[Air-L] Job Ad: Critical Digital Media and Design

[Gerald Voorhees]

Dear colleagues,

Happy to share this posting for a Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in my
department:

The Department of Communication Arts in the Faculty of Arts at the
University of Waterloo invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant
Professor in *Critical Digital Media and Design* beginning July 1, 2024.



The Department of Communication Arts, located in a research-intensive
university, is committed to program objectives
<https://uwaterloo.ca/communication-arts/about-our-department> (
https://uwaterloo.ca/communication-arts/about-our-department) providing
students with lifelong capacities 1) to examine agency and implication; 2)
to support the development of critical and creative competencies; and 3) to
encourage a language and imagination for the public good. The department has
undergraduate programs in Communication Studies, Communication Arts &
Design Practice, and Theatre & Performance, and a minor in Digital Arts
Communication open to students across the university. These attractive and
growing programs currently serve approximately 200 majors and 150 minors,
and the department is in the process of proposing a practice-based graduate
MA program. In addition, the Department delivers approximately 130 sections
of communication courses to students from several different programs at the
University. Presently these sections are offered to students in the
Faculties of Science, Engineering, and Math.



The successful candidate will have a PhD in a research field such as
Communication, Informatics, Design, Digital Humanities, or a related field,
a strong research agenda, potentially combined with a practitioner profile,
and demonstrated excellence in teaching. They will support current
departmental programs by teaching primarily undergraduate Digital Arts
Communication (DAC) classes, will help integrate digital arts practice into
courses across the department, and will contribute to the department’s
proposed MA program. In particular, the successful candidate will be able
to teach DAC 309 (User Experience Design) as well as other Digital Arts
Communication courses such as DAC 201 (Designing Digital Media), and DAC
305 (Designing and Evaluating Digital Games). A demonstrated pedagogical
commitment to theoretically-informed practice, student-centered learning,
and engagement of broad public concerns is required. We are particularly
interested in applicants with expertise in critical humanistic and design
approaches to user experience (UX). This includes approaches to
user-centered research and design based on principles of anti-racism,
feminism, inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility to interrogate
the perspectives, assumptions, methods, and artifacts of UX Design. Candidates
with expertise in critical race, Indigenous, dis/ability, trans, feminist,
queer, sustainable, and/or Marxist methods and approaches to the practice
and study of UX Design specifically and critical digital design more
broadly are preferred.  Approaches to digital media arts and production as
communication are especially welcome, as is having a high degree of
technological literacy, the ability to secure external funding,
collaborative potential with other faculty across the department and
university, the ability to engage in outreach activities with industry in
their area, and the ability to contribute to the growth of the department.



The salary range for this position at the rank of Assistant Professor is
$95,000.00 to $125,000.00. Duties include research, teaching, and academic
service.



The closing date for applications is *December 15, 2023*. Application
materials must be submitted as PDF files through the Online Faculty
Application System <https://ofas.uwaterloo.ca/> (https://ofas.uwaterloo.ca/).
Application materials should identify how the candidate’s teaching,
research and service aligns with the Department’s program objectives (see
above) and advances equity, anti-racism, decolonization, and inclusion. Please
include electronic copies of a cover letter (addressed to Dr. Grit
Liebscher, Interim Chair, Communication Arts), curriculum vitae, research
statement (1-2 pages), statement of teaching effectiveness (1-2 pages) with
additional teaching evidence (e.g. 1-2 examples of syllabi, small selection
of course evaluations), and a sample of a publication/creative work or work
in progress. Please also indicate three referees who will be contacted to
provide references for you.



The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place
on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee
peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land
granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the
Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our
campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and
is centralized within our Indigenous Initiatives Office
<https://uwaterloo.ca/human-rights-equity-inclusion/indigenousinitiatives> (
https://uwaterloo.ca/human-rights-equity-inclusion/indigenousinitiatives)*.*



The University values the diverse and intersectional identities of its
students, faculty, and staff. The University regards equity and diversity
as an integral part of academic excellence and is committed to
accessibility for all employees. The University of Waterloo seeks
applicants who embrace our values of equity, anti-racism and inclusion.  As
such, we encourage applications from candidates who have been historically
disadvantaged and marginalized, including applicants who identify as
Indigenous peoples (e.g., First Nations, Métis, Inuit/Inuk), Black,
racialized, people with disabilities, women and/or 2SLGBTQ+.



The University of Waterloo is committed to accessibility for persons with
disabilities. If you have any application, interview or workplace
accommodation requests, please contact Adrian Buchanan at
adrian.buchanan at uwaterloo.ca.



If you have any questions regarding the position, the application process,
assessment process, or eligibility, please contact Dr. Grit Liebscher at
gliebsch at uwaterloo.ca.



All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and
permanent residents will be given priority.



­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Three reasons to apply:
https://uwaterloo.ca/faculty-association/why-waterloo.