DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE
FACULTY OF FINE ARTS, CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY
Canada Research Chair in Oral History Performance
The Department of Theatre in the Faculty of Fine Arts at Concordia University invites applications for an Emerging (Tier 2) Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Oral History Performance.
We are seeking an emerging artist-researcher (within 10 years of receiving their terminal degree) with recognized expertise in oral history performance located within forms such as verbatim theatre, documentary theatre, storytelling, or other socially engaged performance creation. The ideal candidate will demonstrate the potential to establish a strong externally funded research program focused on building community research-creation partnerships and developing new ways to produce, document, evaluate and disseminate collaboratively produced oral history performance and knowledge.All subject areas are welcome, but we are particularly interested in candidates working with indigenous or diasporic communities. The ability to attract and mentor excellent graduate students is also essential.
This CRC will position Concordia as a world leader in oral history performance and performance-based inquiry more generally. The candidate will benefit from a formal strategic affiliation with the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling (COHDS), a cross-faculty research unit at Concordia University that has emerged as a global leader in the interdisciplinary field of oral history and creative practice. The CRC will be expected to play a pivotal role in consolidating and extending the productive working relationships already in place between COHDS and the Faculty of Fine Arts pertaining to research that explores how theatrical forms can more fully involve community members in the exploration and communication of their own histories; and reciprocally, how investigation of a community’s past can bring depth and cultural continuity to the creative outputs of its members. The Faculty of Fine Arts boasts a strong research culture, fostering innovative work that engages with new technologies, traditional media and historical fine arts practices. In addition to ongoing collaborations between COHDS and faculty members in Theatre, Art Education, and Art History, the successful candidate will be positioned to develop their vision for the CRC through connections with Fine Arts faculty in nine departments, four research centres, and an unparalleled range of programs in the visual, performing, cinematic and digital arts.
The Department of Theatre, housed alongside the Departments of Music and Dance, has excellent costume, properties, and scenery workshops, black box and proscenium performance facilities, highly experienced technical and support staff, and a critical mass of full-and-part-time faculty with expertise and sustained interest in traditional, site-specific, and multi-media design, oral history performance, and arts for social change. COHDS provides state-of-the-art digital research infrastructure and training. The Centre is a vibrant, interdisciplinary community of researchers, artists, educators, and graduate students exploring intersections of oral history and creative practice in collaboration with diverse communities.
The successful candidate for the CRC in Oral History Performance will be appointed to the Department of Theatre at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor and will be expected to possess expertise in performance-based inquiry with a view to also teach courses in the unit’s curricula. In addition, the candidate will be expected to play a lead role in shaping the new MFA in Performance Creation currently in development between the Departments of Theatre, Music, and Dance.
The Faculty of Fine Arts will work with the candidate to prepare the formal CRC application according to CRC program guidelines. The university will nominate the successful candidate to the CRC Secretariat at the earliest opportunity according to the guidelines of the CRC program (http://www.chairs.gc.ca).A Canada Research Chair entails a reduced teaching load, research and salary stipends, as well as access to infrastructure grants for the duration of the five-year chair, renewable once, for a total of 10 years.
Located in the heart of vibrant, cosmopolitan Montreal and home to over 46,000 students and 7,200 staff, Concordia University is one of Canada’s most innovative urban universities. Over the past decade, Concordia has invested significantly to renew its faculty, improve and expand its infrastructure and create state-of-the-art facilities for teaching, learning and research. Concordia has 7,400 graduate students enrolled in more than 200 graduate programs and over 6,300 international students from more than 150 countries. Concordia’s research profile continues to grow as it fosters multidisciplinary approaches to finding solutions to a broad range of societal
challenges. For more information, please visit www.concordia.ca.
Applications should be submitted electronically to theatre@concordia.caand consist of: a covering letter, a curriculum vitae, copies of recent publications, a statement of research achievements that includes relevant theatre production or performance research-creation, a one-page statement of teaching philosophy and interests, evidence of teaching effectiveness, and the names and contact information of three referees. Short-listed candidates will be required to submit a detailed five-year research plan, appropriate to the goals and objectives of the CRC program.
Digital applications (in .pdf format) should reach the department on or before
April 1, 2015.
All inquiries regarding this position should be directed to:
Dr. Edward Little, Professor and Chair, Department of Theatre
Email: Edward.little@concordia.ca
Tel: 514-848-2424 ext. 4788
To learn more about working at Concordia, applicants are encouraged to consult: http://www.concordia.ca/hr/jobs.html
Faculty of Fine Arts: http://finearts.concordia.ca
Department of Theatre: www.concordia.ca/theatre
Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling: http://storytelling.concordia.ca
This position, linked to the CRC appointment, will begin on August 1, 2015 or later. Review of applications will begin immediately after the April 1st application deadline, and continue until the position is filled.
All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and Permanent Residents will be given priority. Concordia University is strongly committed to employment equity within its community, and to recruiting a diverse faculty and staff. The university encourages applications from all qualified candidates, including women, members of visible minorities, Aboriginal persons, members of sexual minorities, persons with disabilities, and others who may contribute to diversification.
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Professor and Canada Research Chair in Oral History
Co-Director of the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling (COHDS)
Department of History, Concordia University
1455 de Maisonneuve Boulevard Ouest
Montreal, QC, Canada, H3G 1M8
http://storytelling.concordia.ca
www.postindustrialmontreal.ca
http://goingpublicproject.org
Co-editor (with Ted Little and Thi Ry Duong) of Remembering Mass Violence: Oral History, New Media and Performance (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2013).
Author. Oral History at the Crossroads: Sharing Life Stories of Survival and Displacement (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2014).
Editor. Beyond Testimony and Trauma: Oral History in the Aftermath of Mass Violence (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, forthcoming February 2015).