Assistant Professor, Visual Studies

The John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, at the University of Toronto, invites applications for a full-time tenure stream appointment in the area of Visual Studies. This appointment will be at the rank of Assistant Professor with an expected start date of July 1, 2023, or shortly thereafter.

Candidates must have earned a Master of Fine Arts, Master of Visual Studies or equivalent Master’s degree by the time of the appointment.  An in-progress or completed PhD in Art, Visual Culture, or a related area is considered an asset.  Candidates must have a demonstrated record of excellence in research and/or creative professional activity, as well as in teaching. We seek candidates whose research, creative professional activity and teaching interests complement and enhance our existing strengths. The successful candidate will be expected to pursue research and/or creative professional activity with international exposure (e.g. exhibitions, festivals, residencies, publications, commissions, and/or curatorial practice, etc.).

Candidates must provide evidence of excellence in research, and/or creative professional activity which can be demonstrated by the submitted research statement; representation in significant exhibitions, installations, screenings, residencies, commissions, festivals, or other forms of peer recognition of creative work; publications in recognized, field-relevant journals (or leading publications in the field) or forthcoming high impact publications or research in progress that targets such publication venues; participation in field-leading research projects and professional networks; presentations at academic or field-relevant conferences; awards and accolades; other noteworthy activities that contribute to the visibility and prominence of the discipline; and strong endorsements by referees of high standing.

Evidence of excellence in teaching will be provided through teaching accomplishments, the teaching dossier submitted as part of the application (with required materials outlined below), as well as strong letters of reference.  Candidates must have the ability to contribute to the enrichment of undergraduate and graduate programs at the Daniels Faculty. These programs would include the Bachelor of Arts, Visual Studies, the Master of Visual Studies, and in the new PhD in Architecture, Landscape, and Design Studies. Ideally, the successful candidate will have expert knowledge and dedicated experience in teaching through contemporary studio art practice and discourse that promotes student experimentation with varied traditional and emergent material fabrication methods employed to create object-based media, gallery and site-based installations, and/or interactive design.

Programs in Visual Studies focus upon a critical understanding and production of art. Visual Studies is set within a unique environment focusing on a rigorous investigation of the interdisciplinary and conceptual components inherent to contemporary art and curatorial practice, as well as in critical writing, theory, art history, design, and related areas requiring a high degree of visual literacy. The Visual Studies Studio stream is intended for students who wish to concentrate on studio practice through the myriad interdisciplinary offerings within the Visual Studies program. Rather than focusing upon a single medium, the Visual Studies Studio stream encourages cross-disciplinary exploration and hybrid forms of practice that can encompass painting, photography, sculpture, artists’ moving image, and other time-based media. Students in this stream gain strong visual skills, critical reasoning abilities, and an understanding of art in its historical and social contexts.

We are seeking a candidate with a demonstrated capacity to advance visual studies knowledge and allied disciplines in a way that can contribute meaningfully to the diverse population and intellectual milieu at the Daniels Faculty. We encourage applications from artists whose research interests and established working methodologies intersect with the varied complex and compelling creative activities of our students and their emerging critical scholarship in, but not limited to: studies of colonialism, post-colonialism, and decolonization; intersectional critiques of racialization and subjectivity; gender and sexuality studies; sustainability, the built environment, extractivism, and ecology. Please visit our home page: the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design here. The position will include opportunities for the candidate to collaborate with UofT colleagues across the Daniels Faculty. University of Toronto faculty have access to the Canadian Research Councils, which offer grants and research funding opportunities that are unique within North America.

Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Set within a preeminent research university and located at the center of one of North America’s most cosmopolitan cities, the Daniels Faculty uniquely combines the disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, visual studies, and forestry in undergraduate, professional, and advanced graduate programs. The Daniels Faculty explores the intersections between nature, technology, architecture, and various built and natural geographies in a way that situates design, art, and forestry to meet their contemporary challenges. An emphasis on the connections between the various disciplines at the Faculty is apparent in the scholarly research and built work of many of our faculty. Following a decade-long transformation of the school’s faculty and professional programs, and a major increase in its endowment, the Faculty has recently expanded its undergraduate and graduate programs. To accommodate both growth in its curricular offerings and an increase in its research and outreach programs, an award-winning new building complex for the Faculty was completed on Toronto’s historic One Spadina Crescent.

All qualified candidates are invited to apply online by clicking the link below.  Applicants must submit a cover letter; a current curriculum vitae; a research statement outlining current and future scholarly, research, and creative professional activities; representative examples of publications, research, and design work; and a teaching dossier to include a strong teaching statement, sample course materials, and teaching evaluations.

Applicants must provide the name and contact information of three references.  The University of Toronto’s recruiting tool will automatically solicit and collect letters of reference from each once an application is submitted (this happens overnight).  Applicants remain responsible for ensuring that references submit (on letterhead, dated, and signed) by the closing date.

Submission guidelines can be found here.  Your CV and cover letter should be uploaded into the dedicated fields.  Please combine additional application materials into one or two files in PDF/MS Word format.  If you have questions about this position, please contact the Dean’s Office at daniels-dean [​at​] daniels.utoronto.ca or T +1 416 978 3103.

All application materials, including reference letters, must be received by December 5, 2022. To view the electronic version of this position and apply, please visit the following link: Assistant Professor—Visual Studies (utoronto.ca) 

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Diversity Statement
The University of Toronto is strongly committed to diversity within its community and especially welcomes applications from racialized persons / persons of colour, women, Indigenous / Aboriginal People of North America, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ2S+ persons, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas.

As part of your application, you will be asked to complete a brief Diversity Survey. This survey is voluntary. Any information directly related to you is confidential and cannot be accessed by search committees or human resources staff. Results will be aggregated for institutional planning purposes. For more information, please see here.

Accessibility Statement
The University strives to be an equitable and inclusive community, and proactively seeks to increase diversity among its community members. Our values regarding equity and diversity are linked with our unwavering commitment to excellence in the pursuit of our academic mission.

The University is committed to the principles of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). As such, we strive to make our recruitment, assessment and selection processes as accessible as possible and provide accommodations as required for applicants with disabilities.

If you require any accommodations at any point during the application and hiring process, please contact uoft.careers [​at​] utoronto.ca.