Assistant Professor - Visual Studies

Date Posted: 11/25/2024
Closing Date: 01/13/2025, 11:59PM ET
Req ID: 38235
Job Category: Faculty - Tenure Stream (continuing)
Faculty/Division: John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design
Department: John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design
Campus: St. George (Downtown Toronto)

Description:

The John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at the University of Toronto invites applications for a full-time tenure stream appointment in the area of Visual Studies. This appointment will be at the rank of Assistant Professor, with an anticipated start date of July 1, 2025.
 
This search aligns with the University’s commitment to strategically and proactively promote diversity among our community members (Statement on Equity, Diversity & Excellence). Recognizing that Black, Indigenous, and other Racialized communities have experienced inequities that have developed historically and are ongoing, we strongly welcome and encourage candidates from those communities to apply.
 
Candidates must have earned a Master of Fine Arts, Master of Visual Studies or equivalent Master’s degree by the time of the appointment.  An in-progress or completed PhD in Art, Visual Culture, or a related area is considered an asset. Candidates must have a demonstrated record of excellence in research and/or creative professional activity, as well as in teaching. We seek candidates whose research and/or creative professional activity and teaching interests complement and enhance our existing strengths. The successful candidate will be expected to pursue research and/or creative professional activity with international exposure (e.g. exhibitions, festivals, residencies, publications, commissions, and/or curatorial practice, etc.).
 
Candidates must provide evidence of excellence in research and/or creative professional activity which can be demonstrated by the submitted research statement; representation in significant exhibitions, installations, screenings, residencies, commissions, festivals, or other forms of peer recognition of creative work; record of publications in recognized, field-relevant journals (or leading publications in the field) or forthcoming high impact publications or research in progress that targets such publication venues; participation in field-leading research projects and professional networks; presentations at academic or field-relevant conferences; awards and accolades; and strong endorsements by referees of high standing.
 
Evidence of excellence in teaching will be provided through teaching accomplishments, the teaching dossier submitted as part of the application (with required materials outlined below), as well as strong letters of reference.  Candidates must have the ability to contribute to the enrichment of undergraduate and graduate programs at the Daniels Faculty. These programs would include the Bachelor of Arts, Visual Studies, the Master of Visual Studies, and in the new PhD in Architecture, Landscape, and Design Studies. The successful candidate will have expert knowledge and dedicated experience in teaching through contemporary studio or curatorial practice and discourse that promotes student experimentation with varied traditional and emergent methods and media.
 
Both undergraduate and graduate studies at the Daniels Faculty focus on a critical understanding and production of art, curatorial and art-adjacent critical practices. The two degrees and multiple streams offered by the department (Honours Bachelor of Arts in Visual Studies Studio Stream, Honours Bachelor of Arts in Visual Studies Critical Practices Stream, The Master of Visual Studies Studio Stream, and the Master of Visual Studies Curatorial Studies Stream), provide participants with a unique environment for the rigorous investigation of the interdisciplinary and conceptual components inherent in contemporary art and critical visual cultural practice. This mission is premised on investigating the public exhibition of art in its various forms. The program also engages critical writing, theory, art history, design and related areas requiring a high degree of visual and media literacy as part of its core identity. 
 
We are seeking a candidate with a demonstrated capacity to advance Visual Studies knowledge and allied disciplines in a way that can contribute meaningfully to the diverse population and intellectual milieu at the Daniels Faculty. We encourage applications from artists and curators whose research interests and established working methodologies intersect with the varied complex and compelling creative activities of our students and their emerging critical scholarship.
 
Please visit our home page: the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at http://www.daniels.utoronto.ca/. The position will include opportunities for the candidate to collaborate with UofT colleagues across the Daniels Faculty. University of Toronto faculty have access to the Canadian Research Councils, which offer grants and research funding opportunities that are unique within North America.
 
Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.
 
Set within a preeminent research university and located at the center of one of North America’s most cosmopolitan cities, the Daniels Faculty uniquely combines the disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, visual studies, and forestry in undergraduate, professional, and advanced graduate programs. The Daniels Faculty explores the intersections between nature, technology, architecture, and various built and natural geographies in a way that situates design, art, and forestry to meet their contemporary challenges. An emphasis on the connections between the various disciplines at the Faculty is a goal for the scholarly research and built work of many of our faculty. Following a decade-long transformation of the school’s faculty and professional programs, and a major increase in its endowment, the Faculty has recently expanded its undergraduate and graduate programs. To accommodate both growth in its curricular offerings and an increase in its research and outreach programs, an award-winning new building complex for the Faculty was completed on Toronto’s historic One Spadina Crescent.
 
All qualified candidates are invited to apply online by clicking the link below.  Applicants must submit a cover letter; a current curriculum vitae; a research statement outlining current and future research and/or creative professional activity; representative examples of publications, exhibitions, and/or artwork; and a teaching dossier to include a strong teaching statement, sample course materials, and teaching evaluations.
 
Applicants must provide the name and contact information of three references. The University of Toronto’s recruiting tool will automatically solicit and collect letters of reference from each referee the day after an application is submitted. Applicants remain responsible for ensuring that referees submit recent letters (on letterhead, dated and signed) by the closing date. More details on the automatic reference letter collection, including timelines, are available in the candidate FAQ.
 
Submission guidelines can be found at: http://uoft.me/how-to-apply.  Your CV and cover letter should be uploaded into the dedicated fields.  Please combine additional application materials into one or two files in PDF/MS Word format.  If you have questions about this position, please contact the Dean’s Academic HR Office at daniels.academichr@utoronto.ca.
 
All application materials, including recent reference letters, must be received by January 13th, 2025.
 

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Diversity Statement
The University of Toronto embraces Diversity and is building a culture of belonging that increases our capacity to effectively address and serve the interests of our global community. We strongly encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples, Black and racialized persons, women, persons with disabilities, and people of diverse sexual and gender identities. We value applicants who have demonstrated a commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion and recognize that diverse perspectives, experiences, and expertise are essential to strengthening our academic mission.

As part of your application, you will be asked to complete a brief Diversity Survey. This survey is voluntary. Any information directly related to you is confidential and cannot be accessed by search committees or human resources staff. Results will be aggregated for institutional planning purposes. For more information, please see http://uoft.me/UP.

Accessibility Statement
The University strives to be an equitable and inclusive community, and proactively seeks to increase diversity among its community members. Our values regarding equity and diversity are linked with our unwavering commitment to excellence in the pursuit of our academic mission.

The University is committed to the principles of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). As such, we strive to make our recruitment, assessment and selection processes as accessible as possible and provide accommodations as required for applicants with disabilities.

If you require any accommodations at any point during the application and hiring process, please contact uoft.careers@utoronto.ca.