About us:

The Art History Department at LMU Munich is one of the largest art historical teaching and research institutions in the German-speaking world, covering periods from the Middle Ages to the present. Research focuses include European, North American, and Islamic art, as well as questions of their global interconnections. The Art History Department at LMU hosts several major third-party funded projects. It cooperates closely with the Central Institute for Art History Munich and other art and cultural institutions in Munich and beyond.

The project “Art and the Digital Platform Economies” is organized by Prof. Dr. Boris Čučković Berger at the LMU, with three key target areas:

1. Crowdsourcing: the use of crowdsourcing platforms such as Amazon Mechanical Turk or UpWork by contemporary artists. This ranges from their use as socio-technical supports of art-making, to their thematization in art as sites of critical intervention in the contemporary forms of work and labour.
2. AI-generated images: the role of digital platforms in the production and training of neural networks utilised in generative images. This includes the direct artistic engagement with relevant visual concepts such as ‘data cleaning’, as well as studying the socio-technical backdrop of images generated by artificial intelligence systems such as DALL-E and MidJourney.
3. Crowdfunding: the visual culture of crowdfunding campaigns on platforms such as Kickstarter, with a particular focus on concept art and diagrammatic drawings.

We are looking for you:

Research Associate (Pre- or Postdoc), Project: "Art and the Digital Platform Economies" (m/f/x)

in Munich

Your tasks and responsibilities:

We are seeking (preferably starting September 1, 2025, with a maximum of 20.05 hours per week) a (pre-)doctoral candidate, or early postdoc (m/f/x) specializing in the history of contemporary art and digital media culture to collaborate on this overarching project or any of its individual strands. There is potential for extending this collaboration, both within the current framework as well as with further development and integration of the candidate’s own sub-project (doctoral/postdoctoral) into a larger project initiative. Besides learning about research approaches and critical practices in an emerging field of the humanities, this post will also equip you with the knowledge of research project preparation and funding applications in a higher-education context.

Your qualifications:

Requirements include a completed university degree (MA) in art history, outstanding scientific potential, high communicative and social competencies, as well as organizational and teamwork skills. English-language proficiency is essential for international funding applications.

Benefits:

The position is classified as TV-L E13. We offer an interesting and responsible workplace with good further education and development opportunities.

You can expect exciting and varied work in a collegial environment with flat hierarchies and regular exchange, appreciation, and a friendly and productive working atmosphere.

Your workplace is centrally located in Munich and is easily accessible by public transportation.

You will have full access to the GraduateCenter of LMU with a wide range of qualification offers and support in the form of individual counseling and coaching. Additional benefits include:

• Mobile working
• Flexible working hours
• Support with childcare (e.g., holiday and emergency care services)
• Health promotion offers
• Opportunity to purchase a job ticket (discounted use of public transport)

LMU Munich is an equal opportunity employer and committed to enhancing the diversity of its faculty.

People with disabilities who are equally as qualified as other applicants will receive preferential treatment.

Contact:

Please send your detailed application documents (motivation letter, CV, list of publications if applicable, copies of certificates), a writing sample (e.g., a chapter of your master's thesis or a publication), and an exposé of your planned project (max. 5 pages) by May 30, 2025 at the latest (exclusively one PDF, max. 5 MB) to: Boris.Cuckovic@lmu.de.

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
School of Arts
Department of Art History
Prof. Dr. Boris Čučković Berger
Zentnerstr. 31
D - 80798 Munich

The applicant who is shortlisted will be invited to an (online) interview. The selection interviews are expected to take place in the second week of June 2025 (CW 24). If you have any questions, please contact Prof. Dr. Boris Čučković Berger (Boris.Cuckovic@lmu.de).

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