Occidental College invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Emerging Media within the Media Arts & Culture (MAC) Department. A terminal degree—M.F.A. and/or a Ph.D. in film and media arts and practices, media studies, or a related field—is required at the time of appointment in August, 2020. Occidental is a nationally-ranked small liberal arts college recognized for its diverse student body, its commitment to academic excellence and equity, and its outstanding undergraduate research programs. A standard teaching load at Occidental is five courses per year. Academic advising, thesis supervising, and service duties at both the departmental and College levels are also expected of tenure-track faculty.
For more information about the Media Arts & Culture Department, please visit the MAC website at http://www.oxy.edu/mac.
The mission of Occidental College is accessible at https://www.oxy.edu/about-oxy/mission.
SUMMARY OF DUTIES AND QUALIFICATIONS
The successful candidate would be either a critically-engaged practitioner or scholar/practitioner whose work advances the creative and critical possibilities of digital, networked, and/or emergent media forms. Areas of emphasis might include but are not limited to: locative and/or transmedia storytelling, VR/AR (virtual reality, augmented reality, immersive media), speculative design and world building, and interactive and computational media. The Media Arts & Culture Department integrates media practice, theory, and history, allowing students to experiment with both scholarly and creative media outcomes for their work. We are looking for a future colleague with demonstrated teaching/mentoring abilities and a commitment to the liberal arts context, who will help our students engage in research creation or processes of “thinking by doing,” in which emergent media practices inform and are informed by critical discourses, cultural histories, and/or creative and social issues and movements. The successful candidate will support our essential media production courses (such as Introduction to Media Practices and Senior Comprehensives Seminar) while also developing new digital and/or emergent media courses that speak to their own areas of interest. Applicants are encouraged to consider ways in which select course offerings might be team-taught across disciplines and to offer periodic course contributions to the College’s first-year Cultural Studies Program. Our ideal candidate will also help us to leverage Occidental’s proximity to Los Angeles—one of the most ethnically/culturally diverse cities in the country and a global hub of media and art—by developing opportunities for local/global dialogue, community-based learning, public programming, undergraduate research, and/or media activism.
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
The deadline for receiving application materials is November 4, 2019. Please submit the following as electronic files to emergingmedia2020@oxy.edu:
(1) a cover letter detailing your professional activity and how it resonates with the position criteria, your interest in teaching in a liberal arts environment, and how students may participate in or benefit from your work; (2) a statement of teaching philosophy that includes a discussion of your demonstrated commitment to, past evidence of, and future plans for creating equitable opportunities for learning and mentoring especially for underrepresented students; (3) a link to a professional work sample; (4) names and contact information of three professional references; (5) your curriculum vitae. Questions about the position should be directed to Search Committee Chair Broderick Fox (bfox@oxy.edu). Occidental College 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, sexual orientation, military and veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by State or Federal Law. We strongly encourage all underrepresented candidates, especially women and persons of color, to apply. As a condition of hire for a staff position and for appointment to a faculty position, Occidental College requires that all candidates who have received a conditional offer of employment complete an application form (if they have not already done so) and consent to a background check. Satisfactory completion of a background check, along with pre-employment verifications and references are required as a condition of employment, but only as permitted by federal, state, and local law, including the City of Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. We will consider for employment all qualified Applicants, 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.
