Assistant Professor of Philosophy (EXPIRED)

The George Mason University Department of Philosophy invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track Assistant Professor position with a research and teaching specialty in moral psychology. We are particularly interested in hiring someone whose work includes some focus on how moral psychology intersects with empirical research and practice (e.g., in conflict resolution, economics, psychology, or sociology). We would welcome new graduate or undergraduate courses that allow students to use a philosophical approach to interrogate issues of moral reasoning, responsibility and action. Teaching competence in one or more of the following is desirable: Epistemology, Metaphysics, or Philosophy of Mind. Teaching Load: 2:2. The appointment will begin in August 2020.

George Mason University has a strong institutional commitment to the achievement of excellence and diversity among its faculty and staff, and strongly encourages candidates to apply who will enrich Mason’s academic and culturally inclusive environment.

Information about the University and Department:

George Mason University is located in the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, and is the largest public university in the state of Virginia, with a diverse student body. The Philosophy Department at Mason is committed to teaching and research in both analytic and continental traditions, as well as in ethics and the history of philosophy, and collaborates with many other departments and units including African and African American Studies, Cultural Studies, Economics, Global Affairs, Women & Gender Studies, and the Schar School of Policy and Government as well as the Center for Climate Change Communication and the Institute for a Sustainable Earth. The Department is home to the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy (IPPP), which works on pressing issues in public policy including climate change, environmental sustainability, security, international criminal law, and bioethics and emerging technologies.

Responsibilities:

The successful candidate will:

• Sustain an active program of scholarly research in their area of expertise, produce peer-reviewed publications, engage in multidisciplinary collaborations, and participate in professional organizations and societies.
• Complement existing departmental expertise in ethics and faculty specialisms across the University in such areas as: social, emotional and cognitive development; moral emotions; shame, trauma and guilt; genocide studies and mass atrocity prevention; climate change communication; ethics and leadership; behavioral economics; decision theory; or public choice theory.
• Contribute to interdisciplinary research and teaching collaborations within the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, for example with Economics, Psychology or Sociology, or with other areas of the University such as the School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution, Schar School of Policy and Government, and College of Health and Human Services.
• Teach courses in the Philosophy BA and MA programs and develop new courses that will expand the Department’s offerings – particularly in the BA concentration in Philosophy, Politics and Economics and the MA concentration in Ethics and Public Affairs – and serve students in related disciplines.
• Mentor graduate and undergraduate research projects that allow students to bring the philosophical analysis of moral reasoning and ethical decision-making to bear on social or political issues or empirical case studies in such areas as conflict analysis, economics, psychology, or sociology.
• Advise students and contribute to the Department’s commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive academic community.
  
  

Required Qualifications:

• Ph.D. in Philosophy with evidence of completion by August 2020.
• Area of specialization: moral psychology
• Demonstrable potential for excellence in scholarship, and in graduate and undergraduate teaching.
  
  

Preferred Qualifications:

• Some focus on how moral psychology intersects with empirical research and practice (e.g. in conflict resolution, economics, psychology, or sociology).
• Area of teaching competence in one or more of the following: Epistemology, Metaphysics, or Philosophy of Mind.
• An interest in public philosophy that reaches beyond the classroom to the wider community.