Assistant Professor in World & Postcolonial Literatures & Cultures

Location: University of Warwick Campus, Coventry

Department: English and Comparative Literary Studies

Position Type: Full Time, Permanent

Salary: £45,585 - £54,395 per annum

About the Role

The Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies at the University of Warwick intends to appoint an Assistant Professor in World & Postcolonial Literatures & Cultures, effective from 1st September 2024.

About You 

We seek an outstanding scholar who specialises in World and Postcolonial Literatures and Cultures. We invite applications from scholars working across any combination of periods, regions, genres, forms, and media, but we especially encourage applicants with training and expertise in African Literatures and Cultures and/or the literatures and cultures of the African Diaspora. We are receptive to a wide range of critical and theoretical perspectives. The successful candidate will contribute to teaching on UG and PG programs in English and Comparative Literary Studies. You will take a leading role in cementing and extending the department’s existing research interests in Postcolonial Studies and the field of World Literature.

The department values diversity, challenges discrimination, and promotes equality. We are committed to strengthening our equality and diversity agenda both in relation to our community (students and staff), our teaching, research, and our curricula. Applications are encouraged from underrepresented groups, including people who identify as Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic, women, members of the LGBTQUIA+ communities, people with disabilities, and those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. We also strongly encourage those who have studied or worked at post-92 institutions. 

About the Department 

English and Comparative Literary Studies was founded in 1965 and was ranked 1 for research in REF2014. Our research is interdisciplinary and comparative, and we have particular strengths in American studies, eighteenth and nineteenth-century studies, literary and cultural theory, environmental and energy humanities, medical humanities, gender and sexuality studies, the literary and cultural history of the medieval and early modern period, performance studies, poetry and poetics, speculative fiction and the genres of horror and the fantastic, and World Literature. We are the main hub of the Warwick Research Collective and host the prestigious annual Edward Said Memorial Lecture. We work closely with colleagues in the Faculty of Arts including the Department of History’s Global History and Culture Centre; Centre for the Study of the Renaissance; Centre for Research into Philosophy, Literature, and the Arts; Centre for the History of Medicine; the Early Modern and Eighteenth-Century Centre; and the Yesu Persaud Centre for Caribbean Studies. We run several active research and reading groups, including a Decolonising the Curriculum forum, all of which new post-holders are welcome to join.  

We offer three UG courses: English Literature, English and Theatre, and English and History; and five MA courses: English Literature, Environmental Humanities, World Literature, English and Drama, Critical and Cultural Theory. We also run joint degrees with Film and Television Studies (Film and Literature), Philosophy (Philosophy and Literature), Classics and Ancient History, the School of Modern Languages, and the School of Creative Arts, Performance, and Visual Cultures (English and Creative Writing). More information can be found on our website: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/english/

About the University 

Born in the 60s with a mindset of boldness, imagination and collaboration, the University of Warwick is a world-leading research-intensive university with the highest academic and research standards. We’re one of the world’s top universities, ranked 67th in the world and 10th in the UK*, with 92% of our research assessed to be ‘world leading or internationally excellent’**. 

You'll be joining a diverse, innovative and globally connected community committed to igniting real world progress. Here at Warwick, we offer you opportunities to follow your ambitions as long as you bring the energy and determination to succeed.

*QS World University Rankings 2024

** Research Excellence Framework 2021

To find out more about us visit our website.

How to Apply 

All applications must be accompanied by a curriculum vitae, a covering letter, and CV.

For informal enquiries, please contact Graeme Macdonald (g.macdonald@warwick.ac.uk). To apply please complete your essential personal details and attach a CV and cover letter by the closing date of 16th January 2024. Please ensure your CV includes your most recent employment experience along with any additional relevant experience and education history. Your cover letter should detail how you meet the essential and desirable criteria for this post.   

The interviews will be held on February/March 2024. 

What we Offer 

We will provide you with a great range of benefits, which include an attractive pension scheme, 30 days holiday plus Christmas closure, excellent learning and development opportunities, and savings on a wide range of products and services. We offer a generous maternity/paternity/adoption/parental leave policy, and onsite childcare facilities. 

We recognise the importance of a healthy work/life balance and offer you access to flexible working, for more information click here. 

We are proud to say that we are a Living Wage employer.

Our Commitment to Inclusion 

Warwick is committed to building an organisation of mutual respect and dignity, promoting a welcoming, diverse, and inclusive working and learning environment.  We recognise that everyone is different in a variety of visible and non-visible ways, and that those differences are to be recognised, respected, and valued.  Where possible, we go beyond legislation to provide a place where everyone can thrive, supporting all staff to achieve their full potential. We aspire to remove economic, social, and cultural barriers that may otherwise prevent people from succeeding. 

We therefore welcome and encourage applications from all communities regardless of culture, background, age, disability, sex/gender, gender identity or expression, ethnicity, religion/belief, or sexual or romantic orientation. To find out more about our social inclusion work at Warwick visit our webpages here. 

The University currently holds a Race Equality Charter Bronze Award, Athena Swan Sliver Award and a Disability Smart Bronze Award. The University of Warwick is also one of the six founder institutions of the EUTOPIA European University Alliance. 

Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS)

The University of Warwick complies with the DBS Code of Practice and undertakes not to discriminate unfairly against anyone who makes a Disclosure relating to a conviction or other information revealed.  More information is available on the University’s Vacancy pages and applicants may request a copy of the DBS Code of Practice.

Job Description 

JD - Assistant Professor in World & Postcolonial Literatures & Cultures (108262).pdf – 814KB 

Right to Work in the UK   

If you do not yet have the right to work in the UK and/or are seeking sponsorship for a Skilled Worker visa in the UK Points-based Immigration System please follow the link which contains further information about obtaining the right to work in the UK and details about eligibility for sponsorship for a Skilled Worker Visa.