Professorship in Art Studies with a focus on Cultural Animal Studies

The Institute of Art Studies and Aesthetics at the University of Art Braunschweig (HBK Braunschweig) seeks to appoint a Full Professor in Art Studies with a focus on Cultural Animal Studies from October 1, 2026.

Deadline for applications is January 11, 2026. The successful candidate will be appointed under German civil service regulations, if applicable, or otherwise as an employee. This is a permanent appointment.

The University of Art Braunschweig (HBK Braunschweig) is an internationally oriented university specialising in the arts. The HBK Braunschweig is entitled to confer doctoral and post-doctoral “Habilitation” degrees. With around 1,000 students enrolled in the fields of Fine Arts, Art Education, Performing Arts, Design, Visual Communication, Art studies and Media studies, the HBK is one of the largest art universities in Germany.

The professorship is funded by the strategic development program “Zukunft Niedersachsen. Potenziale strategisch entfalten” aiming to strengthen the higher education sector in Lower Saxony. The successful candidate is expected to consider artistic and curatorial practices, arthistorical perspectives and aesthetic theories from the nineteenth century to the present day.

A special focus is on arthistorical theory formation in the field of Cultural Animal Studies as it has developed in recent decades, particularly in the Anglo-American academia. The professor-ship also draws on the broader field of Cultural Multispecies Studies, which includes Media Studies approaches such as the study of cybernetic organisms and artificial intelligence, as well as Cultural Studies research areas such as Critical Plant Studies, New Materialism, Ecofeminism, Queer Ecologies, Ecological Humanities and ecologically-orientated New Museum/Curatorial Studies.

A key task for the new professor will be to develop a multidisciplinary master’s program in Cultural Multispecies Studies at the HBK. The program will aim to promote aesthetic reflection and increased awareness, and to discuss ethical principles relating to the climate crisis, sustainability and criticism of anthropocentrism. The structure and approach of the new program will be developed, tested, and established in courses by the new professor.

For more information, including requirements and necessary application documents, please visit here.