The Art History Program in the School of Art, in Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas, invites applications for a tenure-track Endowed Assistant or Associate Professor in Art History, focusing on African American and/or African Diasporic arts. Interdisciplinary, intersectional, transnational, transregional, decolonial, community-based, and social justice approaches centering on overlooked or marginalized histories, such as Afro-Latinx traditions, are particularly welcome. The position is open in terms of chronological focus. This is a nine-month faculty appointment, with a standard workload of 40% research, 40% teaching (2 courses per semester), and 20% service. Expected start date is August 14, 2023.
Scholars with a passion for collaboration, program-building, and partnership-development are also encouraged to apply. Applications are also encouraged from those invested in making art history accessible and compelling to first-generation students and students from communities underrepresented in U.S. arts institutions. The Art History Program in the School of Art is actively committed to diversifying art historical knowledge and approaches, embracing new methodologies, and educating students in a multivocal and inclusive art history. This effort is reinforced by several new initiatives within the School of Art, including the Bridge Program, which provides structural support to all new faculty, especially those historically underrepresented in academia and their chosen fields, and a new student mentoring program.
We are a vibrant and growing program. This position is considered fundamental to the implementation of our new MA program in the arts of the Americas, developed in partnership with the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and its contemporary arts satellite, the Momentary. For this and future hires, we seek creative thinkers who will contribute to the diversity and excellence of the intellectual community in the School of Art, Crystal Bridges, and the growing arts ecosystem of Northwest Arkansas. Endowed positions come with a significant annual research budget of up to $60,000 to support scholarship, the expectation of a research record appropriate to the prominence of the appointment, and the requirement of at least one community outreach effort per year.
The successful candidate will teach courses at the masters and undergraduate level, play an active role in implementing the new MA program in arts of the Americas (expected launch date of Fall 2023), participate in and help to guide future faculty and student recruitment, and regularly collaborate with staff at Crystal Bridges and the Momentary. Candidates may also teach in the Honors College and at the university’s Rome Center, and co-design courses with colleagues in Studio and other units. Art history faculty have ties to African and African American Studies, Latin American and Latino Studies, and the Indigenous Studies Program, among other departments and initiatives. Additional resources include the University of Arkansas Museum, the Fine Arts Center Gallery, the Museum of Native American History in Bentonville, and the many museums in the region, including the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City, OK, the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, OK, the Dallas Museum of Art, the New Orleans Museum of Art, and the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, MO.
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