Job Description

The Department of English at Arizona State University invites applications for an Assistant Professor, Indigenous Studies position with an anticipated start date of August 2027. This is a full-time, benefits-eligible appointment made on an academic year basis (Aug 16 – May 15).

About the Department of English:

The Department of English's motto - "Start here, go anywhere" - captures the unique value of our undergraduate and graduate English degrees, ones that can serve students in any art form, any discipline, and any profession. In fact, our degrees can take students anywhere they wish to travel. The Department of English faculty is internationally renowned for innovative research and teaching and explores the pan-world expression of the English language and its literature, which span the global yet connect directly to the local. The skills of critical thinking, reading comprehension, and analytic expression cultivated in the degrees are transferable into any endeavor. In particular, such skills provide the foundation for creative problem-solving and cultivate individual and collective expression. The department takes as its purview not just historical positioned work, whether linguistic or textual, but includes all forms of expression and all modes of new media, whether analogical or digital. We emphasize writing- academic, creative, personal, public, and workplace- that explores difference reflectively and functionally. Our goal is to educate citizens who can think, read, write, and act in robust and significant ways to meet new challenges.

About The College:

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is the academic heart of Arizona State University, committed to improving communities on a local, national, and global scale. We support the professional development and growth of our faculty and staff in their cutting-edge research to advance these aims. Within The College, our faculty engage with a large, curious student body, guiding them as they grow into socially aware, critical thinkers and writers able to succeed in a wide range of careers and to address the challenges of the twenty-first century. Advancing the success of our students remains our top priority. To learn more about The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, please visit https://thecollege.asu.edu.

About Arizona State University:

ASU exemplifies a new prototype for the American public research university. As articulated in the ASU Charter, ASU is a comprehensive public research university, measured not by whom it excludes, but by whom it includes and how they succeed; advancing research and discovery of public value; and assuming fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural, and overall health of the communities it serves.

Essential Functions of the job:

The successful candidate will be expected to:

• Conduct and publish original research and scholarship in Indigenous literature, media, language, or related fields.
• Teach undergraduate and graduate courses in areas of departmental need, including in-person and online instruction
• Mentor and advise undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students in research and professional development.
• Provide service to the department, college, university, and profession, including participation on committees and in academic governance.
• Promote student success and embed teaching and research in societal impact consistent with the ASU Charter.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• PhD in literature, rhetoric, media studies, linguistics, or related discipline at the time of appointment.
• Evidence of or potential for excellence in teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
• Strong evidence of, or demonstrated potential for, excellence in research and publication.

Desired qualifications:

• Demonstrated expertise in and the ability to develop and teach courses in Indigenous literature, media, language, or related field.
• Demonstrated ability to teach in-person courses and online courses.
• Experience applying for and/or securing research grants from federal, state, and/or private funding sources.
• Experience in establishing and fostering partnerships with tribal nations or Indigenous communities.
• Demonstrated commitment to working with faculty, staff, students, and communities to advance the principles of the ASU Charter.

Application Instructions

Application deadline is October 30, 2026. Applications will continue to be accepted on a rolling basis for a reserve pool. Applications in the reserve pool may then be reviewed in the order in which they were received until the position is filled. Candidates will be asked to create or use an existing Interfolio Dossier to submit the following application materials:

• A letter of application, highlighting how the applicant fits the required and desired qualifications above,
• Current curriculum vita (CV),
• Contact information for three (3) references, including email addresses,
• Unofficial graduate transcripts,
• Statement of teaching philosophy,
• Evidence of effective teaching.

The applicant’s last name should appear in each uploaded file name. Questions about the position should be directed to the search committee chair: Professor Ruben Espinosa at ruben.espinosa@asu.edu.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

A background check is required for employment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by law.

See https://www.asu.edu/aad/manuals/acd/acd401.html and https://www.asu.edu/titleIX/.

In compliance with federal law, ASU prepares an annual report on campus security and fire safety programs and resources. ASU’s Annual Security and Fire Safety Report is available online at https://www.asu.edu/police/PDFs/ASU-Clery-Report.pdf You may request a hard copy of the report by contacting the ASU Police Department at 480-965-3456.