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Assistant Professor in Modern Literary and Media Cultures of Japan in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies

Position overview

Position title: Assistant Professor
Salary range: A reasonable estimate for this position is a range of $82,200 - $111,800. Applicants that currently hold a senate faculty position at another UC campus should be aware of the policies governing intercampus faculty hiring & transfers. These policies can be found at UCOP APM 510-18.
Percent time: 100%
Anticipated start: July 1, 2025 or later

Application Window

Open date: October 21, 2024

Next review date: Friday, Nov 22, 2024 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Monday, Jun 30, 2025 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

Position description

We seek a scholar trained in Japanese literature from the late nineteenth century to the present whose research and teaching address the contemporary transmedial context of literature as well as the global reach of Japanese literature, media, and popular culture. Applicants should focus on the modern and contemporary periods, but should be able to speak to the historical depth that informs the contemporary world. We would be interested in a focus on cultures of creativity, material culture, and/or formal aspects of verbal and textual production, especially as they moved from primarily book/paper-based formats to film and radio, television and anime, and more recently to the internet and social media production spaces. We are particularly interested in scholars who engage with questions of racial and social justice—for example, work by or about ethnic Koreans in Japan and within the Japanese empire, bilingual works as expressive of immigrant experience, or narratives of Japanese biracial experiences—and who employ digital methodologies in ways that open new questions for literary studies. We are also interested in candidates whose work can complement existing strengths in the department and in the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts more broadly, especially translation and border crossing, critical bibliography, media studies, and/or gender and sexuality studies.

The successful candidate will be asked to teach courses in English on modern and contemporary Japanese literature and media, including their cultural and social impacts in Japan and across the globe; survey courses on nineteenth through twenty-first century Japanese literature; and advanced language classes in Japanese focused on readings related to their research interests.

The department is especially interested in candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the academic community through research, teaching, and service.

Qualifications

Basic qualifications (required at time of application)

The minimum requirement to be considered for this position is the completion of all requirements for a Ph.D. except the dissertation at time of application. The Ph.D. may be in any field in the humanities with research specialization in Japanese literature.

Additional qualifications (required at time of start)

Ph.D. at the time of appointment.

Application Requirements

Document requirements
  • Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.

  • Cover Letter

  • Statement of Contributions to Diversity - Statement addressing past and/or potential contributions to diversity through research, teaching, and/or service.

  • Writing Sample - 15-25 Pages

Reference requirements
  • 3 letters of reference required

Please arrange to have three letters of recommendation submitted via UC Recruit.

Apply link: https://recruit.ap.ucsb.edu/JPF02851

Help contact: rebeca_adam@ucsb.edu

About UC Santa Barbara

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age or protected veteran status. For the University of California’s Affirmative Action Policy please visit: https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4010393/PPSM-20. For the University of California’s Anti-Discrimination Policy, please visit: https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/1001004/Anti-Discrimination.

As a condition of employment, you will be required to comply with the University of California Policy on Vaccination Programs, as may be amended or revised from time to time. Federal, state, or local public health directives may impose additional requirements.

Job location

Santa Barbara, CA