Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Medieval or Early Modern Mediterranean World

The Department of History at Occidental College invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor in history. The position begins in Fall 2025. The first year of this appointment is as a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow with a significantly reduced teaching load and the following year the position converts to assistant professor, tenure-track.

Position

The History Department at Occidental College invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professor in the Mediterranean World, 600 to 1500 C.E. Successful candidates situate early modern Mediterranean history in a transnational context, and depending on the specific candidate might contribute to a range of fields such as North African, Trans-Saharan, and/or European studies, as well as Medieval and/or Renaissance studies. The candidate’s work must engage issues of race, ethnicity, religion and/or social justice, and whose background, expertise, and experiences will contribute to diversifying Occidental’s faculty. Preference will be given to candidates whose research addresses cross-cultural contact, economic exchange and political economy, empire and urbanism, or religious cooperation and conflict. Candidates with interest in or experience with digital humanities and/or public history are also encouraged to apply.

Candidates are expected to teach introductory courses as well as upper-level courses in their areas of specialization. Candidates will also periodically teach in Occidental’s First-Year Seminar Program. In addition to providing necessary temporal and geographical coverage, this hire comes at a critical time for the department as we seek to restructure our curriculum in line with the Occidental Promise’s focus on high-impact, immersive courses with a community-based learning component.

Occidental faculty are committed teacher-scholars who bring research and creative discovery to life for students in classrooms, labs, studios, and mentored projects. The Department is also committed to undergraduate research, regularly mentoring History Department's senior thesis projects, and Occidental’s hallmark summer research program. The department seeks an innovative instructor, scholar, mentor, and colleague who shares these commitments to a community-grounded and research-intensive curriculum.

Required Qualifications

1. D.in History required, with specialization in the Mediterranean World, 600-1500 CE.
2. Must have some focus (research or teaching) on race, religion, and/or ethnicity, and must have background, expertise, and experiences that will contribute to diversifying Occidental’s faculty.
3. Must be able to teach introductory courses in the Mediterranean World, as well as upper-level courses in their area of specialization in the department.
4. Must be able to teach First-Year Seminar courses.
5. Must be able to mentor undergraduate research, including History Department senior theses and summer research program.
6. Demonstrated commitment to and excellence in undergraduate teaching.
7. Demonstrated commitment to working effectively with students from minoritized and marginalized social groups.
8. A strong record of scholarly accomplishments appropriate to the level of appointment.
9. Demonstrated commitment to the four cornerstones of the mission of the College: excellence, equity, community, and service.

Preferred Qualifications

1. We welcome applicants whose research area(s) addresses issues such as cross-cultural contact, economic exchange and political economy, empire and urbanism and/or religious cooperation and conflict.
2. We welcome applicants with interest in or experience with digital humanities and/or public history.
3. We welcome applicants whose teaching incorporates community-based learning.