Lecturer in Philosophy (EXPIRED)

Cornell College, a private undergraduate liberal arts college, is seeking a part-time Lecturer in Philosophy beginning Fall 2024. A Master's degree is preferred.  Experience in the discipline of philosophy  is required.  Experience teaching philosophy is strongly preferred.  

Course and term dates:

PHI 203 Logic and Critical Thinking  (Block 2: 9/23/24-10/16/24)- This course qualifies as a Quantitative Reasoning Encounter. Course Description:  The course teaches students how to identify, analyze, and evaluate arguments.  In doing so, it studies reasoning through the multi-disciplinary lens of philosophy and cognitive science in order to better understand our tendencies to reason badly and to learn to reason better. Students are introduced to deductive reasoning, but the primary focus is on inductive arguments, on assessing the probability of beliefs relative to the reasons we have for them, and on how the presentation of new evidence ought to affect those beliefs. It’s hard to overestimate the value of training in logic and critical thinking. As the study of reasoning, it addresses one of a handful of fundamental capacities that human beings rely upon throughout virtually every aspect of their lives. One of the seven original liberal arts, it is an area of study intrinsically beneficial and necessary for freedom. .

Because Cornell College values diversity and strives to create a welcoming community in which all individuals are respected and included, the entire campus community engages in dialogue around issues of difference, identity, and ideology. The college is committed to fostering a faculty and staff community that reflects our diverse student body. We encourage applications from candidates who share our vision for a campus that embraces differing backgrounds, viewpoints, and identities, and who will excel at teaching and mentoring a student body that is broadly diverse.  (See our diversity statement.)

The college encourages interdisciplinary interests among its faculty and the development of teaching strategies that capitalize on our unique academic calendar. Our academic calendar allows us the freedom to take students off-campus without impinging on other course commitments. In addition, class size is limited to 25 students, and upper-level courses are often smaller. 

 About Cornell College

Cornell College is a national liberal arts college committed to excellence in teaching and the creation of a welcoming community in which all individuals are respected and included. Our innovative curriculum includes a focus on the essential abilities of writing, quantitative reasoning, and intercultural literacy as well as experiential learning. Cornell’s One Course At A Time (OCAAT) academic calendar is divided into eight- 3½ week blocks in which students take and faculty teach a single course. This one-at-a-time approach fosters strong student engagement and close faculty-student relationships while allowing faculty freedom to design and carry out their classes, on campus or off.

Founded in 1853, Cornell’s distinctive campus community reflects our ongoing pursuit of our core values and continuing tradition of shared governance.  Always a coeducational institution, we were the first college west of the Mississippi to graduate both men and women and the first college in the country to afford a female faculty member the same title and pay as her male colleagues. Academic immersion, real world experience requirements through Ingenuity in Action, and unparalleled flexibility attract an ambitious student body from around the world. Seventy percent of our students are from outside Iowa, representing 44 states and 13 foreign countries. Students of color comprise one-fifth of the student body.

Cornell's picturesque hilltop campus contains a mix of historic and modern facilities. Mount Vernon, Iowa, is a flourishing community with a vibrant arts scene, recognized by Frommer's as one of "America's Coolest Small Towns" and located in the heart of the Iowa City-Cedar Rapids technology corridor.

Interested applicants should submit the following materials through Cornell College’s online application system:

• A letter of application/cover letter

• Current Curriculum Vitae

• Names and contact information for a minimum of two references. 

Applications will be reviewed as submitted and continue until the position is filled.

For more information about the department, please visit the Philosophy department website. 

Any questions can be directed to Megan Altman, Chair of Philosophy at [email protected]. .

Cornell is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from underrepresented groups. Cornell complies with Iowa's Smoke-free Air Act. Cornell utilizes E-Verify and requires the satisfactory completion of a background check.