History and Philosophy
The College of Letters and Science at Montana State University seeks five tenure track
faculty members across our participating departments with a demonstrated record of
or potential for scholarly activity (research, teaching, service, and creative work)
that promotes the wellness of underserved communities broadly defined. This cohort
hiring initiative is part of a university commitment to support our diverse student
body, faculty, and staff.(See Montana State University’s Diversity & Inclusion Framework and Strategic Plan: Choosing Promise.)We know that representation of a variety of backgrounds and perspectives is critical
to a rich and vibrant scholarly community that supports our students’ learning and
upholds our land grant mission.We envision a wide variety of scholars who qualify as contributing to this theme and
are particularly interested in people from diverse academic backgrounds whose experiences
will contribute to the excellence of the MSU community. We imagine candidates who focus on the wellness of underserved communities and whose scholarship may speak
but is not limited to rural communities, the environment, community empowerment, community
sustainability (environmental, governmental, or otherwise), health disparities (racial,
gender, or rural), climate, and teaching pedagogy.
As a participating department in the Cohort Hiring Initiative, the Department of History & Philosophy is searching for a scholar who focuses on the history of underserved communities. The research specialty is open, though it could include, but is not limited to, research and teaching interests in the history of medicine or public health, public history, historic preservation, cultural heritage, ecological and environmental knowledge, community empowerment, and local, national or international sovereignty, social movements, or migration.
Department Overview
The Department of History and Philosophy is one of the powerhouses in the humanities at MSU. It currently has over 250 majors in several Options, including History, History—Teaching, History – Science, Environment, Technology, and Society, and Philosophy. We offer several Minors, including History, Philosophy, Museum Studies, and Latin America and Latino Studies. We also offer both MA and PhD programs, training students primarily in US History, History of the American West, Environmental History, and the History of Science and Technology. The Department has a long tradition of teaching and research interests in questions of race, class, and gender, focusing specifically on underserved communities, with most of our courses (within the Core curriculum, within our majors, and within interdisciplinary minors) directly engaging social, racial, and environmental justice and inequality.
The Department has close ties with several Centers and Institutes across campus, including our own Center for Science, Technology, Ethics, and Society. Scholars could work on the relationship between Western science and indigenous approaches to knowledge or questions of environmental racism. We also have close ties to the Ivan Doig Center for the Study of Western Lands and Peoples of the North American West, enabling a new hire to work within a group of interdisciplinary scholars who focus on the history and culture of the American West, including questions of Indigenous political and social movements, rural health, and public history and historic preservation.
The Department is also strategically placed and invested in many of the interdisciplinary minors and certificates offered in the College, including Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS), Asian Studies, and Hispanic Studies. Our faculty’s interests overlap with the goals of these programs through our work in public history, the American West, gender, and modern US history, and we are seeking a scholar who could collaborate on research and mentor students from traditionally underrepresented and marginalized groups.
The successful candidate will teach undergraduate courses in their areas of specialization and graduate courses in the department’s growing M.A. and Ph.D. programs and its public history program. All faculty are encouraged to develop new courses that integrate scholarship and teaching. Montana State University is a Carnegie Tier 1 Research university and faculty are encouraged to take advantage of the university’s many opportunities for interdisciplinary research.
How to Submit Your Application
Applicants will apply online through the applicant tracking system on the Montana State University Website at (https://jobs.montana.edu/postings/32831).For any questions or additional information, please contact Hunter Hash, our Search Committee Coordinator, at [email protected] or (406) 994-4396. He will be in direct contact with Michael Reidy, Professor and Chair of the Department of History and Philosophy and Chair of the Department’s Cohort Hiring Committee.