Core Faculty Position in Contemporary Black Thought

Information & Responsibilities

The School of Critical Studies at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) and the MA Aesthetics and Politics program invite applications for a full-time position in Contemporary Black Thought. We seek to appoint an emerging scholar working in Black Studies whose research and teaching complements the program’s theoretical focus. All specializations are welcome.

The MA Aesthetics and Politics program works with students from diverse backgrounds to develop conceptual tools and a critical framework that address an individualized topic of their choice. The program offers research-intensive courses for both the graduate students in the MA Aesthetics and Politics program and the MFA students in the arts from across the institute who take our classes. The successful candidate will develop graduate elective courses in Black Studies and help teach the program’s core MA survey courses that establish the program's shared vocabulary in contemporary political thought and/or aesthetic theory. As part of their appointment, they will mentor MA student thesis work, contribute to distance learning for second year low-residency MA students, attend the MA's public events, and participate in the governance of the graduate programs, the School, and the Institute.

Public programming plays an important role in the MA Aesthetics and Politics program. Its annual Theorist in Residence and related programs have hosted Fred Moten, Judith Butler, McKenzie Wark, RA Judy, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, and Jacques Rancière among many other guests. MA faculty take turns teaching the semester-long courses that host these guests.

The successful candidate will also teach classes in Critical Studies for students completing their Bachelor of Fine Arts. These courses deliver the liberal arts portion of the BFA to students from the practice-based disciplines of Art, Dance, Film/Video, Music and Theater. Black Studies is a long-standing area of the Critical Studies curriculum, and with this hire, we are looking to complement existing faculty expertise and offerings on the BFA level and in the MFA Creative Writing Program.  The School of Critical Studies supports teaching and research in new forms, experimental methods, and critical thought. As such, we are particularly interested in candidates whose approach to Contemporary Black Thought reflects an ability to develop transdisciplinary courses for arts students across a range of topics and regions.

CalArts and the School of Critical Studies value the individuality of artists and welcome the addition of unique and inventive voices to our diverse, collaborative community. We seek to employ faculty who can engage our diverse communities of learners at the highest levels of artistic endeavor and critical thinking. We welcome candidates with demonstrated experience teaching and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students of varied backgrounds, capabilities, perspectives, social identities, and gender expressions. CalArts is an equal opportunity employer.

Responsibilities include:

  • Class preparation and written feedback on student writing.

  • Administration and curriculum development. 

  •  A 3/3-course load, with courses meeting once a week for three hours. A course release accompanies mentorship duties, reducing the teaching load to 3/2.

  • Mentorship of graduate students, including supervising MA-thesis projects as first or second reader.   

  • In person and remote teaching for second year cohort.

  • Maintaining an active and visible research profile and practice, demonstrating excellence in the field.

  • Attending faculty meetings. 

  • Participating in assessment, program review, and recruitment events.

  • Attending, participating in, and sometimes curating the MA’s public events at CalArts, in Los Angeles, and in the broader Los Angeles area.

Salary:

$69,510 - $78.989: Steps 3 - 6 as per the CalArts Faculty Handbook 2022-23 academic year’s Faculty Salary Advancement Plan (FSAP).

Qualifications

We seek an emerging teacher-scholar with a PhD in hand by the start date, with a demonstrated record of publication, projects, and teaching. The successful candidate will evidence several of the following:

  • Active career engaged in Contemporary Black Thought as evidenced by their CV.

  • A publication record that includes peer-reviewed articles and/or a book with an academic press.

  • Developed innovative approaches to teaching Contemporary Black Thought as evidenced by syllabuses or other teaching materials.

  • Have taught at least three years as Instructor of Record at the college level.

Candidates for this position must legally be able to work in the U.S. or be eligible for a VISA to do so.  

How to Apply

This position has a starting date on or after July 1st, 2023 and in time for the start of the Fall semester. Please follow the Interfolio link to apply ( https://apply.interfolio.com/115678 ) and submit a cover letter, CV, writing sample, contact information for three recommenders, two sample course syllabuses, and a statement addressing your work on Diversity, Inclusion, Equity, and Access. Review of applications will begin on December 1, 2022, for full consideration please apply by that date

CalArts has a multidisciplinary approach to its studies of the arts through six schools: Art, Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video, Music and Theater. CalArts encourages students to explore and recognize the complexity of the many aspects of the arts. It is supported by a distinguished faculty of practicing artists and provides its Bachelor and Master of Fine Arts students with the hands-on training and exposure necessary for an artist's growth. CalArts was founded in 1961 and opened in 1969 as the first institution of higher learning in the United States specifically for students interested in the pursuit of degrees in all areas of visual and performing arts.

All submissions are confidential.

Equity & Diversity

California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) seeks to employ faculty who can engage our diverse communities of learners at the highest levels of artistic endeavor and critical thinking.  Across the range of practitioners from artists to scholars and librarians, we welcome candidates who possess a demonstrated worldview and cultural competency to support teaching and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students of varied backgrounds, capabilities, perspectives, social identities and gender expressions. CalArts is an equal opportunity employer.

Further Information

CalArts has a multidisciplinary approach to its studies of the arts through six schools: Art, Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video, Music and Theater. CalArts encourages students to explore and recognize the complexity of the many aspects of the arts. It is supported by a distinguished faculty of practicing artists and provides its Bachelor and Master of Fine Arts students with the hands-on training and exposure necessary for an artist's growth. CalArts was founded in 1961 and opened in 1969 as the first institution of higher learning in the United States specifically for students interested in the pursuit of degrees in all areas of visual and performing arts.


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