(Filled) Job: Tenure-track Assistant Professor of Asian American Studies

The Intercollegiate Department of Asian American Studies at the Claremont Colleges and the Department of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts at Harvey Mudd College invite applications for a tenure-track assistant professor position in Asian American studies, to begin July 1, 2018. We are seeking a scholar who approaches history from an interdisciplinary perspective and who has research and teaching expertise in South Asian, Muslim, Southeast Asian, or Pacific Islander communities. The successful candidate should, by the beginning of Fall 2018, hold a Ph.D. in ethnic studies, history, American Studies, or related fields.  The teaching load for this position is five courses annually, including courses in the candidate’s field of expertise as well as two required departmental courses: a survey course on Asian American history and one course in the core curriculum at Harvey Mudd College. The candidate will be expected to work collaboratively in an intercollegiate and interdisciplinary setting. We especially encourage candidates whose work takes place within frameworks of transnationalism and globalization.

Please submit all materials no later than December 18th, 2017, including letter of application, curriculum vitae, teaching evaluations, statement of teaching philosophy, statement of research, one writing sample, and three letters of recommendation. These documents should be uploaded to Academic Jobs Online. Please contact Hung Cam Thai, Chair of the Intercollegiate Department of Asian American Studies for further information at hung.thai@pomona.edu.

The Claremont Colleges (Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, Pitzer, Pomona, and Scripps) are liberal arts colleges located 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. We are Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employers. Qualified applicants will be given consideration for employment without regard to age, race, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, protected veteran’s status, disability, or any other characteristics protected by applicable law.

News on Promotions and Tenure

Congratulations to the following members of our core faculty on their promotions, effective July 2015:

  • Professor Wei-Chin Hwang (CMC) has been promoted to full professor.
  • Professor Warren Liu (Scripps) has been promoted to associate professor with tenure.
  • Professor Tamara Venit-Shelton (CMC) has been promoted to associate professor with tenure.

Press releases to follow.

Professor Thai Named to “40 Under 40: Professors Who Inspire” List

Congratulations to Professor Hung Cam Thai who was named to the “40 Under 40: Professors Who Inspire” list.

“Thai is known for “guiding” his students, rather than lecturing them. One student at the college in Claremont, California, says it would be difficult to find another professor as dedicated to mentorship or more passionate about sociology than Thai. Another student describes working with Thai in Vietnam to document the lives of Western expatriates: “The opportunity to experience all parts of the creation of sociological knowledge — from target group selection to data acquisition to data analysis — sparked the interest that has led me to pursue sociology in my graduate studies.” – See the complete list.

Professors Miyake and Kassam: 2015 Wig Distinguished Professor Awards for Excellence in Teaching

Pomona College Professors Lynne Miyake (IDAAS core faculty) and Zayn Kassam (IDAAS affiliated faculty) have received the 2015 Wig Distinguished Professor Award for Excellence in Teaching. The award is the highest honor bestowed on Pomona faculty, recognizing exceptional teaching, concern for students and service to the College and community.

The recipients are elected by the junior and senior classes and then confirmed by a committee of trustees, faculty and students.

Lynne Miyake, professor of Japanese, teaches elementary, intermediate and advanced Japanese; Graphically Speaking: Japanese Manga and its Buds; Japanese/Japanese American Women Writers; and Japanese and Japanese American Autobiography.

Student comment: “Encyclopedic knowledge of her favorite subjects (e.g. manga and anime), willingness to approach it from a variety of angles and take student feedback into account on that front. Miyake sensei constantly brings an incredible energy to all of the classes she teaches. I appreciate how she constantly pushes you to do better and continue learning despite the Japanese language’s difficulty curve.”

Zayn Kassam, the John Knox McLean Professor of Religious Studies, teaches Engendering and Experience: Women in Islamic Traditions; Islamic Thought; Sufism; The Divine Body: Religion and the Environment; and The Religion of Islam. This is her third Wig Award, previously received in 1998 and 2005.

Student comment: “Prof. Kassam is eloquent, caring, and brilliant. She can turn a small moment into a resonating statement about tolerance. By teaching us how to investigate Islam by learning its history and spiritual legacy, she flipped the culturally deterministic script that dominates popular discussion of the religion in a highly necessary way.”

WEB LINK: http://www.pomona.edu/news/2015/05/18-wig-awards-2015.aspx.

Congratulations Professor Miyake and Professor Kassam!

Spring 2015 Courses

The Spring 2015 courses have been posted. Download a copy here.

If you would like to get more information about the courses we are offering this spring 2015, please attend our Spring 2015 Course Info Session on Wednesday, November 5th at 4:30pm in Lincoln 1121, Pomona College. Some faculty will be there to answer questions you may have about their courses.