Asst Professor of English: Pre-1900 African American Lit and/or African American Print Culture

The Department of English at James Madison University invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professorship in Pre-1900 African American Literature and/or African American Print Culture.

The Department of English offers B.A. and M.A. degree programs and serves the university’s General Education program. Our department is home to a thriving Creative Writing minor, and English faculty contribute to several interdisciplinary minors including African, African American and Diaspora Studies, Environmental Humanities, Film Studies, Latin American, Latinx, and Caribbean Studies, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, World Literature, Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Queer Studies, and Disability Studies. We encourage applications from scholars with secondary interests in these and other areas.

The College of Arts and Letters in which the Department of English is located, enrolls over 3100 undergraduate majors and about 150 graduate students across ten academic units in the humanities, social sciences, and communication studies. Home to several interdisciplinary centers and institutes, the College employs 270 full-time faculty. We embrace the teacher-scholar model, and encourage excellent applicants within our particular disciplines, as well as scholars and teachers eager to work across them.

Duties and Responsibilities:      

The successful candidate will be expected to teach introductory, advanced, and graduate (M.A.) literature courses in pre-1900 African American literature and/or African American Print Culture, as well as topics courses in the General Education curriculum. English faculty members do not teach first-year composition. This position carries a 3/2 teaching load and will come with one course release and a service exemption in the first year of appointment.

Qualifications:

● Ph.D. in English or relevant area in hand by August 2025
● Expertise or potential for excellence and innovation in teaching African American Literature
● Excellent scholarship or potential for scholarly excellence in African American Literature
● Expertise and potentially significant contributions to the fields of pre-1900 African American literature and/or African American print culture

Additional Considerations:
● Some research and/or teaching expertise in oral traditions, global and diasporic studies, environmental humanities, digital humanities, religious studies, transatlantic and/or transnational studies, Women’s and Gender Studies, or Queer Studies.
● Demonstrated commitment to building an equitable and diverse scholarly environment

To learn more and to apply, go to jobs.jmu.edu/home and reference posting number 20000689. Review of applications begins 11/7/2024. Pay is commensurate with experience.

James Madison University is committed to creating and supporting a diverse and inclusive work and educational community that is free of all forms of discrimination. This institution does not tolerate discrimination or harassment on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, genetic information, national origin, parental status, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or veteran status We promote access, inclusion and diversity for all students, faculty, staff, constituents and programs, believing that these qualities are foundational components of an outstanding education in keeping with our mission. The university is interested in candidates whose experience