Williams College: Massachusetts: Africana Studies

Location: Williamstown, MA
Open Date: Jul 1, 2020
Deadline: Nov 15, 2020 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time

Description

The Department of Africana Studies at Williams College seeks to appoint a tenure-track assistant professor who is a social scientist specializing in Afro-Caribbean thought and African diasporic peoples and cultures of the Caribbean. The Department will consider new PhDs as well as candidates at the advanced assistant professor level, who would be tenure-eligible within three years of appointment.

While we welcome a range of areas of expertise, we are especially interested in scholars whose research explores the following topics: Black radical social and political movements, transnational connections between circum-Caribbean and African cultures, indigeneity, gender and sexuality, youth and digital cultures, health and medicine, religion, and environmental injustice.

Williams Africana Studies is an interdisciplinary department that critically and systematically examines the cultures, histories, and experiences of people of African descent globally. Drawing from a wide variety of courses in the humanities, arts, and social sciences, students who earn a concentration in Africana Studies practice intellectually rigorous research, writing, and analysis of Africana culture that is also grounded in activism and life experience.

Williams is a coeducational liberal arts college located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. The college has built its reputation on the teaching and scholarship of its faculty and on the academic excellence of its approximately 2000 students. Please visit the Williams website (http://williams.edu).

Qualifications

Applicants should be committed scholars with a PhD in hand or expected by September 2021. The teaching load in the department is 2-2 plus a January winter term course every other year. Information about the department and current curriculum can be found at: https://africana-studies.williams.edu/.

Application Instructions

Candidates should submit to the department chair Neil Roberts, via Interfolio
(http://apply.interfolio.com/76807), the materials below. Where applicable, candidates should include (as relevant) how diversity, inclusion, and equity connect to their teaching, scholarship, and service:

• A cover letter of no more than two pages;
• A one-page teaching statement that includes how you envision teaching the Introduction to Africana Studies course;
• A one-page statement on scholarship that identifies the key questions driving your research;
• A curriculum vitae; and
• Three (3) letters of recommendation.

As the search advances, candidates will have an opportunity to share examples of teaching and a writing sample of no more than 25 double-spaced pages. The committee plans to virtually interview the semi-finalists. Additionally, candidates who proceed to the final stage in the process should be prepared to conduct a job talk and teaching demonstration.

The deadline for receipt of materials is November 15, 2020. All offers of employment are contingent on completion of a background check. Further information is available at: http://dean-faculty.williams.edu/prospective-faculty/background-check-policy/.

We recognize that these are uncertain times with changing health and safety restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. This search will follow all state and college policies, and we anticipate collaborating with candidates to best navigate health and safety during the recruitment process.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Beyond meeting fully its legal obligations for non-discrimination, Williams College is committed to building a diverse and inclusive community where members from all backgrounds can live, learn, and thrive.