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Assistant Professor of Russian

Amherst College - Amherst, Massachusetts

The Amherst College Department of Russian invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track position of Assistant Professor to begin on July 1, 2017. We are looking for a broadly-trained, theoretically-engaged scholar of Russian literature and culture. In addition to having a well-articulated research plan, the successful candidate will be committed to undergraduate and interdisciplinary teaching in a liberal-arts context.

Within the last decade, Amherst College has profoundly transformed its student body in terms of socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, and nationality. Today, nearly one-quarter of Amherst’s students are Pell Grant recipients; 44 percent of our students are domestic students of color; and ten percent of our students are international students. Our expectation is that the successful candidate will excel at teaching and mentoring students who are broadly diverse with regard to race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, and religion. Our new colleague will teach two courses per semester, including all levels of Russian language and various aspects of Russia’s cultural legacy; contribute to the core curriculum of the department and the College’s liberal-arts curriculum; and advise undergraduate honors theses. Amherst College is home to an internationally-renowned research institution, the Amherst Center for Russian Culture, and the department’s faculty regularly draws on its collections for teaching and research. The Center’s unique strengths lie in the visual and performing arts, the culture of modernism and the long twentieth century. More information about the department is available at https://www.amherst.edu/mm/13477, and about the Center for Russian Culture at https://www.amherst.edu/mm/41771.

Candidates must have a Ph.D. in Slavic languages and literatures in hand by the start of the appointment. Native or near-native fluency in Russian and English is required, and prior teaching experience is expected. Interested candidates should submit electronically to https://apply.interfolio.com/35265 a letter of application containing research and teaching statements, C.V., two course syllabi, a writing sample (not to exceed 25 pages), and three confidential letters of recommendation. Review of candidates will begin on September 15, 2016, and continue until the position is filled. Applications received by that date will receive full consideration. Questions about the search should be addressed to bwolfson@amherst.edu.

Amherst College is a private undergraduate liberal arts college for men and women, with 1,800 students and more than two hundred faculty members. Located in the Connecticut River Valley of western Massachusetts, Amherst participates with Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and Smith Colleges and the University of Massachusetts in the Five-College Consortium.

Posted on May 16, 2016.