Assistant/Associate Professor of Native/Indigenous Art History and Material Culture

Tenure-Track Appointment 

School of Art and Design History and Theory

Parsons School of Design 

Start date: July 1, 2025

Parsons School of Design, a college of The New School, acknowledges the ancestral and traditional territories of The Lenape People on which our faculty, staff and students work, learn, and create. We recognize that New York City has the largest urban Indigenous population in the United States. 

Parsons is dedicated to cultivating curricula rooted in social, racial, gender, disability, and climate justice. As part of this commitment, we are launching six full-time faculty positions focused on Indigenous art and design, specifically in relation to the knowledges and practices of Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island (North America). This initiative seeks to address the underrepresentation of Indigenous knowledge at Parsons and honor the original place-based scholars, artists, and makers of the land on which Parsons is situated. We encourage applications from candidates whose teaching, research, scholarship, and creative practice engage with the worldviews and practices of Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island, including but not limited to Native American, First Nations, Métis, Inuit, Alaskan Native, and Native Hawaiian communities.

As part of this cluster search, we invite candidates for a tenure-track position as Assistant or Associate Professor of Native/Indigenous Art History and Material Culture in the School of Art and Design History and Theory. This appointment will begin July 1, 2025. 

The School of Art and Design History and Theory (ADHT) invites applications from scholars whose research engages with the art, design, and material/visual cultures of Native/Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island (North America) spanning historical periods (including the contemporary era). Candidates should have expertise in a range of innovative, interdisciplinary, and decolonial methodologies that engage with Indigenous knowledge systems as they relate to artistic, cultural, designerly, material, and performative practices. Ideally, candidates will evidence a deep commitment to community involvement and Indigenous lived experiences, and will be able to demonstrate the ways in which this informs their research, scholarship, teaching, professional or creative practice.

 

Faculty in ADHT are expected to teach courses at the undergraduate and graduate level, as well as within Parsonsâ™s First Year Program. Given ADHTâ™s position within an art and design school, we are also interested in candidates whose work bridges history and theory with art and design practices.

The position will be expected to provide support to the undergraduate liberal arts curriculum that is a core requirement for all Parsons students, as well as ADHTâ™S BFA in Design History and Practice, and minors offered by ADHT. The faculty will also contribute to the connections among the schoolâ™s two graduate degree programs in Fashion Studies and in the History of Design and Curatorial Studies (the latter in collaboration with the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum). They will also contribute to the development of cross-college curriculum between Parsons, the Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, the New School for Social Research (NSSR), the School of Public Engagement, and Parsons Paris. The faculty member will be expected to be an active part of a leadership team to implement curricular and academic policies, and must contribute to maintaining an educationally diverse and creative community in all its activities and programs.

The New School is strongly committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace and particularly seeks applications from members of underrepresented groups, as well as candidates who share this commitment.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The work of this faculty member is divided between (1) teaching, (2) scholarship or professional/creative practice, and (3) university service. The standard teaching load is five coursesâ“â“or the equivalentâ“â“per academic year. Within their field of expertise, the faculty member will be expected to teach undergraduate, including First Year, as well as graduate courses, to majors and non-majors. They will hold regular office hours, and participate in extracurricular teaching activities such as critiques, review panels, thesis supervision, independent study, and advising. University service includes program, Parsons, and New School assignments on committees and task forces, and as program directors or associate directors with a reduced teaching load in graduate and undergraduate programs, including the undergraduate First Year. All faculty are expected to be engaged with scholarship or professional/creative practice at a level commensurate with their faculty rank.

 

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• A completed PhD in Native American and/or Indigenous Studies, Art History, American Studies, Design History, Design Studies, History, Material Culture, Visual Studies, or a related field. Candidates who do not hold a doctorate but can demonstrate strong equivalencies will be considered.

• Active/current professional practice or creative/critical scholarship that is informed by lived experience and embedded in ongoing relationships with Indigenous communities in relation to Turtle Island.

• Two years teaching at college, university, community-based, and/or secondary education level with evidence of engagement with course and syllabus development/planning.

• Candidates seeking a position at Associate level must demonstrate equivalent teaching, research/practice experience, service and successful completion of academic review.

• Strong interest in working collaboratively across Parsons and the University.

• Ability to work effectively as part of a team, as a collaborator or lead.

• Commitment to or evidence of interest in building/ability to mentor and support students from diverse backgrounds, to develop and nurture the individual studentâ™s abilities, and a strong commitment to progressive education. This evidence can be in a candidateâ™s teaching, research, scholarship, professional/creative practice, or other experience.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience in higher education academic setting, with a working knowledge of curriculum development, student support, and management.

• Experience teaching English language learners, students from low income backgrounds, and/or first generation college students.

• University-level teaching that includes a combination of studios, seminars, and tutorials, at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

• Experience with/commitment to curricular and community-building work for first-year college students; capacity to lead in the context of a first-year studies program.

 

WORK MODALITY

On-Campus Position: Faculty are expected to work on-campus due to the nature of the work in accordance with the University policies as set forth in the Full-Time Faculty Handbook. #LI-ONSITE

SALARY RANGE

Assistant Professor = $80,000 - $95,000

Associate Professor = $95,000 - $115,000

PRIORITY APPLICATION DEADLINE: December 1, 2024

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO APPLICANTS

To apply, please submit:

• A current CV. 

• A cover letter: 1-2 pages summarizing experiences as related to the requirements of this job description.

• A teaching statement: 1-2 pages describing artistic/design/research practice and teaching philosophy. Please include in the statement an articulation of your approach to inclusive pedagogy and demonstrated evidence of commitment to equity, inclusion and social justice.

• 1 sample syllabus with assignments.

• The names and contact information for three professional and/or community references. 

Long-listed candidates will be asked to provide:

• A writing sample (PDF, 50 pages max.)

Please visit

About The New School

The New School, a leading university in downtown New York City, offers degree and nondegree academic programs in design, the social sciences, the liberal arts, management, the arts, and media. Students benefit from small classes, superior resources, and renowned faculty members who practice what they teach. Continuing education courses and public programs place the university at the center of New York’s cultural and intellectual life.

Connections working at The New School