Assistant or Associate Professor, Philosophy, Department of History, Philosophy, and Social Sciences

The Department of History, Philosophy, and Social Sciences in the Division of Liberal Arts at Rhode Island School of Design invites applications for a full-time faculty appointment at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor, to commence fall 2024. Rank will be dependent on experience.

RISD recognizes principles of social equity, inclusion, and diversity as fundamental to its academic mission as an art and design school. We understand these principles to require ongoing attention to differential embodied experience and expansion of the forms of knowledge from which our curricula originate. RISD is engaged in the collective work of institutional transformation and would value applicants whose pedagogical and professional experiences have prepared them to foster equitable teaching and learning environments. We seek applicants whose teaching and professional work (creative practice and/or academic scholarship) attends to embodied difference as intersectional and centers on bodies of knowledge from historically underrepresented communities. We particularly encourage applicants who can help advance the institution’s social equity, inclusion, and diversity goals and those from groups whose underrepresentation in the American professoriate has been severe and long standing, including Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other People of Color, people who identify as LGBTQIA+, veterans, people with disabilities, and first-generation college students.

We are seeking a teacher-scholar whose work speaks to the philosophical complexities of life in the 21st century. Area of specialization is open. However, the Department of History, Philosophy, and Social Sciences would especially welcome applicants whose teaching and research interests would invigorate art and design practices, including: 1) aesthetics and philosophy of art, 2) ethics of technology (including AI), 3) the environment, and/or human/nonhuman issues, 4) queer and/or feminist philosophies, 5) Non-Western or Indigenous philosophies (particularly a focus on areas of the Global South), and/or 6) philosophical issues relating to social justice.

Required Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Philosophy or a related discipline, conferred by July 1, 2024
• Demonstrated record of excellence in undergraduate teaching
• Demonstrated ability to teach a diverse student body and employ inclusive pedagogies
• Demonstrated commitment to effectively mentor and advise students, including students from minoritized and marginalized social groups
• Demonstrated record of publications or evidence of an active research agenda relevant to philosophy or one of its subfields
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively and collaboratively with faculty, students, and/or staff

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated record of teaching and/or professional work that centers on works and bodies of knowledge from historically underrepresented communities

RISD/ Department Description

Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) is an undergraduate and graduate college of art and design with approximately 2,500 graduate and undergraduate students. RISD has a critical review process, which is very similar to the tenure process. RISD supports faculty professional practice with sabbaticals, pre-critical review leave, conference funds, and professional development grants. For more information about RISD, please visit www.risd.edu.

HPSS is a multidisciplinary department within the Division of Liberal Arts and its faculty are often the sole representatives of their disciplines. RISD students are art and design majors who take one third of their courses in the Liberal Arts. The Department offers students several concentration tracks (equivalent to a minor) within HPSS, and within the Division of Liberal Arts as a whole. Each faculty member teaches two sections of a first year course and four electives in an academic year. RISD provides unique opportunities for collaborative research and teaching with faculty and students in art and design disciplines (e.g., industrial design, apparel, textiles, architecture, film, painting, etc.).

Faculty Responsibilities

The full-time faculty teaching load is six teaching units a year. In addition to teaching, full-time faculty are expected to maintain a dynamic professional practice, serve on college committees, advise students, participate in curriculum development and other departmental and/or divisional activities and projects, and contribute to the vibrancy of the intellectual life of the college.

Union Yes Salary Information

For information about base pay for this position, please refer to Article XII “Salaries” (p. 19-22) in the Faculty Association Collective Bargaining Contract 2022-2025. The contract indicates the minimum base salary for each rank.

Pre-employment Requirement

The successful candidate will be required to meet our pre-employment background screening requirements.

Special Instructions to Applicants

RISD Faculty Search Committees comprise colleagues from within and outside of the hiring Department. Please attach the following to the appropriate links in the section labeled “Documents Needed to Apply”:
1.) Letter of intent that addresses the qualifications and responsibilities listed above 2.) Curriculum vitae 3.) A teaching philosophy that articulates your approach to inclusive pedagogy 4.) One example syllabus and a list of potential courses you could offer (in one PDF) 5.) An example of scholarly work (20 pages maximum, in one PDF)
Applications may not be edited once they are certified and submitted.

File size is limited to 10 MB per file.

Only materials that have been requested will be considered. Names and contact information for three references are requested as part of the application process. Requests for reference letters are sent directly to the reference providers when candidates become finalists.
Review of applications begins immediately and continues until the position is filled. Candidates who submit their materials by December 8, 2023 are assured full consideration.

EEO Statement

RISD is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetics, or any other protected characteristic as established by law.