Assistant Professor of Practice in Documentary Expression

Note for Current UM Employees

Current employees must apply internally via connectU > connectu.olemiss.edu

Position Description

The Southern Documentary Project (southdocs.org) is looking for an Assistant Professor of Practice in Documentary Expression with a specific interest in documenting African American experiences. We welcome applications from critical storytellers whose creative work centers on Black American and African Diasporic cultures, histories, and identities through a lens of informed practices and ethics. We encourage makers who honor lived experiences and models of cocreation in their media practice with a demonstrated understanding of the Black media canon. SouthDocs is an institute of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture (southernstudies.olemiss.edu) whose mission is to tell stories from the U.S. South, increase civic and cultural engagement, and train the next generation of storytellers enrolled in the Center’s academic programs. In addition to teaching and mentoring students, this person will actively contribute to the Center’s mission through creating original and collaborative work. This permanent nine-month, non-tenure track academic position includes a 2+2 teaching load with a clear path for advancement and promotion.  

 

About The Center for the Study of Southern Culture
Founded in 1977, the CSSC defines its mission as investigating, documenting, interpreting, and teaching about the U.S. South through academic inquiry and publications, documentary studies of film, photography, and oral history, and public outreach programs. The cross-disciplinary Southern Studies faculty and the undergraduate and graduate degree programs (MA and MFA) are the core of the Center’s work. Its curricula incorporate traditional disciplines of the arts, humanities, and social sciences to form an interdisciplinary framework for studying the South. The Center promotes research on the region’s varied cultures by supporting the work of its faculty, staff, students, alumni, and visiting scholars. For more information: http://southernstudies.olemiss.edu
 

 

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
With this hire, SouthDocs hopes to deepen our commitment to a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace in a way that enhances our faculty and intellectual community. As an institution with a marked history of struggle with racial diversity, the University of Mississippi today realizes its unique obligation to educate and lead the state with an unquestionable and unwavering commitment toward the goal of embracing all aspects of diversity.

Job Responsibilities

● 2+2 teaching load with advising responsibilities
● Work directly with students in the classroom and in the field.
● Create original documentary projects (individually and collaboratively) utilizing photography, audio, oral history, video, or mixed media. See examples of our work at http://southdocs.org/.
● Ensure accountability for and ethical representation of people and places you choose to document.
● Design and present technical and theory-based workshops or classes and provide constructive feedback related to documentary storytelling and related media.
● Engage community partners and build long-term relationships through impact-driven storytelling and programs. See https://southdocs.org/project/movementstartshere/ for one recent SouthDocs example and https://olemiss.edu/projects/sfa/farish-street-project/ for an example of students collaborating with community partners to tell a story.
● Lead and inspire conversations on campus and in the community with your work through exhibitions, panel discussions, film screenings, etc.
 

Position Details

Appointment: 9 Month

Assignment Type: N