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Assistant Professor, Folklore and Narrative

The George Mason University Department of English invites applications for a nine-month, tenure track Assistant Professor Position in Folklore and Narrative. We encourage applicants with expertise in the verbal folklore of African American, Asian American, Latinx, Native American, Asian American, immigrant, and other marginalized U.S. communities. 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.

George Mason University is Virginia’s largest public research university, with an R-1 rating and is committed to keeping our doors open and accessible to as many capable students as possible. Mason was recently named the most diverse university in Virginia by U.S. News & World Report. Our students represent all races, ethnicities, nationalities, religions, sexual orientation and gender identities and hail from over 130 countries. We are devoted to providing access to excellence, and that sets us apart from many of our peers. In a continuing effort to enrich GMU’s academic environment and provide equal educational and employment opportunities, we actively encourage applications from members of all ethnic groups underrepresented in higher education.

The English department is home to two dynamic and growing graduate programs in folklore: an M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies in Folklore and a graduate certificate in folklore. These programs prepare graduates for a wide range of careers in community and cultural organizations that demand expertise in documenting local culture and bringing informed historical and cultural frameworks to public sites and discussions. We also have a robust undergraduate minor and concentration in the English major.

Responsibilities:

Candidates will teach in the Folklore Studies Program undergraduate and graduate programs beginning Fall 2019, teaching a 2:2 load. Candidates should be prepared to teach folklore graduate courses, including courses on folk narrative and U.S. diversity, narrative genres (i.e., legend, myth, fairy tale folk tale, personal experience narrative), narrative and literature, and departmental undergraduate courses in folklore, including the ethnographic field school for cultural documentation and the introduction to folklore studies.

Please visit http://english.gmu.edu for more information about the department and http://folklore.gmu.edu for more information about the folklore studies program.

Please visit https://jobs.gmu.edu/postings/43927 for more information about this position.