McAlexander Endowed Chair of English & Assoc/Full Professor African American Literatures & Cultures

Department of English

University of Mississippi

The Department of English at the University of Mississippi seeks a nationally recognized scholar of African American Literatures and Cultures for the position of Hubert H. McAlexander Endowed Chair and Associate/Full Professor of English. This is an endowed, 9-month, full-time, permanent position. A successful candidate will teach undergraduate and graduate courses, and assist with directing graduate theses and dissertations. 

The department invites applications from candidates with publication and teaching expertise in any area of African American literatures and cultures, including but not limited to those with interests and expertise in Black Film, Media, and Performance Studies; Black Diasporic Studies; Black Feminisms; Gender and Sexuality Studies; and Environmental Studies. While the McAlexander Chair will be housed in the Department of English, the department expects that the scholar will be engaged with and teach cross-listed courses in African American Studies and might also engage with the Center for the Study of Southern Cultures; the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies; interdisciplinary minor programs in Cinema Studies and Environmental Studies; the Prison-to-College Pipeline Program; and/or the Slavery Research Group.

The University of Mississippi is a flagship, R1 state university. The McAlexander Chair will teach in the Department of English, which has thriving literary studies and top-ranked creative writing programs. As a department, we draw inspiration from the recent 60th anniversary of this university’s integration. We are well aware of our responsibility to recruit scholars who can bring diverse and inclusive approaches to research and teaching.

This senior position is included in the University of Mississippi, College of Liberal Arts multi-year faculty cluster hire initiative. This initiative is designed to expand the understanding of multicultural competence in a number of areas including, among others to be named in future years: successful, effective, and ethical leadership; inclusive pedagogy in STEM; and Black intellectual thought in the Humanities. The initiative seeks scholars and scholarship with a focus on the experiences of African Americans and other underrepresented groups and attention to identities with respect to race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. Its goal is to attract and support a diverse cohort of scholars who will produce cutting-edge research, scholarship, and creative achievement around one of these broad themes in their fields of specialization.  For more information and a list of the other positions included in this cluster hire, please visit the College of Liberal Arts website at https://libarts.olemiss.edu/cluster-hire/ .

PhD in English or related discipline is required.  Also required are a record of national recognition in scholarship and of excellence in teaching, as well as a commitment to teaching a diverse student body. 

The department strongly encourages applications from candidates who are from traditionally underrepresented groups in academia and from all candidates who are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive academic community. As a department, we recognize that an inclusive environment facilitates job satisfaction, sharing of ideas, and impactful community engagement. Applications must include a cover letter and a cv. Because diversity, equity, and inclusion are an important part of the mission at the University of Mississippi, the department asks that applicants include a paragraph in the cover letter reflecting on how those principles figure into their teaching, research, and/ or community engagement. Some candidates may be asked at a later date to submit a writing sample, reference letters, and additional teaching materials. Cover letters should be addressed to the search committee co-chairs Dr. Ethel Young Scurlock, Dean of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College and Associate Professor of English and African American Studies, and Dr. Jay Watson, Howry Professor of Faulkner Studies and Distinguished Professor of English. Review of applications will begin immediately, but all applications received by January 15, 2023, will receive priority consideration. The search will remain open until the position is filled or an adequate candidate pool is reached.

About the University of Mississippi & Oxford, MS

The University of Mississippi, the state's flagship university, is also its largest, with a student body of approximately 20,000 students, including 24% students of color and 4% international students from over 80 countries. UM is ranked among the nation's fastest-growing institutions and has been consistently recognized as one of the best colleges in the nation to work for by The Chronicle of Higher Education. The university has an R-1 Highest Research Activity Carnegie Classification.

Mississippi provides a rich environment for creativity and research. The university is located in Oxford, home to a vibrant literary and arts scene, about an hour south of Memphis and three hours north of Jackson, MS.  Each year the community hosts the Oxford Film Festival, the Double Decker Music Festival, and the Oxford Blues Festival, among other gatherings, and UM sponsors the Oxford Conference for the Book and a yearlong performing arts series at the Gertrude C. Ford Center among its many cultural events.


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