About UMass Amherst
UMass Amherst, the Commonwealth's flagship campus, is a nationally ranked public research university offering a full range of undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University sits on nearly 1,450-acres in the scenic Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, and offers a rich cultural environment in a bucolic setting close to major urban centers. In addition, the University is part of the Five Colleges (including Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, and Smith College), which adds to the intellectual energy of the region.
UMass Amherst is home to the W.E.B. Du Bois Homesite as well as the W. E. B. Du Bois Papers, which are housed in Special Collections in the W.E.B. Du Bois Library. The Department of History also hosts the grant-funded community-engaged research project, “Documenting the Early History of Black Lives in the Connecticut River Valley” (https://websites.umass.edu/pvhn-blackhistory/). This database is among the partnering projects of “Enslaved: Peoples of the Historical Slave Trade,” also known as Enslaved.org, which is an open-access website that publishes datasets and biographical narratives with information about the lives of individuals who suffered under slavery and who were part of the transatlantic slave trade (https://websites.umass.edu/pvhn-blackhistory/ ). The Department of History’s Graduate Certificate in Public History is open to students in any discipline, and especially welcomes students from the W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies.
About the Slavery North Initiative (http://slaverynorth.com/)
Slavery North is an academic and cultural destination where scholars, thinkers, artists, and cultural producers build community and produce research and cultural outcomes that transform our understanding of Transatlantic Slavery. It seeks to advance social justice by recovering and centering the cultures, experiences, lives, and resistance of enslaved peoples in Canada and the US North. At the heart of Slavery North is a fellowship program that will welcome national and international students, artists, and scholars, providing them with the space, funding, time, and community to produce transformative research outcomes.
Position Description
The Department of History at the University of Massachusetts Amherst invites applications for a tenured position in the Public Histories of North American Enslavement. The appointment will be at the Associate Professor level beginning Fall 2025. For its initial three years (with potential for renewal) the position will be affiliated with Slavery North, an initiative that seeks to advance social justice by centering the cultures, experiences, lives, and resistance of enslaved peoples in Canada and the US North while bolstering public understanding of the social and cultural impacts of trans-Atlantic slavery and its legacies in the North, including how that history manifests in anti-Black racism today. The successful applicant will teach undergraduate and graduate courses at the intersection of African American/Canadian and public history; and will serve as the Associate Director of Slavery North, with responsibilities for program and project management (see below). As the new hire will be expected to advance the aims of Slavery North in collaboration with existing, related initiatives in the Department of History and elsewhere on campus, the most competitive candidates will bring demonstrated experience with digital humanities and/or community-engaged research among Black Diasporic communities in the context of Transatlantic Slavery in the US North and/or Canada. Candidates with research and teaching expertise in Transatlantic Slavery Studies and historical themes in Black Diaspora Studies in other regions who can demonstrate an interest in and understanding of the distinctions of temperate climate slavery in Canada and the US North will also be considered. The successful candidate will have excellent administrative skills, significant leadership experience, and a record of scholarship, teaching, and service appropriate for appointment to the rank of tenured Associate Professor. The regular teaching responsibilities for a tenured associate professor in the History Department is a 2-2 load.
While serving in the role as The Associate Director of Slavery North Initiative the candidate will assist the director in the day-to-day operations of the initiative and participate in the life of Slavery North. This may include any, some, or all of: helping to supervise the fellowship competition, working with the permanent staff, directing Research Assistants so that they may engage in the collection, digitization, transcription, and inputting of data in the Slavery North database (and other responsibilities), supporting Slavery North fellows, identifying and contributing to grant applications and other funding opportunities, and helping to conceptualize and organize Slavery North research outcomes like conferences, exhibitions, lectures, and workshops. When the Director is away on sabbatical or leave, the Associate Director will take on the role of acting director with an adjusted teaching load.
Requirements
- PhD in a relevant field (History, Art History, Afro-American Studies, etc.)
- A record of research excellence and teaching in Transatlantic Slavery Studies and/or historical aspects of Black Diaspora Studies appropriate for appointment at the rank of tenured Associate Professor.
- Significant outreach experience in the community and/or extra-academic engagement.
Preferred Qualifications
- Administrative/supervisory experience, including budget management.
- A record of successful grant-writing and fundraising.
- A record of research excellence and teaching in Transatlantic Slavery Studies within the mandate areas of Slavery North: https://slaverynorth.com/mandate-areas/.
Additional Information
Prospective faculty are encouraged to visit https://www.umass.edu/faculty-development/prospective-faculty to learn more about working, living, and learning in the Pioneer Valley area of Massachusetts.
The start date for this position is September 1, 2025.
Salary commensurate with qualifications and experience.
Application Instructions
To apply, please submit the following:
- A current curriculum vitae.
- A cover letter in which you a) articulate your interest in this position, b) briefly describe your research interests, and c) describe your vision for this position. Limit: 2 pages.
- A research statement that situates past research in a broader scholarly context and suggests a future research trajectory. Limit: 2 pages.
- A teaching statement that describes past teaching experience and articulates a teaching vision for this position. Candidates are specifically asked to highlight existing courses (both undergraduate and graduate) they are qualified to offer as well as others they are interested in developing. Limit: 2 pages.
- An administrative statement that describes how your previous experiences and expertise have prepared you for the administrative responsibilities of this position. Limit 2 pages.
- Contact information (name, title, email address, institution) for 3 professional references. References will not be contacted until the short-list phase of the search.
To guarantee full consideration, all application materials should be received by the priority deadline of March 8, 2025. The search will remain active until the position is filled.
The University is committed to active recruitment of a diverse faculty and student body. The University of Massachusetts Amherst is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer of women, minorities, protected veterans, and individuals with disabilities and encourages applications from these and other protected group members. Because broad diversity is essential to an inclusive climate and critical to the University’s goals of achieving excellence in all areas, we will holistically assess the many qualifications of each applicant and favorably consider an individual’s record working with students and colleagues with broadly diverse perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds in educational, research or other work activities. We will also favorably consider experience overcoming or helping others overcome barriers to an academic career and degree.