Salary commensurate with education and experience.
The Department of Spanish and Portuguese (SPPO) at The Ohio State University invites applications for a Tenure-Track Assistant Professor position in Transnational World Language Studies in the area of Empire and Environment in the Spanish and/or Portuguese-Speaking areas of Latin America and the Caribbean beginning August 15, 2027. We aim to hire a dynamic scholar who will contribute to the vibrant and collegial intellectual communities of our department by engaging with interdisciplinary research, innovative teaching, program development, community engagement, and service.
In keeping with the department’s commitment to interdisciplinarity, we are especially interested in scholars who demonstrate an interdisciplinary research profile that examines the historical and contemporary relationships among empire, environment, extraction, race, indigeneity, migration, and ecological justice across the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking world. Areas of specialization may include colonial ecologies; extractivism and resource frontiers; environmental injustices; Indigenous and Black Atlantic environmental knowledge; climate migration; food systems; water politics; energy humanities; environmental media; or the historic and cultural dimensions of planetary crisis.
Performance objectives:
- Develop and maintain an active, nationally and internationally recognized research agenda on empire, environment, and transnational cultural dynamics in the Spanish- and/or Portuguese-speaking world.
- Teach and mentor undergraduate and graduate students in Spanish and/or Portuguese while contributing to curriculum development in areas such as environmental humanities, climate justice, coloniality, ecology, and transnational cultural studies.
- Advance the Mellon-funded Transforming World Languages at OSU initiative by collaborating with faculty and staff across disciplines, contributing to innovative programming, and creating new courses that strengthen students’ global fluency and intercultural competence.
- Foster connections across languages, disciplines, and communities through collaborative research, public-facing scholarship, and/or community-engaged activities.
- Participate in departmental service.
Partial startup for the Transnational World Language Studies tenure-track positions is funded by the Mellon Foundation grant “Global Fluency, Career Agility: Transforming World Languages at Ohio State.” Eligible Ohio State employees receive comprehensive benefits packages, including medical, dental and vision insurance, tuition assistance for employees and their dependents, and state or alternative retirement options with competitive employer contributions.
Start date: August 15, 2027.
Required:
- PhD in Spanish, Portuguese, Latin American Cultural Studies, or related field required at time of appointment which is August 15, 2027. ABDs welcome to apply.
- Native or near-native fluency in Spanish and/or Portuguese.
- Candidates must demonstrate achievement or strong promise of scholarly success.
- Research agenda that connects multiple methods and/or theoretical approaches to the study of empire and environment in the Americas.
Desired:
- Experience and/or commitment to public-facing or community engaged scholarship, teaching and/or service.
- Demonstrated ability to contribute to and strengthen transdisciplinary and translingual collaborations in environmental humanities scholarship.
- Knowledge of French, Haitian Kreyòl/Creole, and/or Francophone Caribbean contexts, particularly in dialogue with Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking worlds.
Final candidates are subject to successful completion of a background check.
To be considered, please submit your application via Workday.
You will be presented with the opportunity to attach up to FIVE documents in the Application Documents section. Please include the following:
- Cover Letter: 1-2 page letter, which should include a brief summary of your academic background and why you are interested in this opportunity.
- CV (Curriculum Vitae): Detailed overview of your scholarly experience, including your research experience, teaching and mentoring experience, service, engagement, and publications.
- Research Statement: Summary of your past research accomplishments, current work/research, and proposal for your future research plan as a faculty member.
- Teaching Statement: A statement of your approaches, experience and philosophy regarding your teaching, learning, and mentoring.
- A writing sample.
Candidates selected to move forward in the process will be asked to provide three letters of reference.
Application period closes November 9, 2026.
Inquiries may be directed to Laura Podalsky, [email protected].