Job Posting: 3-Year Position in African Religions at Berea College

Berea College invites applications for a full-time, three-year position in African Religions (rank open), conditioned upon successful grant funding. Applicants will hold a Ph.D. (or anticipate completion of the degree by 1 August 2018) in religious studies, with a primary focus in one or more of the following fields: Religions of Africa, Indigenous or Traditional African Religions, Religions of the Caribbean Region, and/or Religions of the African Diaspora. Additional qualifications include a record of excellence in teaching at the collegiate level, an established or a developing agenda for research that indicates potential for sustained and excellent peer-reviewed scholarship, and abilities to promote interdisciplinary collaboration and multi-disciplinary research. The College welcomes applicants from diverse disciplinary, theoretical, and methodological perspectives, as well as those applicants whose teaching and research may intersect with one or more of the following areas of study: (1) Women, Gender, and Religion in Africa; (2) Islam in Africa; and/or (3) African Christian Religion.

The successful candidate for this position will receive a joint appointment to both the Religion Department and the African and African American Studies Department, although the Religion Department will serve as the administrative home for this position. The annual teaching load of six courses combines periodic shared responsibilities for introductory and other courses in religious studies, curricular contributions to the General Education Program of the College, and courses in the applicant’s area of specialization. The College seeks a scholar/teacher who will aid both the Religion Department and the African and African American Studies Department in enriching their interdisciplinary connections and broadening the scope of their shared service to key features of the institutional mission.

The successful candidate will display professionalism when interacting with members of the Berea College community and will demonstrate a commitment to carrying out the mission of Berea College. Applications should include the following components: (1) letter of application; (2) curriculum vitae; (3) most recent transcripts, (4) a teaching portfolio that includes a statement of educational philosophy and teaching interests, sample course syllabi, and student evaluations of teaching; (5) three letters of recommendation; (6) a completed Faculty Application available at http://www.berea.edu/FacApp; and (7) samples of scholarship and a description of a continuing research agenda. Application materials should be sent electronically to afrelsearch2017@berea.edu. Review of applications will commence on 1 November 2017, and will continue until the College has filled this position.

Berea College achieved national distinction as the first coeducational and interracial college in the South. With an emphasis on service to the people of Appalachia and beyond, Berea enrolls 1,600 students from 40 states and 70 countries. The College has a longstanding commitment to interracial education; here, people of different races seek to learn from and about each other, while also living together. Berea is among the most racially diverse private liberal arts colleges in the United States. It admits only students whose families are unable to afford the high cost of tuition and awards each of them a Tuition Promise Scholarship, meaning no student ever pays tuition. Berea’s students excel in the College’s supportive but demanding academic environment, and many are the first in their families to graduate from college. The College is one of nine federally recognized Work Colleges, and all students hold a position in which they work 10-12 hours per week. Washington Monthly Magazine has consistently ranked Berea in the top 3 of Liberal Arts Colleges for its success in educating and graduating academically talented, low-income students who become service-oriented leaders in their professions and communities; in 2016 and 2017, the magazine ranked it number 1.

Located where the Bluegrass Region meets the Cumberland Mountains, the town of Berea (pop. 15,000) lies forty miles south of Lexington and is approximately two hours from Cincinnati, Louisville, and Knoxville. More information about Berea College is available at www.berea.edu.