Limited-Term Appointment in First Peoples Studies at the School of Community and Public Affairs

Job title: Limited-Term Appointment in First Peoples Studies at the School of Community and Public Affairs
Position code: 23_LTA_SCPA_M
Date posted: March 14, 2023
Application deadline: April 15, 2023
Advertised until: Position is filled

Position description

The First Peoples Studies Program at the School of Community and Public Affairs is seeking to hire a limited-term appointment (LTA) professor to teach courses in the BA in First Peoples Studies and the upcoming Microprogram in Land-Based Education. The position will entail teaching courses in land-based education, Indigenous politics, history, and cultures. 

Limited-term appointment positions at Concordia are full-time faculty positions of between 9.5- and 12month duration (the annual salary is pro-rated in the case of shorter contracts). The incumbent is responsible for teaching six (in the case of a 9.5 month contract) or seven three-credit courses per year, and for some administrative and other service roles within the academic unit. Up to two subsequent 12month appointments may be possible, subject to satisfactory job performance, academic unit need, and budgetary approval. 

Qualifications and assets

Candidates are encouraged to share any career interruptions or personal circumstances that may have had an impact on their career goals in their letter of application. These will be carefully considered in the assessment process. The Department values diversity among its faculty and strongly encourages applications from women and members of underrepresented groups. Concordia University is an English-language institution of higher learning at which the primary language of instruction and research is English. Since this position supports academic functions of the university, proficiency in English is required. Working knowledge of French, including reading and grading student work in French, is an asset. 

Candidates should ideally have a PhD or equivalent in a field related to First Peoples Studies, as well as demonstrated teaching and research experience in their area of specialization. ABD candidates will be considered. Candidates should have academic or practical expertise in land-based education. Specific expertise in Haudenosaunee culture and history is required.

The successful candidate will have personal life experience with Indigenous communities in northern Turtle Island (Canada). This could include having been raised in an Indigenous community or living/working there for an extended period of time (e.g. over ten years). They will have nation-specific analysis (as opposed to pan-Indigenous understandings). They will have demonstrated success in understandings and applications of an Indigenous worldview, pedagogies, working with creation stories and Indigenous cosmologies, values and methodologies. They will be proficient in teaching approaches and pedagogies that center Indigenous students, Indigenous scholarship, and teaching processes.

They will have a profound awareness of the issues facing Indigenous peoples in Canada, approaches related to Indigenous sovereignty, government policies that limit Indigenous movement and participation in civil society (e.g. structural racism, colonial institutions), and an intersectional analysis of violence targeted at Indigenous people on the basis of “race”, gender, ability.

The successful candidate must hold an orientation that focuses on equity, human dignity and dignity of all beings and has experience working to create culturally safe and respectful environments, including working with LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit students.

How to apply

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however Canadians and Permanent Residents will be given priority. To comply with the Government of Canada’s reporting requirements, the University is obliged to gather information about applicants’ status as either Permanent Residents of Canada or Canadian citizens. While applicants need not identify their country of origin or current citizenship, all applicants must include one of the following statements: 

Yes, I am a citizen or permanent resident of Canada 

or 

No, I am not a citizen or permanent resident of Canada

Applications should be addressed to Dr. Anna Sheftel, Principal, School of Community and Public Affairs, anna.sheftel@concordia.ca, and must include a cover letter clearly identifying the title and position code (23_LTA_SCPA_M), a detailed curriculum vitae, a teaching statement related to teaching in an Indigenous-centered context, and the names and contact information of [three] referees, including one from an Indigenous community member or leader. Electronic applications should be submitted by April 15, 2023. Only short-listed candidates will be notified. The appointment is expected to commence in August 1, 2023.

Concordia University is strongly committed to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community, and recognizes the importance of inclusion in achieving excellence in teaching and research. As part of this commitment to providing our students with the dynamic, innovative, and inclusive educational environment of a Next‐Generation University, we require all applicants to articulate in their cover letter how their background, as well as lived and professional experiences and expertise have prepared them to teach in ways that are relevant for a diverse, multicultural contemporary Canadian society. 

Possible examples to demonstrate a diverse experience might include (but are not limited to): 

• teaching about underrepresented populations 
• mentoring students from underrepresented backgrounds 
• committee work 
• offering or organizing educational programming 
• participation in training and workshops 

All applicants will receive an email invitation to complete a short equity survey. Participation in the survey is voluntary and no identifying information about candidates will be shared with hiring committees. Candidates who wish to self-identify as a member of an underrepresented group to the hiring committee may do so in their cover letter or by writing directly to the contact person indicated in this posting.

Adaptive measures

Applicants who anticipate requiring adaptive measures throughout any stage of the recruitment process may contact, in confidence, Anna Barrafato, Accessibility Change Lead: anna.barrafato@concordia.ca or by phone at 514.848.2424 extension 3511.