The Grapevine

Call for Nominations: Eldredge Prize at Smithsonian American Art Museum

The Smithsonian American Art Museum is now accepting nominations for the 2024 Charles C. Eldredge Prize. The prize is awarded annually by the museum for outstanding scholarship in the field of American art. A cash award of $3,000 is made to the author of a recent book-length publication that provides new insight into works of art, the artists who made them, or aspects of history and theory that enrich our understanding of America’s artistic heritage. The Eldredge Prize seeks to recognize originality and thoroughness of research, excellence of writing, clarity of method, and significance for professional or public audiences. It is especially meant to honor those authors who deepen or focus debates in the field, or who broaden the discipline by reaching beyond traditional boundaries.

Single-author books devoted to any aspect of the visual arts of the United States and published in the three previous calendar years (2021, 2022, 2023) are eligible. To nominate a book, send a one-page letter explaining the work’s significance to the field of American art history and discussing the quality of the author’s scholarship and methodology. Nominations by authors or publishers for their own books will not be considered. The deadline for nominations is January 15, 2024. Please send to: Eldredge@si.edu. Further information about the prize may be found at americanart.si.edu/research/awards/eldredge.

JOB: Asst Prof, Modernity, Science and Society at Smith College

The Department of Art at Smith College invites applications for a tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor, to begin July, 2024. We seek a scholar of art and architecture whose work addresses the intersections of science and society, taking into account multiple modernities and empire, across the 19th and 20th centuries.

Successful candidates should be prepared to engage actively with diverse students across the liberal arts. Teaching responsibilities for this position will include a range of classes in the candidate’s area of specialization, and our introductory colloquium. Ph.D. in Art History expected by the time of appointment, and three years of teaching experience beyond teaching assistant level. Candidates from groups underrepresented in Art History are encouraged to apply.

Details about the Department of Art may be found at https://www.smith.edu/academics/art.

For more information and to apply, visit http://apply.interfolio.com/134090 .

Review of applications will begin on November 1, 2023.
EO/AA/Vet/Disability Employer.

Terra Foundation for American Art Convening Grants

The Terra Foundation for American Art invites applications to its Convening Grants.
The next deadline for Letters of Inquiry is Friday, December 8, 2023; for programs taking place after September 1, 2024.

The Terra Foundation for American Art offers a wide range of grant opportunities for organizations and individuals locally and globally with the aim of fostering intercultural dialogues and encouraging transformative practices that expand narratives of American art.

Terra Foundation Convening grants support programs that foster interdisciplinary dialogue, exchange, and collaboration, such as workshops, conferences, as well as more experimental formats for gathering. Programs should advance innovative and experimental research and professional practice in American art and address critical issues facing the field. We aim to support local, regional, and global networks to foster intercultural and interdisciplinary dialogues, broaden the exchange of knowledge, and expand collaborative opportunities.

This program is open to organizations within and outside of the United States. Convenings held in person and/or online are eligible for support.

For more information about eligibility, application procedures, funding, and to apply, please visit the Convening grants webpage.
www.terraamericanart.org/what-we-offer/grant-fellowship-opportunities/convening-grants/

JOB: Prof, Ancient Near Eastern Art at University of Chicago

The Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, West Asia & North Africa and the Department of Art History at the University of Chicago invite applications for a Professorship in Ancient Near Eastern Art, with appointment beginning July 1, 2024, or July 1, 2025.  

The successful hire will be appointed at the rank of Professor and will be expected to carry out an innovative and ambitious program of research and publications; to contribute to the intellectual community of the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, the Art History department, and the University; to teach courses on the art history of the ancient Near East as well as related thematic or methodological courses of their choice and courses in the University’s undergraduate Core Curriculum; and to supervise B.A. and M.A. theses and Ph.D. dissertations.

Qualifications

We welcome applications from specialists in the art and architecture of the ancient Near East, broadly defined as the region of West Asia and North Africa from prehistory to the arrival of Islam. The successful applicant will have a record of publication in leading venues in the field and of other distinguished scholarly accomplishments and will be an excellent teacher in their field. A PhD or equivalent degree in a field related to the search is required.

Application Instructions

To apply for this position, please submit an application through the University of Chicago’s Academic Recruitment site at apply.interfolio.com/135096. Applications must include:

·       a cover letter outlining current and future research plans,

·       a curriculum vitae, and

·       two article-length writing samples.  

Only complete applications can be considered. Additional materials may be solicited from shortlisted candidates. Review of applications will begin on December 1, 2023 and continue until the position is filled or the posting is closed.

This position is contingent on final budgetary approval. Inquiries should be sent via email to anniediamond@uchicago.edu with the subject heading “Ancient Near Eastern art history search.”

JOB: Endowed Asst or Assoc Prof in Arts of the Americas at University of Arkansas

The Art History Program seeks a faculty member with expertise in research areas integral to the arts of the Americas. The position is open in terms of chronological specialization, and scholars may focus on any aspect of North, Central and/or South American artistic production, or trace cultural convergences linking the Americas to the wider world. Interdisciplinary, intersectional, and transregional approaches centering overlooked or marginalized histories are particularly welcome, as is scholarship that extends beyond current program strengths, including African American, Afro-Latin, Asian American, Indigenous, Latino, and Native American artistic production.

This position is considered fundamental to the implementation of a 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. Northwest Arkansas is home to Hispanic, Asian, Black, Pacific Islander, and Native American populations, among them significant Marshallese, Vietnamese, Hmong, and Mexican communities. The Art History Program is actively committed to diversifying art historical knowledge and approaches, embracing new methodologies, and educating students in a multivocal and inclusive art history. Applications are 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. Scholars with a passion for collaboration, program-building, and partnership-development are also encouraged to apply.

Endowed positions come with an 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. This is a nine-month faculty appointment, with a standard workload of 40% research, 40% teaching (2 courses per semester, 4 courses total per year), and 20% service. Expected start date is August 12, 2024.

Deadline:
Completed applications received by 12/01/2023, will be assured full consideration. Late applications will be reviewed as necessary to fill the position.

Application components:
• a curriculum vitae
• a cover letter/letter of application
• two scholarly writing samples (preferably published or forthcoming research, submitted in a single PDF)
• a list of three professional references (name, title, email address, and phone number) willing to provide letters of recommendation if requested during the application process. Letters of recommendation will be requested only for candidates selected for interviews.
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For additional inquiries, please contact the search committee chairs Jennifer Greenhill at greenhil@uark.edu and John Blakinger at johnrb@uark.edu.

For a complete position announcement and information regarding how to apply, visit: uasys.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US…00e249

JOB: Asst Prof, Global Contemporary Art at University of Florida

The School of Art + Art History in the College of the Arts seeks an Assistant Professor of Art History with a specialization in Global Contemporary Art. The ideal candidate will be a forward-looking scholar and educator with strong intellectual and leadership skills. The new faculty member will join a vibrant, PhD-granting program with a graduate certificate in Curatorial Studies that is supported by international programming at the School’s own contemporary art exhibition space, the University Galleries, and through the endowed Harn Eminent Scholar Chair in Art History lecture series and biannual symposium. In recent years, the University Galleries have engaged students in curating and experiencing exhibitions developed with the support of national arts organizations.

The University of Florida College of the Arts intends to be a transformative community, responding to and generating paradigmatic shifts in the arts and beyond. As artists and scholars, we embrace the complexity of our evolving human experience and seek to empower our students and faculty to shape that experience fearlessly through critical study, creative practice, and provocation. We seek a colleague who identifies as a change-maker. We seek a colleague who will prepare students to access and unsettle centers of power in a radically changing world. We seek a colleague who will position emerging artists and researchers as catalysts for equity on local and global levels.

Responsibilities:

  • Conduct a program of research appropriate to the discipline that will eventually lead to national recognition
  • Teach a 2-2 load of courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels, including art history survey courses, upper-level courses, and graduate seminars. This may also include a General Education Humanities course.
  • Mentor and advise graduate students and supervise graduate committee and independent studies
  • Contribute to curriculum design, program development, and program outreach
  • Actively participate in our learning community
  • Contribute service to the university and profession

SCHOOL OF ART + ART HISTORY: Organized within the College of the Arts, the School of Art + Art History nurtures a culture of critical inquiry in our scholarly and creative work. Our educational mission is to empower each student with knowledge, skills, and insight to engage thoughtfully with our changing world. The SA+AH believes that art, design, and scholarship are critical to our local, university, regional, national, and international communities. We pursue positive transformation and impact through socially engaged, local and global education, research, and creative works. Our community asks challenging questions, takes risks, and strives for excellence through an interdisciplinary, inclusive, and often collaborative practice. School of Art + Art History faculty publish, curate, and exhibit widely and internationally. They bring their scholarship and production into their teaching, offering innovative, engaged learning experiences to their students. We foster a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community through mutual respect and acceptance, assuming the best in others to enable a culture where everyone can flourish. Degree programs include the BA, BFA, MA, MFA, and PhD. Areas of study include art education, art history, design, museum studies, and studio art. The school has 400 undergraduate students enrolled in our majors and 190 graduate students in our residential programs and online art education MA. Also a part of the School of Art + Art History are the 4Most Gallery and the University Galleries—University Gallery, the Gary R. Libby Gallery, and Grinter Gallery —which provide exhibition space for contemporary art, including student work. The University of Florida is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. The art education program is accredited by NCATE. For more information, visit www.arts.ufl.edu/art.

THE COLLEGE OF THE ARTS: The mission of the College of the Arts is to be a transformative community, responding to and generating paradigmatic shifts in the arts and beyond.  We achieve the university’s mission by training professionals and educating students as artists and scholars, while developing their capacities for critical study, creative practice, and provocation. The College offers baccalaureate, masters, and doctoral degrees. Approximately 1,700 students are pursuing majors in degrees offered by the College of the Arts under the direction of 130 faculty members in its three accredited schools— the School of Art + Art History, the School of Music, and the School of Theatre + Dance, and in the Center for Arts in Medicine, the Digital Worlds Institute, and the Center for Arts, Migration, and Entrepreneurship. In addition, the college comprises the University Galleries, and the University level of the New World School of the Arts in Miami. 

The University of Florida: The University of Florida is a comprehensive learning institution built on a land grant foundation, ranked one of the top five best public universities in the nation in U.S. News & World Report. We are The Gator Nation, a diverse community dedicated to excellence in education and research and shaping a better future for Florida, the nation and the world. Our mission is to enable our students to lead and influence the next generation and beyond for economic, cultural and societal benefit. UF is a graduate research institution with more than 50,000 students and membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities. Gainesville, which is consistently ranked as one of the nation’s most livable cities, is located midway between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Together, the University and the community comprise the educational, medical and cultural center of North Central Florida, with outstanding resources such as the University of Florida Performing Arts (Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, the Squitieri Studio Theatre, the Baughman Center, University Auditorium), the Harn Museum of Art, the Florida Museum of Natural History and in the community, the Hippodrome State Theatre and Dance Alive National Ballet.

For more information and to apply visit: https://explore.jobs.ufl.edu/en-us/job/528961/assistant-professor-in-global-contemporary-art-history

Lecture: “Black Capitalism and the City: African American Insurance Companies and the Actuarial Imagination” (Fri., Oct. 20, 2023—5:30 PM CDT)

Join the Graham Foundation, Places Journal, and the Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) for the inaugural SAH | Places Prize Lecture by architectural historian Ginger Nolan. Nolan is the inaugural recipient of the SAH | Places Prize on Race and the Built Environment, a unique collaboration between SAH and Places that supports the production of a major work of public scholarship that considers the history of race and the built environment through a contemporary lens.

Nolan’s talk explores how African American-owned insurance companies negotiated the (often vexed) aims of pursuing financial gain while also trying to create more equitable cities. For most of the twentieth century, these insurance companies controlled more wealth than any other African American enterprise and played an outsize role in shaping cities and suburbs. In efforts to reverse the effects of redlining, disinvestment, and segregation, these companies used housing developments and corporate architecture—including the first and only African American skyscraper—to redress discriminatory forms of urbanism and racial stereotypes. The talk will evaluate the urban and architectural interventions of African American insurance companies, using the companies’ office buildings, housing developments, and mortgage-lending practices to engage debates around Black capitalism and Black Marxism. While recent scholarship has focused on the biopolitical tendencies of the white-owned insurance industry, the history of African American insurance demands a more subtle analytical framework, as these companies’ efforts vacillated between the biofinancial logics of actuarial techniques and, on the other hand, strategies of care and contestation.

Following the talk, architectural historian Charles L. Davis II will moderate a discussion with Nolan. Davis is an associate professor of architectural history and criticism at the University of Texas at Austin and chair of the SAH Race + Architectural History Affiliate Group.

Free registration here. The talk will be held at the Graham Foundation for Advanced Study in the Fine Arts; it will be live-streamed via YouTube and registrants will receive the link in advance.

SAH will host a reception at the Charnley-Persky House, located at 1365 N Astor St, immediately following the event.

This program is presented in partnership with the Chicago Architecture Biennial: CAB 5: This is a Rehearsal.

Ginger Nolan is an assistant professor of architectural history and theory at the University of Southern California. Her research explores relationships between architecture, media technologies, race, and governmentality. She is the author of Savage Mind to Savage Machine: Racial Science and Twentieth-Century Design (2021) and The Neocolonialism of the Global Village (2018), both published by the University of Minnesota Press. She is currently researching race, actuarial thought, and urbanism, focusing on the role of twentieth-century African American insurance companies in shaping cities and suburbs in the United States.

Founded in 1940, the Society of Architectural Historians is an international nonprofit membership organization that promotes the study, interpretation and conservation of architecture, design, landscapes and urbanism worldwide. SAH serves a network of local, national and international institutions and individuals who, by profession or interest, focus on the built environment and its role in shaping contemporary life. SAH promotes meaningful public engagement with the history of the built environment through advocacy efforts, print and online publications, and local, national and international programs.

Founded at MIT and Berkeley in 1983, Places Journal is an independent, nonprofit journal of public scholarship on architecture, landscape, and urbanism. Bridging from the university to the profession to the public, Places features scholars, journalists, designers, and artists who are responding to the profound challenges of our time: environmental health and structural inequity, climate crisis, resource scarcity, human migration, rapid technological innovation, and the erosion of the public sphere.

Founded in 1956, the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts fosters the development and exchange of diverse and challenging ideas about architecture and its role in the arts, culture, and society. The Graham realizes this vision through making project-based grants to individuals and organizations and producing exhibitions, events, and publications.

JOB: Director of Center for African Studies at University of Pittsburgh

The University of Pittsburgh seeks an accomplished and dynamic scholar to serve as director of its Center for African Studies (www.ucis.pitt.edu/africa) beginning August 2024. The mission of CAS is to promote global understanding through support for teaching, learning, and research on Africa. CAS is the most recently established area studies center within the University Center for International Studies (UCIS), which now includes seven area and thematic studies centers, six of which are funded as National Resource Centers by the U.S. Department of Education, including the Center for African Studies. The successful applicant will join the appropriate disciplinary home in one (1) of three (3) schools at the University: the School of Education (Department of Health and Human Development), the School of Computing and Information (Department of Informatics and Networked Systems, Department of Computer Science, and/or Department of Information Culture and Data Stewardship), or the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences (Department of Africana Studies, Department of History, Department of Political Science, and/or Department of History of Art and Architecture).
Candidates must be leading scholars in their field, holding the tenured rank of associate or full professor or their equivalent in academic systems outside the U.S. and Canada. For the initial six years of their appointment, the individual will serve as director of the CAS and receive a corresponding reduction in teaching and service obligations to their department/school. Unless there is a renewal of that appointment, the successful applicant will resume full-time responsibilities in their home department or school thereafter.
Administrative responsibilities include: developing academic programs; supervision of center staff (all centers have dedicated administrative associate directors); overseeing the implementation of all activities of the center; representing the center and UCIS at activities in various communities (locally, domestically, and abroad); development efforts for the center; guiding strategic grant seeking and application; and supporting the efforts of the Vice-Chancellor for Global Affairs (who also serves as the Director of UCIS). Responsibilities are year-round; it is understood, however, that scholarship and other responsibilities will require the candidate to travel and be absent from campus on occasion.
Successful candidates must hold a Ph.D. or relevant terminal degree with substantial research experience in African Studies. Candidates must also have substantial teaching experience and a proven track record of administrative leadership and experience and of managing colleagues in a productive and collaborative manner. They must also have a demonstrated commitment to diversity and inclusion with highly developed skills in building a collaborative culture that values the strength of differing views and experiences.
We strongly prefer candidates whose work intersects with race and the political and social determinants of equity, health, and well-being, as these research issues align with a commitment by the Provost to invest in building expertise across Pitt’s campus. Successful candidates will demonstrate evidence of scholarly activities that address pressing social issues related to anti-Black and systemic racism within historical and global contexts; of research and teaching that center on transmission and translation of African knowledge traditions, experiences, agency, and creativity; or that examine responses to global challenges to health and well-being through an African lens. Given the diversity of potential disciplinary homes for this position, we invite applications for scholars whose experience also aligns with at least one of the following areas:
• The visual and material cultures of the African continent;
• The histories of African (including African Diasporic) societies;
• Gender, sexuality, and family;
• Popular culture;
• Community-based, community- driven approaches to health and human development and/or issues surrounding power, equity, and justice;
• Responsible data science and artificial intelligence;
• Human-computer interaction, learning sciences and technology;
• Computational social science, and/or social media studies.
The University of Pittsburgh is an urban, state-related institution located in an area with a metropolitan population of approximately 2.3 million. The University is comprised of sixteen schools, four regional campuses outside of Pittsburgh, and four University centers (including UCIS) which serve the entire University community.
Applicants should apply here by November 15, 2023. They will be required to upload the following: a comprehensive C.V.; a letter of interest that outlines their teaching, scholarly, and administrative interests and skills; a one-to-two-page diversity statement, discussing how past, planned, or potential contributions or experiences relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion will advance the University of Pittsburgh’s commitment to inclusive excellence; and the names of three references.
The University of Pittsburgh is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer and values equality of opportunity, human dignity and diversity. EEO/AA/M/F/Vets/Disabled
Apply here: cfopitt.taleo.net/caree…w_York

FEL: Andrew W. Mellon Society of Fellows in Critical Bibliography Junior Fellows Program

Rare Book School’s (SoFCB) invites applications for its 2024–26 cohort of Junior Fellows. The deadline is Friday, 17 November 2023.

This scholarly society works to advance the study of texts, images, and artifacts as material objects through capacious, interdisciplinary scholarship—and to enrich humanistic inquiry and education by identifying, mentoring, and training promising early-career scholars. Junior Fellows will be encouraged and supported in integrating the methods of critical bibliography into their teaching and research, fostering collegial conversations about historical and emerging media across disciplines and institutions, and sharing their knowledge with broader publics.

The fellowship includes tuition waivers for two Rare Book School courses, as well as funding for Junior Fellows to participate in the Society’s annual meeting and orientation. Additional funds are available for fellows to organize symposia at their home institutions, and fellows will have the option of attending a bibliographical field school to visit libraries, archives, and collections in a major metropolitan area. After completing two years in good standing as Junior Fellows, program participants will have the option to become Senior Fellows in the Society.

The Society is committed to supporting diversity and to advancing the scholarship of outstanding persons of every race, gender, sexual orientation, creed, and socioeconomic background, and to enhancing the diversity of the professions and academic disciplines it represents, including those of the professoriate, museums, libraries, archives, public humanities, and digital humanities. We warmly encourage prospective applicants from a wide range of disciplines, institutions, and areas of expertise.

For more information and to apply, please visit: rarebookschool.org/admissions-awards/fellowships/sofcb/.
For more information about diversity and the SoFCB, please read the SoFCB Diversity & Outreach Committee’s Welcome Letter.
Inquiries about the SoFCB Junior Fellows Program can be directed to SoFCB Administrative Director Kathryn Higinbotham at sofcb_staff@virginia.edu.

JOB: Asst Prof, African American/African Diaspora/African at University of Pittsburgh

The Department of History of Art and Architecture (HAA) in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh seeks to appoint an Assistant Professor (tenure-stream) of African American, African Diasporic, or African art and/or architecture (chronology open) with a start date of September 1, 2024, pending budgetary approval.

Applicants should submit a cover letter (1-2 pages), current CV, writing sample (15-20 pages), teaching portfolio (12 pages max), as diversity statement (1-2 pages) via Talent Center, as well as 3 confidential letters of recommendation emailed to Chair and Administrative Officer (see job description for details).

For further details about the position, or to apply, please follow this link: cfopitt.taleo.net/careersection/pitt_faculty_external/jobdetail.ftl?job=23007761.