The Department of Anthropology at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) invites applications for an Assistant Professor in cultural anthropology with an emphasis in medical anthropology beginning August 2013. This is a tenure-track position requiring teaching excellence, research, and service.
Candidates should demonstrate knowledge, scholarly and research interests, and the ability to stimulate and encourage student interest in medical and cultural anthropology. Both the applicant’s prior geographic area of research and area of interest within medical anthropology is open but the successful candidate must be interesting in developing an Alaska-based and applied research agenda. Medical anthropology has gained significance in Alaska because of the state’s increased cultural diversity. Anchorage is Alaska’s largest city with nearly 300,000 residents, where over 95 languages are spoken, and is the headquarters for the Alaska Native tribal health system. The University of Alaska Anchorage is also the designated health campus of the University of Alaska system. It is near three major hospitals and many health related agencies, affording abundant opportunities for developing interdisciplinary and inter-organizational partnerships. The Department seeks a candidate dedicated to equity and diversity of the campus community and to promoting an environment that increases student knowledge about local, national, and global communities.
The successful candidate should be able to work collaboratively with multiple organizations and individuals who are attempting to build health research priorities in Alaska with an interdisciplinary vigor.
The successful candidate should be a talented and devoted teacher with a record of excellence in scholarship and research in medical anthropology. Candidates will be evaluated on their ability to teach undergraduate and graduate courses, some of which are stacked. The candidate should expect to teach general courses in cultural anthropology in addition to offerings in medical anthropology and other specialty areas of their choosing. The position is tripartite, requiring teaching 3 courses per semester, research and service activities.
Our seven-member department takes a four-field approach to anthropology, with a research focus on Alaska and the Far North. The department has a congenial faculty and enthusiastic students, with more than one hundred undergraduate majors enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program, and over thirty graduate students in our master’s program that specializes in applied anthropology. The department additionally offers general education courses for liberal arts undergraduates, and contributes to teaching in international studies, study abroad, and other programs.
The University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) is the largest of three universities in the University of Alaska system, serving nearly 20,000 students. Anchorage offers a lively intellectual and cultural life, including opera, symphony, art events, and varied restaurants. Set between the snow-capped peaks of the Chugach Mountains and the ocean waters of Cook Inlet, the temperate climate of the city offers ready access to national forests and parks, year-round outdoor recreation, and unsurpassed natural beauty.
There may be an opportunity for in-person interview with candidates still in consideration at the AAA annual meetings in San Francisco, November 14-18th, 2012. Relocation funds may be available. More information about the department and the university are available at http://www.uaa.alaska.edu, or contact Dr. Steve Langdon at sjlangdon@uaa.alaska.edu; 907-786-6848 and/or Dr. Marie Lowe at marie.lowe@uaa.alaska.edu; 907-786-6534.
Review of applications begins October 30, 2012.