Assistant Professor of Anthropology - Black, African-American, or Global Black Diaspora Studies
Position Overview
Organization: Anthropology
Title: Assistant Professor of Anthropology - Black, African-American, or Global Black Diaspora Studies
Position Details
Position Description
The University of Washington Department of Anthropology is hiring at the assistant professor level for a position specializing in racial and social justice, equity, access and decolonization, to work at the intersections of sociocultural anthropology with Black, African American, and/or Global Black Diaspora Studies. Geographic region and topic are open. The department is interested in the perspective of those working among communities in the Global Black Diaspora whose research and teaching link anthropological and critical race theories and practice in ways that are transforming and decolonizing anthropology and academia more broadly.
Washington State Law requires that this ad list a binding salary range. The base salary range for this position will be $9500-13500 per month, commensurate with experience and qualifications, or as mandated by a U.S. Department of Labor prevailing wage determination.
Background: The presence of Black, African American and Global Black Diaspora Studies in anthropology insists that Black people are not objects of study but active makers and participants in their own knowledge production and theory-making. These perspectives sometimes highlight structures and forces of violence, exploitation, oppression, and discrimination with an eye to overcoming them, yet increasingly center the syncopated, dissonant, fugitive, mythopoetics of Black thrivance, emphasizing more than surviving and highlighting how Black communities prosper, and Black legacies of power, joy, success, and influence. These perspectives are needed in anthropology to disrupt dynamics of racism and oppression, to deconstruct social science theories that misrepresent the realities of racialized and exploited groups, and to construct more adequate theories, world visioning and transformative action.
This position will engage in research using methodological approaches, theoretical frameworks, teaching areas, and pedagogies that create synergies with current faculty and help build our capacity for enacting racial justice.
We welcome applications from scholars whose work defines creative, emergent and interdisciplinary areas of study including, but not limited to: global Black and Indigenous ecologies and climate justice; queer and gender studies; multimodal anthropology and critical museum studies; technology studies and new media; Black ancestral, sacred, and healing geographies; anti-Blackness and the global Movement 4 Black Lives; performance and embodied anthropology; critical anthropologies of race, racism and health; institutionalizing resistance and restorative justice; youth, creative media and digital diasporas; Black futurism and DIY-aesthetics; activism in displaced communities and political organizing in “thick solidarities”.
Responsibilities: UW Anthropology tenure-track faculty engage in research, teaching, and service, and have an annual service period of nine months (16 September - 15 June). This position is 100% FTE and is expected to begin 16 September 2025 with the start of Autumn quarter.
Responsibilities include teaching four courses in Anthropology, distributed between three academic terms (quarters), that contribute to our undergraduate curriculum as well as to our sociocultural graduate program. The candidate is expected to teach both a large introductory lecture class, a graduate course in sociocultural anthropological history, theory, or methods, and more specialized upper-division courses based in their areas of expertise, using innovative and inclusive pedagogies. Other professional duties include an active research program and service to the Department and University. We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive academic community, and the successful applicant will be expected to include integrity and equity in their research, teaching, and service. The University of Washington serves a diverse population of 80,000 students, faculty and staff, including 34% first-generation college students and over 27% Pell Grant students.
Qualifications
By the time of appointment, candidates must have earned a Ph.D., or foreign equivalent, in Anthropology or related field with a record of research and teaching centered in Black, African American, and/or Global Black Diaspora Studies.
Successful candidates will have expertise with a strong record OR clear vision and plan, including syllabi, for teaching and pedagogy for small and large classes and student mentoring.
Instructions
To apply, use Interfolio to submit the following items:
- cover letter
- curriculum vitae
- research statement (explanation of research activities and accomplishments as well as future plans)
- diversity statement (how the applicant’s teaching, research and/or service contribute to diversity through scholarship, teaching pedagogy and content, service, and/or by improving access to higher education for excluded and minoritized individuals or groups)
- teaching statement (providing insight on teaching experience, philosophy and approaches to both large lecture courses and seminars, and discussion of teaching vision going forward, as well as challenges and their solutions)
- the names and contacts for three academic referees.
As a guideline, the statements on research, diversity, and teaching should be 500 to 1000 words each (1-2 pages single spaced). Applicants may consult the following site for further guidance: https://anthropology.washington.edu/guidance-faculty-job-materials. The cover letter should be addressed to Dr. Rachel Chapman (rrc4@uw.edu) and Dr. Jenna Grant (jmgrant@uw.edu), search committee co-chairs, Department of Anthropology. Priority will be given to applications received December 31, 2024.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
University of Washington is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information, gender identity or expression, age, disability, or protected veteran status.
Benefits Information
A summary of benefits associated with this title/rank can be found at https://hr.uw.edu/benefits/benefits-orientation/benefit-summary-pdfs/. Appointees solely employed and paid directly by a non-UW entity are not UW employees and are not eligible for UW or Washington State employee benefits.
Commitment to Diversity
The University of Washington is committed to building diversity among its faculty, librarian, staff, and student communities, and articulates that commitment in the UW Diversity Blueprint (http://www.washington.edu/diversity/diversity-blueprint/). Additionally, the University’s Faculty Code recognizes faculty efforts in research, teaching and/or service that address diversity and equal opportunity as important contributions to a faculty member’s academic profile and responsibilities (https://www.washington.edu/admin/rules/policies/FCG/FCCH24.html#2432).
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Disability Services
To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Disability Services Office at 206-543-6450 or dso@uw.edu.