Open Faculty Rank

Primary Purpose of Organizational Unit

UNC-Chapel Hill is the largest public university in a state that holds the second largest American Indian population east of the Mississippi River. Undergraduate courses within the university's American Indian and Indigenous Studies (AIIS) major concentration and minor attract broad and enthusiastic student interest, while several departments offer graduate courses in and have students with focused research on the Indigenous world.

The campus also has a robust set of resources supporting Native people, including the American Indian Center, Carolina Indian Circle, and The First Nations Graduate Circle. Additionally, our campus is home to the renowned Southern Historical Collection, the Center for the Study of the American South, the Research Labs of Archaeology, and the Institute for the Study of the Americas, which is set within an expansive network of global studies centers and institutes.

The College of Arts and Sciences affirms its responsibility to belonging and diversity. Ideal candidates will share in and demonstrate this commitment.

We are especially interested in candidates who actively collaborate with Native peoples and Indigenous communities. As an academic community, we value intellectual diversity and interdisciplinarity. We also recognize the labor (emotional and otherwise) that goes into teaching and mentoring within/among underrepresented communities and are invested in fostering environments where diverse creative and intellectual endeavors are affirmed and can flourish.

Position Summary

The College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is pleased to undertake a cluster hire in American Indian and Indigenous Studies. This initiative is part of the College's commitment to advancing an innovative curriculum and expanding its outstanding and diverse faculty, The cluster will comprise four faculty positions: three tenure track appointments at the assistant professor level and one appointment for a distinguished professor at the full professor rank. Centered in the social sciences and humanities, the positions are located principally across four departments (American Studies, Geography, Religious Studies, and Women's and Gender Studies) that are working collaboratively and closely with the College's leadership to support three critical goals:

• expanding and strengthening leading undergraduate and graduate curricula in American Indian and Indigenous Studies
• substantially increasing our faculty and scholarship devoted to the historical and contemporary experiences of American Indian and Indigenous peoples
• bolstering the College's commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion by focusing specifically on Indigeneity, colonialism, decolonization, and sovereignty

In coordination with the cluster hire, the Dean of the College has convened a Working Group to seriously explore the development of an independent Curriculum in American Indian and Indigenous Studies. We invite applications from dynamic and outstanding scholars who will offer substantive research and teaching expertise in this field. Selected candidates will have the opportunity to contribute their voices to our ongoing process of reimagining scholarly, curricular and community engagement around Native North America and global Indigeneity in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Faculty joining this cluster will be hired in a home department and have teaching obligations for the AIIS curriculum. As a cluster cohort, they will receive support for their development as a scholarly community.

They will also interface closely with a new Working Group on American Indian and Indigenous Studies, which is in the process of authoring a long-term vision for the field. Faculty in the cluster will also meet regularly with the Senior Associate Dean for diversity, equity and inclusion, who will provide resources for professional growth and mentoring.

The University of North Carolina has a dynamic and growing Office of Diversity and Inclusion and welcomes all to apply including women, black, indigenous, and other people of color, veterans, LGBTIQA+, individuals with disabilities, and members of other groups.

Minimum Education and Experience Requirements

PhD in a related humanities, social science, or environmental field, with an emphasis in Native American/Indigenous Studies, is required.

Preferred Qualifications, Competencies, and Experience

For these positions, we are especially interested in candidates who have a record of scholarly excellence in the studies of indigeneity or American Indian experiences. We also seek candidates who actively collaborate with Native peoples and Indigenous communities.

Special Physical/Mental Requirements

N/A

Campus Security Authority Responsibilities

Not Applicable.

Special Instructions

Please use the applicable link to apply directly to one of the four open positions. Please be advised that posting close dates may vary.

Department of American Studies: Distinguished Professor of the U.S. Southern Native Studies, https://unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/242695

Department of Geography: Assistant Professor of Native American and/or Indigenous Geographies, https://unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/242693

Department of Religious Studies: Assistant Professor of Indigenous Religions in the Americas, https://unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/241923

Department of Women and Gender Studies: Assistant Professor of American Indian and Indigenous studies (AIIS), with a preference for specialization in Transgender Studies, https://unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/241905

Quick Link https://unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/243468