Assistant Professor South Asian or Middle Eastern History

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Position Description
The Department of History in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Calgary invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position (Teaching and Research) in the history of South Asia or the Middle East. Preference will be given to scholars of the early modern and modern periods. Research must demonstrate thoughtful engagement with decoloniality. The anticipated start date is July 1, 2025.

The successful candidate must:
• have a PhD in History or an appropriate, closely related discipline, conferred before 1 July 2025.
• demonstrate a record of research excellence in either South Asian or Middle Eastern History commensurate with their stage of career development.
• possess non-European language skills relevant to the applicant’s research field and have used them extensively in their research to date.
• demonstrate expertise in decolonial approaches to South Asian or Middle Eastern history.

Description of Position
Research Expectations: The successful candidate will be expected to secure external research funding and to disseminate research results through various channels (e.g., publication of monographs, articles in scholarly journals, chapters in essay collections, scholarly international conference presentations, participation in public forums, etc.). We place value on fostering relations with relevant partners (e.g., government, Indigenous groups, academic institutions, etc.).

The candidate is also expected to contribute to the University of Calgary’s Ahead of Tomorrow (https://www.ucalgary.ca/about/ahead-of-tomorrow) strategic plan to promote transdisciplinary scholarship (https://research.ucalgary.ca/research/transdisciplinary) and innovation and UCalgary’s nascent Pluralism Initiative (https://www.ucalgary.ca/pluralism/home), intended to foster respect for diversity and diverse ways of knowing.

Teaching Expectations: The successful candidate will play an important role both in teaching and in research supervision of undergraduate and graduate students for the Department of History in accordance with their expertise and our current teaching needs. They will be expected to teach at least one global history course per year as well as courses in their regional field of specialization, and to remain current in post-secondary teaching practice.

Service Expectations: the candidate should provide evidence of collegiality within their organization as well as commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). They will be expected to fully engage in departmental and university service at UCalgary and work effectively with people from diverse communities and cultures.

Description of Work Environment
Successful applicant will become a faculty member in the Department of History. The Faculty of Arts and Department of History are committed to supporting interdisciplinary research and teaching and we offer and support opportunities to improve your research and teaching practice by working with people in other disciplines. The Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning (https://taylorinstitute.ucalgary.ca/) also offers professional development and additional resources for those who are developing new ways to teach.

The Faculty of Arts is dedicated to a workplace culture of respect and inclusion where all department members can participate and collaborate to their full potential. The University of Calgary’s comprehensive benefits and pension program is designed to promote a productive level of health and well-being to staff members through coverage for health, dental, life insurance, income protection for disability, and retirement income planning. To learn about our comprehensive benefits package, please visit http://www.ucalgary.ca/hr/academic_benefits_pension.

How to Apply
Qualified individuals are requested to submit an application online via the ‘Apply Now’ link. Please be aware that the application process allows for only four attachments. Your application attachments should be organized to contain the following (which may require you to merge documents):
• Cover letter (up to 3 pages).
• Curriculum vitae (up to 3 pages).
• Names of and contact information for three referees, accompanied by a written, signed statement by the applicant to the Chair of the Selection Committee giving permission to contact these referees for letters (referees will be contacted only if an applicant advances beyond the initial screening stage).
• Digitized writing sample (up to 75 pages) in published or manuscript form on South Asian or Middle Eastern history that illustrates use of non-European language sources and decolonial approach.
• Statement of Teaching Philosophy (up to 2 pages).

All applications must be received by January 31st. The Academic Selection Committee will then identify applicants to invite to online interviews with further selection for on-site interviews to follow. Questions may be directed to the chair of the Selection Committee, Dr. Jewel Spangler, at [email protected].

Application Deadline: January 31, 2025

Applicants are encouraged to apply online via this link: https://careers.ucalgary.ca/jobs/15384427-assistant-professor-history

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority. In this connection, at the time of your application, please answer the following question: Are you a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada? (Yes/No) Citizenship documents will be required before hiring can take place. Academics who have already advanced beyond assistant-professor rank are not eligible for this position.

The University recognizes that candidates have varying career paths and that career interruptions can be part of an excellent academic record. Candidates are encouraged, but not required, to provide any relevant information about their experience and/or career interruptions in their cover letter to allow for a fair assessment of their application. The selection committee is instructed to be sensitive to the impact of career interruptions when assessing candidates academic careers.

UCalgary adheres to the principles of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) and strives to evaluate research impact responsibly and inclusively by explicitly considering discipline-appropriate methods for demonstrating the quality, significance, and societal impact of a broad range of research contributions.

The University of Calgary has launched an institution-wide Indigenous Strategy committing to creating a rich, vibrant, and culturally competent campus that welcomes and supports Indigenous Peoples, encourages Indigenous community partnerships, and is inclusive of Indigenous perspectives in all that we do.

As an equitable and inclusive employer, the University of Calgary recognizes that a diverse staff/faculty benefits and enriches the work, learning and research experiences of the entire campus and greater community. We strive to recruit individuals who will further enhance our diversity and will support their academic and professional success while they are here. In particular, we encourage members of the designated groups (women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, members of visible/racialized minorities, and diverse sexual orientation and gender identities) to apply. To ensure a fair and equitable assessment, we offer accommodation at any stage during the recruitment process to applicants with disabilities. Questions regarding EDIA at UCalgary can be sent to the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion ([email protected]) and requests for accommodations can be sent to Human Resources ([email protected]).

For a listing of all academic opportunities at the University of Calgary, view our Academic Careers website. For more information about the Faculty of Arts, click here.

About the Department and University
The Department of History, currently comprised of 23 full-time faculty members, sets a high standard for research output and success in attracting external funding. With established depth in Europe and North America, and additional strength in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and East Asia, the department is currently seeking to build in new areas to serve the inhabitants of our increasingly diverse city. Our commitment to teaching excellence and student-centred learning has helped us double our undergraduate enrolments in the last ten years while our MA and PhD programs have remained stable. UCalgary is a U15 university (comparable to Tier 1 in the U.S.) that is one of the highest-ranked schools of its age. Founded in 1966, its 36,000 students experience an innovative learning environment enriched by the original research of its faculty. It is Canada’s leader in the creation of start-ups. Start something today at the University of Calgary. For more information, visit ucalgary.ca.

About Calgary, Alberta, Canada
For several years running Calgary has been named one of the world’s most livable cities by the Economist Group. With a growing population of more than 1.3 million people, Calgary is going through a period of economic diversification and remains one of the most youthful major cities in Canada. Calgarians benefit from a thriving culinary and cultural scene, world-class entertainment, numerous parks and recreational facilities, and the most extensive urban pathway and bikeway network in North America. Situated on the edge of the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, the city is less than a 90 minute drive from Banff National Park and averages 333 days of sunshine per year.

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