new applicants up to the age of 64 years and 6 months for Grades 1 to 6 at the date of application, and 66 years and 6 months for Grades 7 to 11.  This policy is in line with the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006.

No Smoking Policy

The University is committed to a No Smoking policy.

November 2008