San Francisco State University, School of Art seeks applicants for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in art history with a specialization in the visual culture of African and/or the Americas (South, Central, the Caribbean, and Mexico) and their diasporas in any era from the early modern period (c. 1500) to the present. Position begins August 2019.

The mission of San Francisco State University is to create an environment for learning that promotes appreciation of scholarship, freedom, human diversity, and the cultural mosaic of the City of San Francisco and the Bay Area; to promote excellence in instruction and intellectual accomplishment; and to provide broadly accessible higher education for residents of the region, state, the nation, and the world. Ph.D. required. Salary commensurate with qualifications.

Position description available at http://art.sfsu.edu/content/faculty-positions. Application review begins December 1, 2018 and continues until filled. Send letter of intent, a current CV, a statement on how your teaching and scholarship align with the commitment of the School of Art to foster an inclusive and diverse academic community; writing sample; statement of teaching philosophy; sample syllabi; names and contact information of three references. Letters of recommendation upon request at a later date.

Applications should be submitted as a single PDF, labeled as follows: Last Name_First Name_Application.

Submit all materials online to https://sfsu.submittable.com/submit by December 1, 2018.

Applications will be reviewed until position is filled. Please email artsrch@sfsu.edu with any questions.

The Department of Art and Music at Simmons University invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Art History to begin July 1, 2019. We seek an innovative educator and scholar with demonstrated excellence in undergraduate teaching, an interest in creative curriculum development, an active research agenda, and a commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration inside and outside the University.

The primary area and period of expertise is open, but should complement, rather than duplicate, existing departmental strengths in American and Latin American art. The successful candidate will be expected to teach introductory surveys of European and non-Western art alongside more advanced electives. They will also periodically develop and teach first and second-year general education courses based on their interests. We welcome applications from scholars whose work addresses interactions between different regions and cultures, and whose courses will contribute to a diverse and interdisciplinary curriculum.

We seek an educator with a demonstrated ability to work effectively with a student population that is broadly diverse, with regard to race, ethnicity, nationality, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Interest in teaching undergraduate non-majors as well as majors, fostering relationships within the region’s rich cultural community, and using the City of Boston as a classroom is essential.

Responsibilities include teaching three courses per semester (six per year), advising and mentoring students, developing and maintaining a strong record of scholarship, participating in curriculum development, and service on departmental, college and university committees. Applicants should have a Ph.D., at least three years of undergraduate teaching experience, and a well-defined research agenda.

Located in Boston’s historic Fenway area, Simmons University is a private, non-sectarian institution that has prepared women for leadership in the world through transformative education that links passion with purpose since 1899. Today, Simmons serves nearly 2,000 students in a women-centered undergraduate program and nearly 5,000 students in coeducational graduate programs. Simmons recently achieved university designation and embarked on an academic redesign to create four interdisciplinary colleges, including the Gwen Ifill College of Media, Arts, and Humanities.

The Department of Art and Music, housed within the newly-inaugurated Gwen Ifill College of Media, Arts, and Humanities, includes majors in art history, studio art, arts administration, and music. Located within the department, the Trustman Art Gallery hosts six exhibitions by professional artists and one student show each academic year, as well as gallery conversations led by faculty from across the university. The Art and Music Department curates and oversees the Simmons University Art Collection, which is installed throughout the college and provides unique pre-professional opportunities for student art history research and student/faculty collaborations.

To apply, please submit a letter of application, curriculum vitae, statement of teaching philosophy (no more than 750 words), brief descriptions of two courses you would like to develop (no more than 200 words each), three syllabi from courses you have taught, to include one European and one non-Western topic, two examples of recent scholarship, published or not, and three letters of reference. Letters of reference should be submitted directly to Ifill@simmons.edu.

All documents should be uploaded in the Resume/CV section on the ‘My Experience’ page of the electronic application. Application deadline: October 15, 2018.

As a College committed to diversity, Simmons encourages applications broadly. Simmons is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to continuing to develop a more diverse faculty, staff, student body and curriculum.

further information:

https://simmons.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Simmons-Careers/job/Main-Campus—Boston-MA/Assistant-Professor-of-Art-History–Tenure-Track_R05005

Friends, by now you may have heard the very sad news: Polly Nooter Roberts has passed. She went peacefully in her sleep the night of September 11-12 after living with stage four metastatic breast cancer (MBC) for more than eight years. She is mother to three and grandmother, daughter of Nancy and Robert H. Nooter, and the loving wife of Dr. Allen Roberts, with whom she regularly forged new research. We extend our deep sympathies to the Nooter and Roberts families.

A recipient of ACASA’s 2017 Leadership Award, Dr. Mary (Polly) Nooter Roberts was a giant in the field of African Arts. She was Professor of World Arts and Cultures at UCLA and Consulting Curator for African Arts at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). She brought a deep appreciation for artistic achievement to her work and great sensitivity to the weight of history on people’s lives. Her brilliant research spanned the continent and its diasporas, but she is best known for concentrated studies of Luba art in the DRC and Sufi arts in Senegal. Institutions and even nations awarded Polly’s ability to translate philosophy, history, and art; strikingly, in 2007 she was decorated as a Knight in the Order of Arts and Letters by the Republic of France for her promotion of francophone African art. She served ACASA as President and brought our Triennial to the island of St. Thomas, our first venue outside of North America, in 2001. The volume and value of her work is so great that it is impossible to summarize here. Her legacy to critical curatorial practice is profound.

Polly lived a life of purpose and was widely known for her generosity. She described her illness as a “detour” in life and saw it as an opportunity for growth. A leader by nature, Polly embraced the opportunity to advance the research of Simms/Mann UCLA Center for Oncology and aid the community of women living with MBC in Los Angeles. She brought the same positive energy to those endeavors that she brought to our wide community.

Polly radiated warmth. She gave each person her undivided attention, respecting the moment that an encounter offers, and she brought out the best in each of us. She was a woman of grace, poise, and elegance. We will miss her.

The Arts Council of the African Studies Association (ACASA) is inviting members to submit items for the Fall 2018 association newsletter.   Items may include announcements for conferences and symposia, calls for papers and proposals, exhibitions, current publications and resources, member news, and upcoming events.  DUE DATE:  COB September 14, 2018.

Note:Candidate Statements for new Board positions will be available in this issue.

Please send all submissions to Deborah Stokes at  Deborah.Stokes@icloud.com or Leslie Rabine at lwrabine@gmail.com.

Categories: ACASA, Call for Submissions

Keywords: acasa newsletter

CAA has announced a Call for Participation in Sessions Soliciting Contributors for the 2019 Annual Conference. See here for panels that directly mention Africa in the abstract. View the entire CFP here. 250-words abstracts to be sent to the panel chairs by August 6th. All speakers notified by August 30th.

Due date: March 15, 2018

The Arts Council of the African Studies Association (ACASA) seeks expressions of interest from members whose institutional contacts can host our Eighteenth Triennial Symposium on African Art in 2020. Institutions can be a university, museum, research center, or other venue appropriate for a conference of about 450 participants. Read more…

On behalf of our members and in the strongest possible terms, the Board of the Arts Council of the African Studies Association (ACASA) denounces President Donald J. Trump as a racist. His recent profanity directed at Africans and Haitians, well publicized and too grotesque to repeat, is the latest in a long string of racist remarks and actions to which we are vehemently opposed. Our members know well the vast, invaluable contribution that African men and women have made, in the arts and well beyond, throughout human history and the world over. Although we are not surprised that President Trump denigrates Africans – he has fomented racism since he first entered the public eye in the 1970s – this week’s characterization of Africans and Haitians is deeply offensive and needs to be called out. So, too, do we condemn those US elected officials who do not publicly stand opposed to racism and do not denounce President Trump as racist. Silence is compliance. We speak against racism and to those who remain silent since both contradict our mission, which is to facilitate communication about African history and expressive cultures and to promote greater understanding of these worldwide. Finally, this: The global economy from which Americans benefit was built by immigrants including millions violently enslaved and displaced to the Americas, whose forced labor ensured wealth for others. The United States owes much to their indomitable creative spirit since many of its most celebrated forms of artistic expression descend from Africans. We call on all American ACASA members and friends to vote next November 6 for candidates who respect the lives of every person. If you are interested in ACASA but have not yet joined us, please do!

Silvia Forni, Shannen Hill, Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie, and Kwame Labi interviewed by Mjiba Frehiwot of the University of Ghana-Legon. Broadcast through the university’s radio station, Radio Univers (105.7 FM).

Speech by Professor Kwesi Yankah, Minister of State for Tertiary Education, Ghana

“I am privileged to be invited today to be part of this historic event: the 17^th triennial symposium of the Arts Council of the African Studies Association. This being the very first time ACASA is holding a meeting on the African soil, I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of our indefatigable President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo, to welcome ACASA to Ghana, and to the continent of Africa.” Read more…