By Ryan Carroll
The Department of English & Comparative Literature at UNC-Chapel Hill invites applications for a tenure-track assistant or associate professor to teach a 2/2 teaching load in Latinx Studies with an emphasis on Latinx literature and related forms of cultural production.
The department is seeking a candidate with strong scholarly potential and achievement whose research and pedagogy are focused on one or more of the following areas: Afro-Latinx literary and cultural production (including intermedia forms) with consideration of the African Diaspora and legacies of enslavement in the Americas; Latinx environmentalisms and environmental justice from various intersectional perspectives; medical humanities (with an emphasis on public health issues); and Latinx educational experiences within and beyond U.S. educational systems.
A potential candidate will develop and teach courses in several of the above areas and must demonstrate a commitment to expanding the offerings and reach of The UNC Latina/o Studies Program. The courses of The UNC Latina/o Studies Program (including an Introduction to Latinx Studies) are primarily geared to the needs of the undergraduate Minor (LTNO) in Latina/o Studies with a growing student enrollment. The successful candidate will also serve the needs of graduate students by teaching a graduate course in Latinx Studies every two years.
Since the 1980s, there has been a rapid growth of Latinx populations in the Southeast from other parts of the United States (i.e. California), Mexico, Central America, as well as places in South America like Colombia and Ecuador. In fact, since 2008, the Southeast of the United States has had the greatest increase in Latinx populations above all other regions of the country. The UNC Latina/o Studies Program at UNC-Chapel Hill was developed to acknowledge and respond to these changing demographics in the region and in NC especially. Statewide, at the present time, approximately 10% of North Carolina’s population is Latinx. Inaugurated on September 20, 2004, the Latina/o Studies Program (LSP) at UNC-Chapel Hill is the first program of its kind in the Southeast. While transdisciplinary and drawing on multiple departments, it is housed within The Department of English and Comparative Literature from where it originated.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is the flagship institution of a strong state university system comprising 17 campuses across North Carolina; neighboring institutions within 25 miles include Duke University, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina State University, and Meredith College. Chapel Hill is a vibrant college town near the Research Triangle economic hub and 20 minutes from Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
The anticipated start date for this position is July 1, 2022. This position entails an annual salary range depending on rank.
