Lecturer or Senior Lecturer in the Art History of Africa / SOAS University of London – Department of the History of Art & Archaeology — LIMITE : 13/10/2019

Salary Range Lecturer: £45,026 – £53,052 per annum inclusive of London Allowance

 

Salary Range Senior Lecturer: £54,534 – £62,635 per annum inclusive of London Allowance

 

 

Full time (35 hours per week – 1.0 FTE)

 

 

Department of the History of Art & Archaeology, School of Arts

 

Vacancy Reference: 001744

 

 

The School of Arts seeks to appoint a Lecturer (or Senior Lecturer) in the Art History of Africa in the Department of the History of Art & Archaeology, starting in around August 2020. The appointee will carry out research and provide teaching and supervision in the contemporary, modern and/or pre-modern arts and visual cultures of one or more regions of sub-Saharan Africa. As an expected growth area, West Africa is a region of particular interest to the Department. The art-historical specialism could include modes and practices such as painting, calligraphy, photography and video art, masquerade, textiles, curating and/or cultural industries. The appointee’s expertise should complement related existing specialisms in the Department of the History of Art & Archaeology, and in other areas of the School of Arts, e.g., cultural industries, film and screen studies and music. The School of Arts especially wishes to attract suitably qualified applicants from Africa and from African diaspora backgrounds: it is our ambition to find ways to redress the continuing low proportion of BME scholars in UK academia.

 

 

 

 

Broad area and skills: The post-holder must be able to contribute to disciplinary and specialist teaching in the History of Art & Archaeology and to broad arts-based teaching on BA programmes in the School of Arts, especially within BA Creative Arts. S/he will be able to teach or co-teach survey modules and to supervise BA and MA dissertations in the arts of sub-Saharan Africa and diaspora cultures. An ability to teach art theory relevant to art history, the creative arts and/or cultural industries and to foster and develop practice-based learning and teaching is highly desirable.

 

 

Essential: specialist knowledge demonstrated by a PhD in a relevant field; and evidence of a growing international professional network which would contribute to Knowledge Exchange, public (or non-academic) engagement, the development of strategic partnerships and student recruitment from Africa. A track record of participation in professional scholarly meetings and conferences, and advocacy, is essential as well as a high degree of potential to shape and influence the field, to contribute to SOAS’s mission through research, impact and engagement and to enhance the reputation and standing of the Dept, School and university.

 

 

Desirable: At least two high-quality research publications since 2014 (in any appropriate form, including but not limited to published written work, digital outputs, exhibitions or films), which could be considered for evaluation in the national research assessment due to occur in the UK in 2020-21. Teaching experience, with evidence of high quality is also desirable, as is an appropriate teaching qualification. Art curating or equivalent cultural industries experience is also desirable.

 

 

Interpersonal and professional skills: The appointee will be highly motivated and provide evidence of skills including: excellent written and oral communications skills in teaching and in professional working relationships; excellent organisational skills and an ability to prioritise against competing deadlines; and a proven ability to work as part of a dynamic and high-functioning team. S/he will demonstrate a high potential to contribute to the management of programmes and the curriculum and to the development of innovative pedagogies; as well as the ability to promote SOAS values, including equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), and SOAS’s decolonising agenda.

 

 

 

 

For an informal discussion regarding the role, please contact the Head of the School of Arts, Professor Shane McCausland, sm80@soas.ac.uk.

 

 

 

As an employer of choice SOAS offers an extensive benefits package including:

• 30 days holiday plus bank holidays and additional School closure days (pro rata for part time staff)

• Pension scheme with generous employer contribution

• Various loan schemes including season ticket and IT equipment

• Cycle to Work Scheme

• Enhanced Maternity, Paternity and Adoption Pay provisions, childcare voucher scheme, financial support for childcare

 

 

 

The Department is unique in its coverage of the arts, archaeology, architecture and material culture of Asia, Africa and the Middle East from ancient times to the present day. No other university in the world offers such a range of teaching or such a concentration of research specialists in these areas. The Department is renowned as an alternative voice to Eurocentric art history, challenging the categories often taken for granted in the study of other cultures. Conventional distinctions between archaeology and art history, or historical past and present, often dissolve, and the Department is at the forefront in encouraging new approaches attentive to local specificities. As part of the School of Arts the Department fosters cross-disciplinary enquiry to explore parallels between artistic and musical aesthetics or the translatability of theoretical approaches developed in media studies.

 

 

 

 

If you are interested in applying for this vacancy, please complete the short online application form and include your CV and supporting statement, outlining your skills and experience in relation to the person specification. Further information can be found in the Job Description and Person Specification, along with a full list of duties and responsibilities.

 

 

 

 

If you have any questions or require any assistance with regard to the application process, please contact hr-recruitment@soas.ac.uk.