University of Maryland, College Park

School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies

Assistant/Associate Professor of

Theatre/Performance History and Historiography (tenure track)

Position Summary/Purpose of Position:

The University of Maryland School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies (TDPS) is searching for a tenure-track assistant or associate professor of Theatre/Performance History and Historiography to begin August 2023. The successful candidate will be a scholar and teacher of exceptional promise or established reputation and will develop and teach innovative courses in theatre/performance history, historiography, and theory at the graduate and undergraduate levels. The successful candidate will be someone whose research, teaching, and service have prepared them to contribute to diversity and inclusion. We seek scholars of US theatre and/or performance whose primary focus is African American/Black, Latin/x, or Asian American theatre. Other areas of expertise might include: feminist theories, minoritarian performance history and theory; history of postcolonial, indigenous and/or diasporic theatres; or, queer theory and performance. We are particularly interested in candidates who are scholar/artists.

This position will begin in Fall 2023, joining six other new artist/scholar faculty lines in 2021 and 2022, that were funded by the creation of the Maya Brin Institute for New Performance. The Maya Brin Institute for New Performance is committed to the exploration of technologically enhanced live performance in all its current, emerging, and future forms. (See announcement here: $9M Gift Founds New Institute for Performance and Technology in the Arts.)

The Maya Brin Institute is part of the Arts for All initiative, announced in 2021 (details below).

Duties: teaching courses from current curriculum in the MA and PhD program, undergraduate and general education curriculum, and developing of new courses. The successful candidate will maintain a program of research/creative activity appropriate to the University of Maryland’s standing as the State of Maryland’s flagship institution and regularly participate in appropriate national/international forums. The candidate’s research/creative activity should relate to the program’s curriculum and reflect a high standard consistent with and supportive of the mission and initiatives of the School, College, and University. All faculty build their teaching portfolios by teaching general education classes as appropriate to their training and experience. TDPS faculty are actively involved in School governance, the intellectual and artistic life of the School, the College of Arts and Humanities, and the University community.

Minimum Qualifications:

PhD by 22 August 2023 in theatre history, performance studies, critical dance studies, or related field Documented experience teaching at the university level Potential to achieve high national/international professional standing in the field Demonstrated ability to incorporate diverse perspectives and foster the values of inclusivity and diversity into teaching and research Evidence of the ability to work collegially

Preferred qualifications:

Experience supervising student research

Experience teaching graduate students

Experience teaching in a culturally diverse environment

Experience as a theatre/performance/dance practitioner (e.g. dramaturg, director, choreographer, performer)

Experience with institutional service

Proficiency with developing and delivering online courses

Please apply online at https://ejobs.umd.edu

Questions? Contact Professor James Harding, Chair of the Search Committee, jharding@umd.edu

Curriculum vitae

Name, email address, phone number for three current professional references

Statement of Research

Teaching statement/pedagogy philosophy

Statement of Contributions to Diversity: a summary of leadership efforts, and past or potential contributions to diversity. (Contributions might include leadership in teaching, mentoring, research, or service towards building an equitable and diverse scholarly or professional environment and/or increasing access or participation of individuals from historically underrepresented groups.) Optional: Digital portfolio or website

For best consideration: 28 November 2022

This search is contingent upon the availability of funds.

Facilities/Location:

The School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies is housed in the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, a state-of-the-art complex that also houses the School of Music, and the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library. This 318,000 sq. ft., facility features six performance venues, rehearsal rooms, dance studios, technology labs, production shops, four World Outreach classrooms, the Applause Café, and the Encore bar. The Maya Brin Institute for New Performance is renovating and significantly upgrading the equipment for four studios, two labs, and three makerspaces. All TDPS performances are supported by the Clarice Smith professional production staff.

Additional Information:

The School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies (TDPS) is nationally recognized as an innovator in performing arts education for the 21st century. Part of the College of Arts and Humanities, TDPS has approximately 200 undergraduate and 70 graduate students enrolled in its programs. The School offers: separate BA programs in Dance and in Theatre, an MA in Theatre History and Performance Studies, separate MFA programs in Dance and in Design, and PhD in Theatre History and Performance Studies. TDPS faculty are professional artist/scholars whose numerous awards include Drama Desk Awards, Bessie awards, Emmys, Helen Hayes Awards, and prestigious national and international fellowships.

The School’s International Program for Creative Collaboration and Research (IPCCR), funded by the Robert H. Smith Family Foundation, provides TDPS students with an international perspective by offering grants for international research and creative projects to faculty and graduate students and operating the World Outreach classrooms. Members of the faculty also work on collaborative projects with the David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora; the Latin American Studies Center; the Center for the History of the New America; the Center for Research on Latino Educational Success; the Center for East Asian Studies; the Roshan Center for Persian Studies; and the Consortium on Race, Gender, and Ethnicity, Brain and Behavior Institute, the Teaching and Learning Transformation Center, and the DeVos Institute of Arts Management.

In 2021, University of Maryland President Darryll Pines announced Arts for All, a new initiative at the University of Maryland that expands arts programming across campus at the intersection of technology, innovation, and social justice. The School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies actively participates in the initiative within our curriculum and productions. The new Arts for All initiative partners the arts with the sciences, technology and other disciplines to develop new and reimagined curricular and experiential offerings that nurture different ways of thinking to spark dialogue, understanding, problem solving, and action.

Campus/College Information:

Founded in 1856, University of Maryland, College Park is the state’s flagship institution. Our 1,250-acre College Park campus is just minutes away from Washington, D.C., and the nexus of the nation’s legislative, executive, and judicial centers of power. This unique proximity to business and technology leaders, federal departments and agencies, and a myriad of research entities, embassies, think tanks, cultural centers, and non-profit organizations is simply unparalleled. Synergistic opportunities for our faculty and students abound and are virtually limitless in the nation’s capital and surrounding areas. The University is committed to attracting and retaining outstanding and diverse faculty and staff that will enhance our stature of preeminence in our three missions of teaching, scholarship, and full engagement in our community, the state of Maryland, and in the world.

The region is home to more than 80 professional performance venues, including Arena Stage, The Kennedy Center, Baltimore Center Stage, Dance Place, Washington National Opera, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Washington Ballet, Ford’s Theatre, Dance Exchange, Wolf Trap, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Folger Theatre, GALA Hispanic Theatre, Studio Theatre, Signature Theatre, Round House Theatre, and Olney Theatre Center, among many others. TDPS graduates are a major source of talent for the more than 130 professional companies that make up the Washington –Baltimore theatre and dance market. World-class research facilities of institutions such as the Library of Congress, the National Archives, the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Smithsonian Institutions, and Dumbarton Oaks are all within a short commute. The University of Maryland, College Park, actively subscribes to a policy of equal employment opportunity, and will not discriminate against any employee or applicant because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry or national origin, marital status, genetic information, political affiliation, and gender identity or expression.

Women, historically underrepresented minorities, LGBTQ+, veterans, and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

The University of Maryland, College Park, an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action; all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, physical or mental disability, protected veteran status, age, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, creed, marital status, political affiliation, personal appearance, or on the basis of rights secured by the First Amendment, in all aspects of employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.