Department: College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Classification: Post Doc 12 month

Job Category: Postdoctoral Faculty

Job Type: Full-Time

Work Schedule: Full-time (1.0 FTE, 40 hrs/wk)

Location: Fairfax

Salary: Salary commensurate with education and experience

Criminal Background Check: Yes

About the Department:

The Department of Philosophy at George Mason is a pluralistic program that offers courses and produces scholarly research and public philosophy drawing on diverse philosophical approaches and traditions, including continental, Anglo-American and applied philosophy, and with a focus on social, ethical and political thought. The program offers a Masters degree, a major, and multiple minors including in Philosophy of Law, Ethics and AI, and Philosophy for Social Change. Our mission is to put philosophy to work to address key contemporary issues and enduring philosophical questions, to foster critically engaged citizens, and to enable students and faculty to engage with pressing matters of global and public concern. The department is also host to the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy.

Faculty in Philosophy are affiliated with other departments and programs across Mason, including: African and African American Studies; the Center for Advancing Human-Machine Partnership; the Center for Humanities Research; Cultural Studies; the Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Earth Sciences; the Honors College; Philosophy; Politics and Economics; the Schar School of Policy and Government; Women and Gender Studies. To review potential faculty mentors, please visit the faculty profiles on our website.

About the Position:

Postdoctoral teaching fellow in continental philosophy with a specialization in Phenomenology, including an ability to teach one or more of such figures as Husserl, Heidegger, Levinas or Merleau-Ponty. We welcome applications from candidates who undertake phenomenological analysis of pressing issues of social, political, or global concern, as well as those engaged in critical phenomenology or pursuing phenomenology as it has been taken up in nonwestern traditions. An ability to teach Ancient Philosophy at undergraduate level would be of interest. The standard teaching load for this position is 2:2.

The position offers the opportunity to undertake postdoctoral research while developing a multifaceted teaching portfolio. The successful candidate will be assigned a selected set of mentors, to offer support in research, teaching, and professional development; will have access to professional development funds; and will be part of an interdisciplinary cohort of postdoctoral fellows supported by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. They will have opportunities to engage with colleagues in other departments and programs in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, including through George Mason's Center for Humanities Research, and will have access to faculty mentors with expertise in public philosophy, including members of the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy.

The position will begin August 2024. This is a 12 month position. The appointment is for one year, renewable up to three years.

Responsibilities:

• Develop a robust research agenda and produce outstanding scholarship in continental philosophy with a particular emphasis on phenomenology, including interdisciplinary approaches where appropriate;
• Teach at undergraduate and graduate level to include courses in phenomenology that encompass both key historical figures and recent developments. As examples: syllabi that introduce students to the ways in which phenomenology has been taken up in nonwestern traditions or in Meso- and Latin American philosophy; or that foreground the value of phenomenological methods for the critical analysis of social, political and global issues, such as for instance the environment, disability, carcerality, borderlands, race, gender and sexuality;
• Engage in professional development in collaboration with faculty mentors and participate in the Postdoctoral Fellows Workshop Series hosted by CHSS;
• Develop a multi-faceted teaching portfolio with the support of faculty mentors; and
• Undertake selected mentoring of student research at undergraduate and graduate levels.

Required Qualifications:

• Doctoral degree in Philosophy: must have completed the successful defense of their dissertation (or equivalent) by the time of appointment and received their doctorate within 5 years;
• A research trajectory commensurate with an early career researcher in Philosophy, with a specialization in phenomenology; and
• Evidence of teaching experience with a commitment to diversity in the classroom.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Ability to teach ancient philosophy at undergraduate level; and
• An interest in public philosophy.

Instructions to Applicants:

For full consideration, applicants must apply for Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow at https://jobs.gmu.edu/; complete and submit the online application; and upload the following documents: a C.V.; a cover letter outlining the applicant's record of teaching and scholarship, to include their future research plans; and a teaching portfolio to include: up to two syllabi, teaching evaluations where available, and a 1-page statement addressing the applicant's approach to diversity in the classroom.

Applicants should also submit the names and contact information for three references and should alert their referees that letters will be requested for candidates invited for a first-round interview. Candidates invited to interview will also be asked to provide further materials, including a writing sample.

If you believe you meet the overall criteria for this position, but don't necessarily check every box, please submit an application.

Please direct any questions to the search coordinator, Rabia Ghani: rghani@gmu.edu.

Posting Open Date: November 1, 2023

For Full Consideration, Apply by: December 8, 2023

Open Until Filled?: Yes

Mason Ad Statement

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If you are interested in joining the Mason family take a look at our current opportunities and catch some Mason spirit at jobs.gmu.edu/!

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Equity Statement

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