Assistant Professor in American Studies

INTRODUCTION

The Department of Social and Critical Inquiry (SCI) at the University of Connecticut (Storrs) invites applications for a full-time tenure track Assistant Professor position in American Studies, starting in August 2025. We seek a candidate with a PhD in American Studies or a closely related field to teach existing classes as well as develop new ones in our program in American Studies.

The Department of Social and Critical Inquiry (SCI) is an interdisciplinary unit formed in July 2024 through collaborative efforts of faculty across its four areas: American Studies; Asian and Asian American Studies; Native American and Indigenous Studies; and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, which includes a focus on Disability Studies. SCI was founded to support interdisciplinary faculty research, student-centered teaching, and community partnerships that advance anti-racism, decolonization, and liberatory futures for all. We seek scholars whose work strives to dismantle imperialist and oppressive structures, while also creating reparative alternatives that forward justice and transformation. Through these efforts, we aim to position UConn as a leader in shaping a global society rooted in human dignity, community resilience, and environmental renewal. This hire complements the SCI Department’s concurrent search for a senior position in Native American and Indigenous Studies.

For this position we are particularly interested in scholars who pursue work within a range of emphases in American Studies, including transnational American Studies, US Empire, class, racial capitalism, migration, or diaspora, health, history of science, law, gender or sexuality, visual culture, memorialization, digital culture, race and ethnicity, or related fields. We welcome scholars with the potential to cross disciplinary boundaries and contribute to the research and/or pedagogical mission of at least one of our other areas within the Department of Social and Critical Inquiry.

Founded in 1881, UConn is a Land Grant and Sea Grant institution and member of the Space Grant Consortium. It is the state’s flagship institution of higher education and includes a main campus in Storrs, CT, four regional campuses throughout the state, and 13 Schools and Colleges, including a Law School in Hartford, and Medical and Dental Schools at the UConn Health campus in Farmington. The University has approximately 10,000 faculty and staff and 32,000 students, including nearly 24,000 undergraduates and over 8,000 graduate and professional students. UConn is a Carnegie Foundation R1 (highest research activity) institution, among the top 25 public universities in the nation. Through research, teaching, service, and outreach, UConn embraces diversity and cultivates leadership, integrity, and engaged citizenship in its students, faculty, staff, and alumni. UConn promotes the health and well-being of citizens by enhancing the social, economic, cultural, and natural environments of the state and beyond. The University serves as a beacon of academic and research excellence as well as a center for innovation and social service to communities. UConn is a leader in many scholarly, research, and innovation areas. Today, the path forward includes exciting opportunities and notable challenges. Record numbers of undergraduate applications and support for student success have enabled the University to become extraordinarily selective. 

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• PhD (or equivalent) in American Studies or a closely related field.
• Interdisciplinary Scholarship.
• Potential for advanced research (as demonstrated by publications, conferences, etc.).
• Potential for excellence in teaching or evidence of excellence in teaching.
• The ability to contribute to the diversity and excellence of the Department through research, teaching, and/or public engagement.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Training in American Studies (certificate, course work in American Studies or in a closely related interdisciplinary program, etc.).
• Expertise in transnational American Studies, US Empire, class, racial capitalism, migration, or diaspora, health, history of science, law, gender or sexuality, visual culture, memorialization, digital culture, race and ethnicity, or related fields.
• Ability to cross disciplinary boundaries and contribute to the research and/or pedagogical mission of at least one other area in SCI: NAIS (Native American and Indigenous Studies), WGSS (Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies), and AAASI (Asian and Asian American Studies).
• Experience with or potential for public-facing humanistic research, especially with community collaborative or community outreach partners.

APPOINTMENT TERMS 

This is a full-time, 9-month,