Assistant Professor of Art History, Before 1750 (Position Number: 00053519)
The Department of Art History, Meadows School of the Arts at SMU, invites
applications for an endowed faculty chair specializing in cultural production and the built
environment with any geographic and historical focus before the mid-eighteenth century.
While an appointment at the rank of assistant professor tenure track is anticipated,
extraordinary candidates at the associate level will be considered.
The successful candidate will demonstrate a commitment to interdisciplinarity, strong
visual analytic skills, theoretical fluency, and research interests that do not duplicate but
complement current faculty strengths in the Americas and Western Europe, including
north Africa, west or south Asia, northern Europe (but not excluding other areas).
Possible research interests might include issues of material exchange across cultures;
visual aspects of political diplomacy or subversion and of religious conviction,
conversion or apostasy; technologies of personal or communal identities; interwoven
histories of exploration, collecting, and surveillance; concerns raised by patronage;
formal languages of artistic world-making; sacred/political landscapes. We encourage
candidates whose teaching would engage the resources and programs of area cultural
institutions, including SMU’s Meadows Museum, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the
Kimbell Museum.
Minimum Qualifications: ABD, with completed degree expected no later than spring
2015; demonstrated potential in teaching and scholarship; expertise to teach courses for
undergraduate majors and non-majors and graduate students in the candidate’s area of
specialization.
Preferred Qualifications: completed PhD strongly preferred; preference will be given to those scholars with demonstrated excellence in teaching and publications, as appropriate
to their experience.
The successful candidate will participate actively in shaping the future of research,
curriculum, and pedagogy in SMU Art History’s vibrant interdisciplinary degree
program, RASC/a: Rhetorics of Art Space and Culture. The candidate will develop
courses for undergraduate and graduate students, from general surveys to focused
research seminars; mentor students at all levels; supervise MA theses and PhD
dissertations; and contribute to the overall vitality of the university through engagement
with interdisciplinary programs within the Meadows School of the Arts and across
campus.
Faculty in the Department of Art History receive leaves, as well as research and travel
support. In general the teaching load is 2/2.
Proposed starting date: August 2014.
Application:
Applicants should submit a detailed letter of application, CV, samples of publications or
dissertation chapters, and evidence of teaching experience. Please request three letters of
recommendation be sent directly to: Pamela Patton, Chair of Division of Art History,
Southern Methodist University, Meadows School of the Arts, PO Box 750356, Dallas,
TX 75275-0356. Inquiries may be directed to Rosa Reifsnyder (rreifsnyder@smu.edu) or
214.768.1222.
We encourage digital applications: E-mailed files should be saved to smallest size. To
retain font and formatting integrity, save documents in .pdf format. Letters of
recommendation may be scanned and sent as .jpg files. All digital material must be fully
functioning on both PC and Mac platforms. Send digital applications to Rosa Reifsnyder
at rreifsnyde@smu.edu
To ensure full consideration for the position, the application must be postmarked by
January 4, 2014, but the committee will continue to accept applications until the
position is filled. The committee will notify applicants of its employment decisions after
the position is filled.
SMU:
SMU is a private university of 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students, located in
north Dallas. Established in 1911, SMU offers an intellectually diverse, nondenominational
campus environment dedicated to the University’s founding principles of
education in the liberal arts.
SMU will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex,
age, disability, genetic information, or veteran status. SMU’s commitment to equal
opportunity includes nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender
identity and expression. Hiring is contingent upon the successful completion of a
background check.
