JOB: Francophone Postdoc, Bridge to the Faculty – University of Illinois at Chicago

Title: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Bridge to the Faculty – Francophone Literature and Culture (Job ID #125392)

Department: LAS/French & Francophone Studies

Category: Postdoc Res Assoc

Location: Chicago

Close Date: 12/15/2019

Description: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Bridge to the Faculty – Francophone Literature and Culture

The Department of French and Francophone Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) invites applications for a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the field of Francophone Studies, with a specialization in the literatures and cultures of North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa or the Caribbean, as part of UIC’s Bridge to the Faculty program. This new postdoctoral program is designed to recruit scholars with the goal of transitioning them to faculty members after two years. Successful post-docs will have the opportunity to transition to faculty starting in the 2022-2023 academic year. This recruitment initiative aims to attract and retain promising scholars to UIC as well as diversify our faculty. Postdocs will participate in a mentoring experience, with the opportunity to meet other postdocs and faculty through the Diverse Faculty Learning Community (Office of Diversity and the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs). The Bridge to the Faculty Program is funded by the Chancellor’s Office and administered through the Office of the Provost.

The Department of French and Francophone Studies is comprised of an interdisciplinary group of scholars dedicated to working in a wide range of fields, including literary studies, theater and performance studies, poetics, religious studies, law and literature, and film studies. Faculty members have exceptional research and teaching opportunities as a result of collaborations and affiliations with other units in the College, UIC’s Institute for the Humanities, and the many cultural institutions in Chicago, a vibrant global city with numerous French-speaking diaspora populations. The Department serves a diverse student body and offers two bachelor’s degrees (in French and in the Teaching of French) and a master’s degree in French and Francophone literature and culture.

Duties: Teaching one course per academic year, advising MA students, and pursuing an active research agenda.

Qualifications: Candidate must have a native or near-native command of French. Demonstrable commitment to both teaching and scholarship is required. Candidate must have received a PhD in an appropriate field no earlier than 2016. ABD may be considered. Candidate must have (no exceptions) a PhD in hand by the start date of the position - August 16, 2020.

Applicants must submit the following materials:

A cover letter addressing the applicant’s qualifications and interest in the Postdoctoral position, the French department, and UIC. The University of Illinois is committed to building a culturally diverse educational environment. Applicants are requested to include in their cover letter information about how they will further this goal.
A full curriculum vitae.
A writing sample in French or in English of a standard article length (no more than 30 pages).
Names and full contact information of three references within the faculty application form, at least one of which should be able to speak to the applicant’s teaching experience and qualifications.

For fullest consideration, candidates are strongly encouraged to submit their full applications by December 15, 2019 at which time review will begin.

For questions on the applicant system, please contact Priya D’Souza at pdsouza@uic.edu. For additional information about the position, please contact the Chair of the Committee, Yann Robert, at yrobert@uic.edu.

UIC is a Carnegie Research Extensive University (Research I), is the largest institution of higher education in the Chicago area, is in the top 50 U.S. universities in federal research funding, and is among the top 200 universities in the world. It is a comprehensive public university with a diverse student body of more than 31,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. UIC is federally recognized as a Minority Serving Institution (MSI) through its status as an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI) and a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), fully funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

UIC is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer, dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse pluralistic faculty and staff committed to teaching in a multicultural environment. We strongly encourage applications from women, minorities, individuals with disabilities and covered veterans.

The University of Illinois may conduct background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer. Background checks will be performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.