ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ASIAN STUDIES
Department of Asian Studies
POSITION SUMMARY
The Asian Studies Department at Occidental College invites applicants from the humanities and the arts for a tenure-track Assistant Professor appointment in modern and contemporary transnational or global Korean cultures. This position begins in Fall 2023 as a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship with a reduced teaching load and will convert into a tenure-track position in the second year. The specific area of specialization and disciplinary focus is open. We are especially interested in candidates who engage with contemporary Korean communities on the peninsula, but also the circulation of Korean culture around the world, including in diasporic communities. Potential areas of interest and/or disciplinary focuses could include cultural studies, popular culture, media studies, visual culture, critical race studies, food culture, and literature in
a transnational context. A successful candidate will join the Asian Studies Department and likely crosslist courses with related departments depending on specialization. Los Angeles is home to the largest Korean community outside of Korea, and Occidental has a significant number of Korean and Korean-American students. We expect that the candidate will engage extensively with these communities.
This search is part of Occidental’s new multi-year Mellon Faculty Diversity Initiative (MFDI), an initiative that aligns with the College’s Equity and Justice Agenda, to intensify our efforts to hire a cluster of Arts and Humanities faculty whose work focuses on race and/or social justice and whose background, expertise, and experiences will contribute to diversifying Occidental’s faculty. The successful candidate will join the second of three MFDI cohorts with a total of nine positions in the Arts and Humanities. As part of the MFDI program, the members of the cohorts will be provided enhanced mentoring, professional development, and a greatly reduced teaching load in their first year. The teaching load during the first year of the postdoctoral fellowship will be 1/1. After the fellowship year, the position will convert to a tenure-track assistant professor position with a teaching load of 2/2 in the second year of the appointment, and a regular teaching load of 3/2 thereafter.
QUALIFICATIONS
Minimum Requirements
• Applicants must hold a PhD by the start of employment
• Discipline is open; but the main research and teaching field must be in Korean studies or transnational Korean
studies, with preference for an arts/humanities perspective
• Demonstrated commitment to and excellence in undergraduate teaching
• A demonstrated promise of scholarly accomplishment
• Experience in working collaboratively with colleagues
• Demonstrated commitment to working effectively with students from a diverse background, including minoritized
and marginalized social groups
• Ability to balance excellent teaching, scholarship, and service
• Demonstrated commitment to the four cornerstones of the mission of the College: excellence, equity, community,
and service
Preferred Requirements
• Experience working collaboratively with local community organizations
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
You must submit a complete application package electronically to be considered. To apply, please send the following required materials (as separate, clearly labeled files) to asianstudiessearch@oxy.edu
A cover letter in which you respond to the required qualifications and describe your research, teaching experience, and interest in teaching at a liberal arts college
• Curriculum Vitae
• Research statement
• Statement on commitment to inclusive excellence
o This statement provides your unique perspective on your past and present contributions to and future aspirations for promoting justice, equity, inclusion, and diversity in your professional career. This should include your demonstrated commitment to, past evidence of, and future plans for creating equitable opportunities for learning and mentoring especially for students from marginalized and minoritized groups. The purpose of this statement is to help the department identify candidates who have professional experience, intellectual commitments, and/or willingness to engage in activities that could help the College advance its mission in these areas.
• A list and brief description of courses you would like to teach at Occidental.
• List three references with contact information
o If you advance to the semi-finalist phase, you will be asked to have each of your three references submit
a letter of recommendation. Please have these ready for the referents to submit should you move forward to this phase of the search. Do not submit these letters with your initial application.
o Semi-finalists will also be asked to submit a sample of scholarly writing and sample syllabi.
Application Deadline
To be assured full consideration, your application materials must be received by October 15, 2022 at 5pm PST at the following email address: asianstudiessearch@oxy.edu
The Department and College
The Asian Studies Department has three majors: Asian Studies, Chinese Studies, and Japanese Studies. With growing student interest and an expanding faculty, we currently have faculty housed in the department as well as advisory and affiliated teaching, with faculty teaching in ten different disciplines on campus. The department is actively seeking to expand its support and mentoring of LGBTQI students and to build stronger connections to the LGBTQI community
within Asian Studies. Occidental is a small, residential, liberal arts college in Los Angeles, alifornia. Occidental faculty are committed teacher-scholars who bring research and creative discovery to life for students in classrooms, labs, studios, and mentored projects. They teach broadly in the curricula of their departments, advise students, carry out research and creative work, and provide departmental, college-wide, and external service.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Occidental is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not unlawfully discriminate against employees or applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, breastfeeding or related medical condition, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, marital status, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic characteristic or information, military and veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law. Occidental is strongly committed to increasing the diversity of the campus community and the curriculum, and to fostering an inclusive, equitable, and just environment within which students, staff, administrators,
and faculty thrive. Candidates who can contribute to this goal through their work are encouraged to identify their strengths and experiences in this area. Individuals advancing the College’s strategic equity and justice goals and those from groups that are underrepresented in the field are particularly encouraged to apply.
Salary is commensurate with experience and qualifications. A comprehensive benefits package is available that includes: excellent health, dental, life, and retirement benefits; tuition benefits for the employee, spouse, domestic partner, and dependents; additional extras including use of gym facilities and the College Library. For a detailed description of benefits, please visit https: //www.oxy.edu/offices-services/humanresources/benefits-information.
All qualified applicants will be considered for employment, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance
Occidental College is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with qualifying disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation because of a disability for any part of the application or employment process, please contact Human Resources (hr@oxy.edu).
As a condition of hire for a staff position and for appointment to a faculty position, Occidental College requires that all candidates who have received a conditional offer of employment complete an application form (if they have not already done so) and consent to a background check. Satisfactory completion of a background check, along with pre-employment verifications and references are required as a condition of employment, but only as permitted by federal, state, and local law, including the City of Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance.