The School of Music, Dance and Theatre at Arizona State University seeks a scholar/researcher/archivist to act as Curator for the Cross Cultural Dance Resources Collection and to teach courses in ethnochoreology, research methods and related fields. This Fine Arts Specialist position is a full-time, non-tenure-track appointment beginning fall 2023 on the ASU Tempe Campus.

 

Arizona State University is a new model for American higher education, an unprecedented combination of academic excellence, entrepreneurial energy and broad access. This New American University is a single, unified institution comprising four differentiated campuses positively impacting the economic, social, cultural and environmental health of the communities it serves. Its research is inspired by real world application blurring the boundaries that traditionally separate academic disciplines. ASU serves more than 80,000 students in metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona, the nation's fifth largest city. ASU champions intellectual and cultural diversity, and welcomes students from all fifty states and more than one hundred nations across the globe.

Arizona State University’s Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts is the largest comprehensive design and arts school in the country, located within a dynamic research university focused on transformative change. Built on a unique combination of disciplines, the Herberger Institute comprises the Schools of Art; Arts, Media and Engineering; Music, Dance and Theatre; The Design School; The Sidney Poitier New American Film School, and the ASU Art Museum. The Herberger Institute is committed to redefining the 21st-century design and arts school through developing and scaling ideas that strengthen the role of designers and artists across all areas of society and culture, increasing the capacity of artists to make a difference in their communities. For more information on the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, visit herbergerinstitute.asu.edu.

  

The dance program at ASU offers a rich and culturally diverse curriculum, grounded in the core values of equity, creativity, embodiment, acknowledgement and humanity. In addition to a focus on dance making, teaching practices and scholarship, the curriculum emphasizes and highlights a range of movement practices, including Hip Hop, salsa, contemporary modern dance, contemporary ballet and somatic movement inquiry.  With approximately 100 undergraduate dance majors and about 14 MFA students, the dance program is a dynamic teaching and learning environment in which programming, curriculum and social partnership are mutually supportive. Each year we present an extensive season of events that push the boundaries of dance. The dance faculty engage in a wide spectrum of artistic/scholar and movement practices, emphasizing creative inquiry, somatic perspectives, and trans-disciplinary research. Our aim is to advance the field of dance education and to cultivate artists, teachers, leaders, and scholars who will move and think critically across diverse careers.

 The Cross-Cultural Dance Resources (CCDR) Collections at the Herberger Institute School of Music, Dance and Theatre stands as a monument to the study of dance in cultural contexts and is particularly strong in the allied fields of dance ethnology, including: ethnochoreology, ethnomusicology, dance notation, anthropology, religious studies, sociology, area studies, and more. The uniqueness of the Collections is only further augmented by virtue of its diversity: equal parts library, archives, and museum (including hundreds of objects of material cultures, such as: costumes, musical instruments, and dolls). Central to its key archival holdings are the collected resources of Eleanor King and Gertrude Prokosch Kurath, enhanced by the personal archives of Joann Keali‘inohomoku and Elsie Ivancich Dunin.

 

The successful candidate will, in collaboration with faculty in the dance program, manage the Cross-Cultural Dance Collections of the School of Music, Dance and Theatre at Arizona State University. The academic professional in this position is also responsible for curating, planning and coordinating the cataloging, access, preservation, and automation of the CCDR Collections. Other duties involve developing new projects for the use of and access to instructional and research resources related to the CCDR Collections, teaching classes on research methods and/or ethnochoreology/dance ethnography, other dance program curriculum needs and providing research assistance and resources to scholars in the use of the collections.

 

•      MA or MFA degree in dance or a related field or commensurate experience; a terminal degree is required for international applicants. 

•      Demonstrated pedagogical excellence and innovation in the teaching of dance research methods, ethnography, ethnochoreology, or related coursework. 

•      Demonstrated ability to foster the educational and cultural needs of all ASU students who study dance, and to advance equity, diversity and inclusion in their teaching and the field.

•      Demonstrated experience in managing/curating performing arts collections including familiarity with quality and preservation, as well as the ability to apply new digital technologies to the development of instructional, study and research methods in Dance and in other academic disciplines.

•      Strong interpersonal and communication skills; computer and media/technology skills.

 

●       Masters of Library Sciences or other certification in library sciences, archives, or collections. 

●       College teaching experience, particularly in the areas of research methods, ethnography, ethnochoreology. 

●       Demonstrated experience in the curation or organization of activities including, but not limited to, colloquia, exhibitions, panels, conferences, and/or performances.

●       Demonstrated experience in grant writing and cultivation of other resources for collections and archives. 

●       Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with others in teaching and/or research capacities. 

●       Knowledge of languages, movement practices, and other information related to the Southwest United States region.

●       Movement practitioner of any aesthetic

 

Please submit:

•      Letter of interest addressing how the candidate uniquely meets the qualifications for the position, in particular: work experience, innovative teaching, creative activity and/or research, collaboration and service.

•      Curriculum vitae.

•      A one-page statement addressing the candidate’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

•      A separate document with the names and contact information of at least three references.

•      One of the following: 

o   An example of a recent publication or writing sample sent as a PDF.

o   Additional sample that demonstrates creative activity or research, showcasing your innovative approach

 

All applications must be submitted electronically via http://apply.interfolio.com/122493. 

 

The application deadline is July 6, 2023. Applications will continue to be accepted on a rolling basis for a reserve pool.  Applications in the reserve pool may then be reviewed in the order in which they were received until the position is filled.

 

ASU conducts pre-employment screening for all positions which includes a criminal background check, verification of work history, academic credentials, licenses and certifications.

 

Arizona State University is a VEVRAA Federal Contractor and an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by law.
 
 (See https://www.asu.edu/aad/manuals/acd/acd401.html and https://www.asu.edu/titleIX/.)

 

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We acknowledge the 22 tribes who are native to Arizona, and more specifically the Akimel O’odham (Pima) and Piipaash or Pee Posh (Maricopa) tribes on whose ancestral homelands ASU’s Tempe campus resides.