Assistant Professor of Art History (Africa/African Diaspora)

Southern Methodist University (SMU)

Assistant Professor of Art History (Africa/African Diaspora) (Position Number 6316)

Art Historian, Arts of Africa/African Diaspora.  Southern Methodist University: Assistant Professor, Full-Time, Tenure Track.  Salary commensurate with experience.

Description:

The Department of Art History of the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University invites applications for a tenure-track (Assistant-level) specialist in the arts of Africa and/or the African Diaspora, to begin Fall Semester 2020. 

We seek an applicant whose work examines the development and use of visual media and material culture within and across cultures and societies. The candidate’s research may address Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America, the US, Europe, or any transnational-, global-, or diasporic context, in any historical period.

We are especially interested in a candidate whose work engages the major theoretical shifts that now reshape the study of African and African Diaspora art and architecture. In particular, we welcome applications from scholars concerned with issues of objecthood, spatiality, identity, spirituality, imagination and memory, migration and exile, globalization and post-coloniality.

The successful applicant will teach introductory and upper-level undergraduate courses on the arts of Africa/ African Diaspora, and undergraduate and graduate seminars in their area of specialization; mentor students on all levels; supervise MA theses and PhD dissertations. The standard departmental teaching load is 2/2. Members of the faculty are entitled to research leave as well as support for research and travel.

We are a collaborative department built around innovative faculty research and teaching. Our faculty and our undergraduate, MA, and PhD programs are organized around the idea of RASC/a, “Rhetorics of Art, Space, and Culture.” The rubric of RASC/a invites critical reassessment of historical and new media, a broad understanding of visual/cultural/somatic technologies, and a particular interest in race and gender. We seek a colleague that will play an important role in shaping the future of research, curriculum, and pedagogy in department and the university.

Proposed starting date: August 2020. Hiring is contingent on a successful background check.

Preferred Qualifications: Doctoral degree in art history or related field by start of appointment.

Application procedure: The Department uses Interfolio By Committee for its application process.

Applicants will provide: 1) a cover letter, 2) curriculum vitae, 3) a writing sample, 4) three letters of recommendation. All materials should be in .pdf format.  Use the following link to upload digital files:   apply.interfolio.com/66860

Review of applications will begin on November 15, 2019 and continues until position is filled. The committee will notify applicants of its employment decision at the completion of the search.

SMU:

SMU is a private university of 6,300 undergraduate students set in north-central Dallas.  Established in 1911, SMU offers a secular, non-denominational campus environment dedicated to the University’s founding principles of education in the liberal arts.  Resources on campus include SMU’s Meadows Museum, one of the premier collections of Spanish art in the US.  SMU’s DeGolyer Library houses extensive archives, photographs, and print culture from the US and Latin America.  The wider Dallas/Ft. Worth area is home to many internationally recognized museums, including the Dallas Museum of Art, the Nasher Sculpture Center, the African American Museum of Dallas, the Dallas Latino Cultural Center, the Kimbell Art Museum, and the Amon Carter Museum.  

SMU will not discriminate in any program or activity on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation, or gender identity and expression. The Executive Director for Access and Equity/Title IX Coordinator is designated to handle inquiries regarding nondiscrimination policies and may be reached at the Perkins Administration Building, Room 204, 6425 Boaz Lane, Dallas, TX 75205, 214-768-3601, accessequity@smu.edu. Women, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.