Digital Studies is Hiring!
The Digital Studies Institute is hiring three new faculty members. Part of a cluster hire, Digital Studies is partnering with Communication Studies, African & Afro-American Studies, and the School of Information to expand the community of scholars working issues surrounding technology, digital media, and the digital world.
Black Digital Studies (joint with the Department of African & African-American Studies) - Applications Due 12/7/18
The University of Michigan’s Department of African and African American Studies and Digital Studies Institute (pending Regents approval) seek qualified applicants for a jointly-appointed tenure-track assistant professor in black digital studies. We seek an interdisciplinary scholar with research interests and teaching experience in black digital cultural studies. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated an ability to implement a multidisciplinary approach rooted in critical digital studies. Areas of specialization such as the black digital humanities, video game studies, Afrofuturism, and black social media are welcome. The search committee will consider candidates who focus on any area within African and African Diaspora Studies as well as comparative and transnational frameworks. The successful candidate will have teaching interests centered on helping students understand the aesthetic practices, social impact, and cultural use of digital technologies on Black social life.
This is a university-year appointment with an expected start date of September, 2019. Interested applicants are required to hold a Ph.D., degree prior to the appointment. Applicants must demonstrate evidence of excellence in both teaching and research.
Applicants should provide:
- Cover letter addressed to Chair of the Black Digital Studies Search Committee
- Curriculum Vitae
- Statement of current and future research plans
- Writing sample (no more than 25 pages)
- Statement of teaching philosophy and experience (or a teaching portfolio containing such a statement)
- Evidence of teaching excellence (i.e., student evaluations of teaching, course syllabi, teaching awards that can be parts of a teaching portfolio)
In addition, candidates should provide three letters of recommendation.
Application material should be uploaded via the link provided: http://webapps.lsa.umich.edu/Apply/1160
Deadline to apply for full consideration for the position is December 7, 2018.
The University of Michigan is committed to fostering and maintaining a diverse work culture that respects the rights and dignity of each individual, without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, religious creed, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, medical condition, age, Vietnam era veteran status, or any other veterans’ status. The University of Michigan is supportive of the needs of dual career couples and is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
Race and Digital Media (joint with the Department of Communication Studies) - Applications Due 1/22/19
The University of Michigan’s Department of Communication Studies and the new Digital Studies Institute (pending approval of the Institute by the U-M Board of Regents) seek qualified applicants for a 50/50% jointly appointed open-rank (assistant, associate, or professor rank), tenure-track professor with research and teaching interests in Race and Digital Media.
We welcome critical and cultural media studies scholars from any discipline whose work explores race and intersectionalities of race and processes of identity formation (e.g., ability, class, ethnicity, gender, sexuality) in the arena of digital media and communication technology. Applicants’ research and teaching interests should center on new technologies–social media, virtual worlds, gaming and/or mobile media–and their role in historical or contemporary problems of inequality, inequity, and discrimination. Teaching and research will encompass the social impact of new technologies, and the representation and (re)production of marginalized populations on digital platforms. The successful candidate will have teaching interests centered on helping students understand the aesthetic practices, social and political impact, and cultural uses of digital technologies, which may include the opportunities and challenges digital environments pose for social activism.
Michigan’s Digital Studies Institute plans to launch a major initiative to develop pioneering digital studies curricula at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The person hired for this faculty position will play a major role in shaping Digital Studies as it continues to grow and will be part of a three person cluster hire. Job duties include research activity, teaching of graduate and undergraduate courses, and service to the department, Digital Studies Institute, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, university, and profession. Communication Studies will be the tenure home. The anticipated starting date for this university-year appointment is September 1, 2019. All applicants should send a cover letter, a vita, two representative publications, a statement of teaching philosophy and experience, evidence of teaching excellence, a statement of current and future research plans, and a statement of contributions to diversity. Candidates for this position must have completed their PhD by September 1, 2019. All applicants should provide names of three references.
Information on our research initiatives and scholarly interests of current faculty can be found on the Department’s website:http://www.lsa.umich.edu/comm and the program website https://lsa.umich.edu/digitalstudies. All applications must be submitted electronically to: https://webapps.lsa.umich.edu/Apply/1175
For full consideration, complete applications should be submitted by January 22, 2019.
The University of Michigan conducts background checks on all job candidates and may use a third party administrator to conduct background checks. Background checks will be performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The University of Michigan is committed to fostering and maintaining a diverse work culture that respects the rights of each individual, without regard to race, color, national original, ancestry, religious creed, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, gender expression, height, weight, marital status, disability, medical condition, age, or veteran status. The University of Michigan is supportive of the needs of dual career couples and is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
For questions about potential fit and your application please email: [email protected]
Archival Studies & Digital Studies (joint with School of Information) - Rolling Application Deadline
Position description
Pending approval of the Digital Studies Institute by the University of Michigan (UM) Board of Regents, the School of Information (UMSI) and the Digital Studies Institute (UMDSI) seek a tenure-track professor at the associate level in the multidisciplinary areas of archival studies and digital studies. This is a university-year appointment with an expected start date of September 1, 2019. UMSI and UMDSI seek applicants who can contribute to the research, teaching, and service missions of the units and the university. The candidate will be recruited as part of a cluster hire and arrive as part of a cohort that includes scholars from Communication Studies and the Department of Afroamerican and African Studies who are working in critical/cultural humanistic and social science methods to analyze digital culture. This is a broad search open to researchers working in a variety of methods and concerned with the archive or archives and the power, social change, identity, and representation associated with those who are documented by others versus themselves and those who have the right to represent themselves and others. Broadly construed, the research areas of interest include:
- digital representation and interpretation of archival content and collections including studies of archival representations of gendered and racial minorities;
- provenance and ownership of archival records;
- integrity and user acceptance of digital archives;
- metadata and information organization;
- indigenous and minority platform and preservation studies;
- intersectional digital studies of memory and contested history;
- digital production and power;
- alternative digital histories and knowledge production;
- documentation of digital social movements;
- development, application, and evolution of data and metadata standards over time by different user communities;
- data for social good
This position will be appointed as a 50/50 joint position at the junior level with the School of Information as the administrative and tenure-track home. Teaching duties will be split between the School of Information and the Digital Studies Institute to support both unit’s growing degree and certificate programs for undergraduate and graduate students. All other criteria for job expectations and responsibilities listed below will apply.
Job Expectations and Responsibilities:
Each contributing member of the faculty is expected to have teaching effort equivalent to three residential courses per year. In addition to formal classroom and/or online teaching, faculty are expected to work with students by serving as advisors for independent studies, master’s projects and theses, and doctoral dissertations. Job duties include teaching, research and service. Additional job responsibilities include but are not limited to:
- Conducting scholarly research resulting in publications in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters, edited books, books, and conference papers
- Seeking outside funding to support the faculty member’s research
- Providing service to the school, University, and broader academic community by way of committee work, journal editing, and various other opportunities
About UMSI, UMDSI, and UM
The mission of the School of Information is to create and share knowledge to help people use information -- with technology -- to build a better world. A successful candidate will be committed to, and will directly contribute to our goal of being the best research and teaching institution for the understanding and design of information and its technologies in service of people and society. The School is home to vibrant research and teaching programs, with 50 FTE faculty, and 945 students. We offer four degrees: a Ph.D.; a Master of Science in Information; a Master of Health Informatics; and a Bachelor of Science in Information. In the fall of 2019 we expect to launch a new online degree: Master of Applied Data Science.
Michigan’s Digital Studies Institute is a major initiative to develop pioneering digital studies research and curricula at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The person hired for this faculty position along with other faculty hired as part of the cluster, will play a key role in shaping Digital Studies as it continues to grow. Our research strengths include digital media and identity, game studies, digital media theory and history, infrastructure studies, and digital aesthetics. We are an interdisciplinary unit that includes faculty from multiple departments and colleges. We offer two degrees: a thriving undergraduate minor and a new graduate certificate.
Founded in 1817, the University of Michigan has a long and distinguished history as one of the first public universities in the nation. It is one of only two public institutions consistently ranked among the nation's top ten universities. The University has one of the largest health care complexes in the world and one of the best library systems in the United States. With more than $1 billion in research expenditures annually, the University has the second largest research expenditure among all universities in the nation. The University has an annual general fund budget of more than $2.1 billion and an endowment valued at more than $10.9 billion. For more information about UMSI or other job opportunities please visit www.si.umich.edu
Minimum Qualifications
- Ph.D. in an area such as information, computer science, the humanities, social sciences, or other relevant area
- A strong interest in teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels
- A proven record in teaching and research is desirable
- A strong commitment to teaching, interdisciplinary research, and cultural diversity
How to Apply:
All applicants should submit a cover letter, a vita, three representative publications, evidence of teaching excellence, a statement of teaching philosophy and experience, a statement of current and future research plans, contributions to diversity, and three letters of recommendation. All application materials must be submitted electronically to: https://apply.interfolio.com/57172. Please direct enquiries about this position to Beth Yakel, ([email protected]). This is a rolling search and we plan to make offers as qualified candidates are identified. Consideration of applications will begin immediately.
Background Screening
The University of Michigan conducts background checks on all job candidates and may use a third party administrator to conduct background checks. Background checks will be performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
U-M EEO/AA Statement
The University of Michigan is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and is supportive of the needs of dual career couples. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.