Michigan State University

Post-Doc and/or Post-MFA African American & African Studies (AAAS)

The Post-Doc and/or Post-MFA two-year appointment in African American & African Studies (AAAS) will build and expand on the department’s specializations in Black Feminisms, Black Gender Studies, and Black Sexuality Studies via an integrated interdisciplinary approach to research and/or creative activities, teaching, service, and community engagement through artist-scholarship. AAAS faculty walk the talk of an integrated interdisciplinary approach to their scholarship as evidenced by the range of formal disciplinary trainings across existing faculty and the even wider range of approaches used to impact and innovate specialized academic conversations, inform, and shift public thought and opinion, and create wholly new communities from which to create and share knowledge. Such work requires disrupting traditional criteria of scholarly excellence so that discrete boundaries between research, creative work, teaching, and engagement become moot; in favor of educational productions experiences-performances that integrate the whole of Black life and living. Likewise, the concept of artist-scholarship is indicated as “postdoctoral and/or post-MFA” to acknowledge art-making and creativity as foundational to Black Studies, whereas faculty in AAAS are not made to choose one form over another for the sake of institutional legibility. We understand the invaluableness of being whole and making whole, defined for the purpose of this position & AAAS as being of weight and wellness (Bambara, 1980), found in ceremony and our capacious “yet-to come notions of connectedness and relationality” (King 2019, 203) characteristic of Black Studies. Artist-scholars are mindful to resist hegemonic cultures of conformity and surveillance that produce cartographic binaries and hierarchies of value that mobilize knowledge to further perpetuate inequality and marginalization (Alexander & Mohanty 2010). An integrated interdisciplinary approach to research and/or creative activities, teaching, service, and community engagement through artist-scholarship is one way our scholarly interests in AAAS are distinct and contribute to the transformation we want to see in forthcoming COVID-19 endemic higher education.

The Post-Doc and/or Post-MFA in AAAS is at MSU is a part of College of Arts & Letters’ intentional commitment to amplifying the intellectual leadership of BIPOC artists, writers, and scholars of the global majority. The goal of the program is to create a cohort of early career scholars who will contribute to and benefit from a diverse, vibrant, and inclusive intellectual community in the College. In the College of Arts & Letters, the postdoctoral/post-MFA fellows program offers full-time Research Associate positions who will pursue research and/or creative activities, teach a 1-1 course load, and engage in the intellectual life of the department.

Qualifications:

Minimum Qualifications:

All applicants should have the following: 

Ph.D., M.F.A., or D.F.A. Granted during or after 2018/2019. 

Desired Qualifications:

Candidates must demonstrate commitment to and alignment with department vision and values. As a department that is newly building, we have found transformative justice and leadership development processes critical to creating new departmental policies, procedures, etc. We actively engage and practice dreaming and wellness, individually and together, as a department. Candidates must welcome and be ready to engage these change efforts with openness and care:

• Research and/or creative work centered in Black Feminisms, Genders, and Sexualities Studies that is public facing & connected to community.
• Interest in AAAS new build collaboration. 
• Doctorate or MFA in a field related to Black Studies. 
• Interdisciplinary and integrated research, creative work, teaching, and public engagement practices that are leading-edge in the doing of Black Studies.

Required Application Materials:

Qualified applicants should submit

• A letter expressing interest in the position and describing qualifications and experience 
• A current curriculum vitae 
• A writing sample taken from current or past research, or that engages the public in knowledge sharing
• A 1-page summary of the candidate’s philosophy of diversity, equity, and inclusion as it pertains their intellectual leadership in the areas of teaching/curriculum development, research/creative activities, service, outreach, advising, and/or administration. The statement should also include an explanation of related past or planned activities/endeavors as well as how the candidate will advance our goals of inclusive excellence.
• The names of three references and their contact information. 

Please note: three letters of reference will be requested at the time candidates advance to the second round of interviews and will be asked only of those candidates. 

Special Instructions:

Review of applications will begin Tuesday, February 7^th, 2023 and will continue until the position is filled. Applications must be submitted electronically to the Michigan State University Human Resources website http://careers.msu.edu Posting number 835897. 

For more information, contact Chamara Jewel Kwakye, Chair of the Search Committee at chamara@msu.edu. Additional members of the search committee include, Ruth Nicole Brown (Department Chair of AAAS), Gianina K.L. Strother (AAAS faculty member, and Ben Van Dyke (Department of Art, Art History, & Design faculty member).

Persons with disabilities have the right to request and receive reasonable accommodation.

Website https://aaas.msu.edu/

CAL Diversity Statement

The College of Arts & Letters recognizes that only an academic and organizational culture, which actively seeks out and strengthens diverse voices and perspectives among its members results in true excellence. We are an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. The College of Arts & Letters is particularly interested in candidates of all backgrounds who are committed to the principle that intellectual leadership is achieved through open access and pro-active inclusion.