Assistant or Associate Professor of Contemporary U.S. Art History at Occidental College in Los Angeles, California

Job Description:

POSITION SUMMARY


The Department of Art and Art History at Occidental College invites applications for a tenure‐track Assistant or Associate Professor of Contemporary U.S. Art History with appointment to begin August 1, 2025.



The Art and Art History department is searching for a tenure track Assistant or Associate Professor appointment in contemporary U.S. art history (1960 to the present) within a global framework. Our ideal candidate will have research emphasis on race, ethnicity, gender, class, Indigeneity, postcolonial studies, and/or diaspora studies. We seek a scholar whose research and teaching agenda is grounded in a critical, socially engaged approach to contemporary art and visual culture.

Occidental faculty are committed teacher-scholars who bring research and creative production to life for

students in classrooms, studios, galleries, and mentored projects. They teach broadly in the curricula of their departments, advise students, carry out research and creative work, and provide departmental, college-wide, and external service.

You will be responsible for producing scholarship or creative work commensurate with the requirements for

promotion to tenure or full professor, and will be expected to develop a program of research that engages

undergraduate students. You will also be expected to contribute to the life and development of the department, advise students, serve on committees, and participate in the broader college and disciplinary communities. You will teach several core courses, including "Global Modernism" (ARTH180), "Modern and Contemporary Art" (ARTH290), and "Photography, History and Power" (ARTH287), and we welcome your individuated design of these courses. You will also have the opportunity to develop thematically oriented courses informed by your research interests. You will also contribute to the College's First Year Seminar program, teaching small art history and visual culture themed writing-intensive and/or community-engaged seminars. The department seeks an innovative instructor, scholar, mentor, and colleague who is committed to undergraduate teaching in the liberal arts context.

The contemporary U.S. art history curriculum-critically framed in a global context-is the keystone of our

dual concentration department, where studio art and art history students share coursework and requirements across the department. Candidates should demonstrate their commitment to a dynamic pedagogy and curricular innovation that embraces engagement with students and faculty in both studio practices and art history. The successful candidate will be dedicated to supporting students with diverse backgrounds, and to creating immersive or experiential learning opportunities within Occidental's urban location in the diverse, international city of Los Angeles.

We seek applicants who can facilitate students' engagement with artists, arts organizations, galleries, and

museums in Los Angeles, and cultivate sustained community-based learning opportunities. We especially

welcome candidates who will engage with and contribute to the esteemed Wanlass artist-in-residence program and Oxy Arts, an innovative public space committed to connecting the Occidental campus to the Northeast Los Angeles community, as well as artists in LA and Southern California, in socially conscious art and exhibition practices.

Further, the successful candidate will demonstrate the potential to build upon established departmental

successes in faculty-led research opportunities for students; we seek a candidate who will expand the scope of this experiential form of art historical and studio art research practice. Ultimately, the selected candidate will diversify the Art and Art History curriculum and expand its thematic, methodological, and geographical range.

We value candidates who may also contribute to the College's Black Studies department, Latino/a and Latin American Studies program, Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies program, Asian Studies department, and/or American Studies department.

QUALIFICATIONS


Required Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Art History with an emphasis in Contemporary U.S. art history (1960 to the present) within a global framework.
  
  
  
  • The title of this position is informed by recent scholarship by Jane Chin Davidson & Amelia Jones, Steven Nelson & Caroline Jones and others who argue that the notion of a "Global Contemporary Art" is inherently U.S-and Eurocentric. They posit that specifying one's area of focus is more intellectually transparent and that a comparative global approach is more accurately described as a "global framework," thus self-consciously identifying one's position within a field that has its origins within European colonialism.
  
  
  
  


• ABD considered if Ph.D. completion date before August 1, 2025.


• Research and teaching agenda is grounded in a critical, socially engaged approach to contemporary art and visual culture.


• Research emphasis on the intersection of art history and race, ethnicity, gender, class, Indigeneity, postcolonial studies, and/or diaspora studies.


• Qualified to teach Modern art and photographic history in addition to contemporary art.


• Demonstrated commitment to and excellence in undergraduate teaching.


• A strong record of scholarly accomplishments appropriate to the level of appointment.


• Ability to develop an active and sophisticated research agenda with potential for growth.


• Demonstrated commitment to working effectively with students from minoritized and marginalized social groups.


• Ability to balance excellent teaching, scholarship, and service.


• Demonstrated commitment to the four cornerstones of the mission of the College: excellence, equity, community, and service.


• Experience in working collaboratively with colleagues

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with, or demonstrated potential to create, immersive or experiential modes of learning, including curatorial work.


• Experience working collaboratively with local museums, non-profit and artist-run spaces, and/or community organizations.


• Commitment to proactive departmental service and demonstrating leadership in curriculum development, attracting students to the major, long-term planning for the department.


• Ability or potential to organize and produce programming, events, exhibitions, and symposia.


• Ability or potential to evaluate coursework, personnel, and academic programs, as well as to perform assessment and accreditation and other department management responsibilities.

SALARY RANGE


EXPECTED SALARY RANGE (Academic Year, Nine-month Appointment): $85,000 - $92,000/$102,000 - $115,000

If you are offered this position at Occidental College, your final base salary compensation will be determined based on factors such as skills, education, experience, and/or geographic location. In addition to those factors, Occidental complies with applicable pay equity laws and considers internal equity among current employees when developing the final offer. Please keep in mind that the range mentioned above is the base salary range for the role. Hiring at the maximum of the range would not be typical in order to allow for future and continued salary growth.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS




You must submit a complete application package electronically via Interfolio, http://apply.interfolio.com/152298, to be considered by the search committee. An application includes the

following:

• Cover Letter in which you describe the education, experience, and/or skills you possess that are relevant to the required and preferred qualifications of the position description.


• Curriculum Vitae


• Research Statement
  
  
  
  • This 2-3 page statement describes the scholarly and professional tenets and trajectory of your research. Identify the major questions or problems you address in your scholarship, as well as any methodologies you employ to pursue your inquiries. Explain how your work contributes to the study of U.S. Contemporary art in a global framework and discuss your research projects and publication plans in the coming years.
  
  
  
  


• Teaching Philosophy Statement
  
  
  
  • This 2-3 page statement is a reflective essay about your pedagogical goals, methods, and practices. Explain how your expertise and research projects map onto your teaching and mentorship. Your statement should also discuss how you attempt to engage with students from diverse backgrounds, including how you create an inclusive learning environment that is responsive to, and promotes the success of, students with varied backgrounds, skills, and interests.
  
  
  
  


• Commitment to Inclusive Excellence Statement
  
  
  
  • This 2-3 page statement provides your unique perspective on your past and present contributions to and future aspirations for promoting justice, equity, inclusion, and diversity in your professional career. This should include your demonstrated commitment to, past evidence of, and future plans for creating equitable opportunities for learning and mentoring especially for students from marginalized and minoritized groups. You may also speak to how your research and/or service promotes justice, equity, inclusion, and diversity. The purpose of this statement is to help the department identify candidates who have professional experience, intellectual commitments, and/or willingness to engage in activities that could help the College contribute to its mission in these areas.
  
  
  
  


• List of three references with relevant contact information
  
  
  
  • If you advance to the finalist phase, you will be asked to have each of your three references submit a letter of recommendation. Please ensure your recommenders are prepared to promptly submit letters for you should you advance to the Finalist phase. Please do not submit these letters with your initial application.
  
  
  
  

Materials that will be requested at future stages of the search. Please do not submit any of these

materials with your initial application.

• Sample course syllabi for "Global Modernism" (ARTH 180), "Modern and Contemporary Art" (ARTS290), "Photography, History and Power" (ARTH287), and a 300-level syllabus based on your research area.


• If you advance to the semi-finalist phase, you will be asked to submit a syllabus for "Global Modernism" (ARTH 180) and "Modern and Contemporary Art" (ARTH290).


• If you advance to the finalist phase, you will be asked to submit two additional syllabi: "Photography, History and Power" (ARTH287) and an upper-division (300-level) art history seminar related to your research.


• Samples of past or proposed curatorial projects, immersive learning, or community-based learning projects.


• If you advance to the finalist phase, you will be asked to submit samples of curatorial projects, art programming, immersive learning, or community-based learning projects.


• If applying at the Associate level, provide evidence of leadership and commitment to departmental service.


• If applying at the Associate level and you advance to the finalist phase, you will be asked to submit examples of departmental leadership and administrative experiences such as curriculum development, evidence of attracting new students to the major, strategic plans, grant applications, fundraising efforts, and long-term vision and planning for an art department.

Please direct all questions about the position to: Beatrice Gonzales, Academic Support Administrator at

beatrice@oxy.edu or call Search Chair Mary Beth Heffernan at 323-259-2729.

Application Deadline - Extended to November 15, 2024

To be assured full consideration, your application materials must be received by midnight Eastern time (9:00 pm Pacific time) on November 15, 2024.

The Department and College


The Art and Art History Department is undergoing long-planned faculty, facilities, and curricular change. In the past two years, we hired two new studio art faculty as part of the Mellon Faculty Diversity Initiative, and an art historian of the Global Early Modern Arts and Material Culture. In the fall of 2024, we will complete a new suite of digital and analog photographic studios, concretizing our commitment to teaching photography. One of the shared studio art and art history courses emblematic of our departmental ethos is "Ways of Looking and Making," a course that emphasizes the haptic rather than the solely "visual" in the study of arts, privileging embodied and tacit knowledge and materiality through hands-on learning. Such approaches help break down traditional Western hierarchies and divisions between the "Fine Arts" and craft and promote a more global and diverse perspective. We are committed to scrutinizing our (Euro) American lens, as well as the promises and limitations of teaching art and visual culture in a "global framework." Our goal is to strengthen our ties to the diverse Los Angeles and Southern California communities, and understand our interconnectedness with communities and cultures throughout the region, nation, and the world. With these recent faculty hires, curricular changes, and this search, we are hoping to attract a larger and more diverse student body to our major,

where students see themselves reflected in the art they study, and share a deep conviction in the importance and vitality of art in their lives.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION


Occidental is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not unlawfully discriminate against employees or

applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression,

pregnancy, breastfeeding or related medical condition, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, marital status, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic characteristic or information, military and veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law. Occidental is strongly committed to increasing the diversity of the campus community and the curriculum, and to fostering an inclusive, equitable, and just environment within which students, staff, administrators, and faculty thrive. Candidates who can contribute to this goal through their teaching, research, advising, and other activities are encouraged to identify their strengths and experiences in this area. Individuals advancing the College's strategic equity and justice goals and those from groups whose underrepresentation in the American professoriate has been severe and longstanding are particularly encouraged to apply.

Salary is commensurate with experience and qualifications. Moving expense reimbursement (up to $5000, taxable according to current IRS regulations), start-up funds, and a one-course reduction of teaching load in the first year are provided. A comprehensive benefits package is available that includes: excellent health, dental, life, and retirement benefits; tuition benefits for the employee, spouse, domestic partner, and dependents; additional extras including use of gym facilities and the College Library. For a detailed description of benefits, please visit https://www.oxy.edu/offices-services/human-resources/benefits-information.

All qualified applicants will be considered for employment, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles' Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance.

Occidental College is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with qualifying disabilities. If you need reasonable accommodation because of a disability for any part of the application or employment process, please contact Human Resources (hr@oxy.edu).

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