Ref Number B03-02406
Professional Expertise Academic
Department UCL SLASH (B03)
Location London
Working Pattern Full time
Salary £52,762-£62,035
Contract Type Permanent
Working Type Hybrid
Available for Secondment No
Closing Date 11-Apr-2025
About us
The History Department at UCL is an inclusive and collegial place to work, attracting scholars from diverse backgrounds and across the world, at all stages of their careers. We are unusual both for the innovation of our work and for our chronological breadth. Members of the department specialize in periods from 3000 BCE through to the present, with distinctive geographical strengths in the Americas, Africa, the Middle East and South Asia, as well as Europe and Britain. We have shaped a wide variety of fields, from intellectual and cultural history, medieval history, early modern British history, to histories of the British Empire, transnational and comparative history, and material history. Our work has played major roles in debates about slavery and the British empire and public history, notably through the Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery. We also lead work at UCL on the climate crisis through UCL Anthropocene.
The Department currently includes 41 permanent academic staff, 8 teaching staff and 8 research fellows, all supported by a Professional Services team. Members of the department regularly hold major fellowships and grants for a wide variety of projects, such as the one major ERC-funded projects: ‘African Abolitionism: The Rise and Transformations of Anti-Slavery in Africa (AFRAB)’ (Benedetta Rossi) and the £10m philanthropically funded Iraq-based research network ‘Nahrein’ (Eleanor Robson). In addition, UCL History has been a longstanding springboard for early career scholars holding research fellowships from the British Academy, Leverhulme Trust, European Research Council and elsewhere.
UCL History department, which dates back to 1830, is one of the best in the world for historical research and teaching. We are committed to small group teaching (alongside, where appropriate, larger group lectures). There are 770 undergraduate and 107 Masters and around 50 research (PhD) students in the Department. Like UCL as a whole, we are a highly diverse and international community of students and academics. Most undergraduate students take a BA in History, and we also offer Ancient History and History with a Year Abroad. Our taught masters degrees are MA in History, MA in Ancient History, MA in Medieval and Renaissance Studies, MA in the History of Political Thought and Intellectual History, and MA in Public History, the latter based at the UCL East campus.
UCL History routinely receives very high ratings in university rankings and in Research Excellence Framework exercises.
For further information, please see our website: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/history
About the role
The department has existing strengths in political and intellectual history, global and imperial histories, gender and sexuality, and histories of race, migration, and diasporas. The successful candidate will be expected to complement and enhance these areas of expertise. We particularly welcome applicants whose research engages with critical historiographical debates in fields such as environmental history, legal and institutional history, histories of capitalism, economic and social history, urban history, material culture, or histories of science and technology in the Middle East.
In this role, the appointee will be responsible for producing high-impact research that contributes to the broader historiographical and theoretical debates in Middle Eastern history. They will be expected to publish their work in leading academic journals, secure external research funding, and participate in collaborative research projects. The department values interdisciplinary and innovative approaches to historical research, and the successful candidate will have the opportunity to work with colleagues in related disciplines such as politics, anthropology, and area studies.
Teaching responsibilities will include designing and delivering undergraduate and postgraduate modules in Middle Eastern history, as well as contributing to broader survey courses in world history, historiography, and historical methodologies. The lecturer will be expected to create engaging, research-led courses that provide students with a strong foundation in the region’s history while encouraging critical analysis and debate. We encourage applicants with teaching interests that intersect with themes such as colonialism and empire, transregional networks, histories of reform and revolution, cultural and intellectual movements, histories of conflict and violence, and histories of minorities. The successful candidate will also play an active role in supervising undergraduate dissertations, as well as advising and mentoring postgraduate students pursuing MA and PhD research.
Full details on how to apply can be found in the 'Job Description and Person Specification' document on this page.
About you
The successful candidate will be expected to conduct world-class research in the history of the Middle East from 1600 onward, with a focus on any thematic, political, social, economic, or cultural aspects of the region’s history. We welcome applications from candidates with expertise in any part of the Middle East, including but not limited to the Ottoman Empire, Iran, the Arab world, and North Africa. Candidates working on transnational or comparative approaches, as well as those engaging with colonial, postcolonial, and global perspectives, are particularly encouraged to apply.
What we offer
As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits some of which are below:
- 41 Days holiday (including 27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days)
- Additional 5 days' annual leave purchase scheme
- Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE)
- Hybrid Final Salary Pension Scheme
- Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan
- Relocation scheme for certain posts
- Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay
- Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service
- Discounted medical insurance
Visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/rewards-and-benefits to find out more.
Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
As London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’s talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce. These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women. You can read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/
