Position Summary

Digital Humanities (DH) and Media and Technology Studies (MTS) at the University of Alberta invite applications for a full-time tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor specializing in Game Studies with an emphasis on Critical Game Studies.

The successful candidate will have expertise in one or more of the following areas: game studies, critical game studies, fan and gaming cultures, game design, digital humanities, critical data studies, and computational thinking.

The starting date for the position is 1 July 2023.

Department Summary

The Digital Humanities program currently has four full time academic faculty members, including a Canada 150 Chair in Gender and Cultural Informatics. The program currently has approximately 60 graduate students. Media and Technology Studies, which includes a certificate in computer game development, serves a broad range of undergraduate students from across the University of Alberta with approximately 210 majors. Faculty members in MTS maintain strong connections to research projects and scholarly initiatives in units across the University, and frequently supervise doctoral students outside DH and MTS. Applicants interested to learn more about the position or DH are invited to contact Dr. Sean Gouglas (sgouglas@ualberta.ca). If you wish to learn more about MTS, please contact Dr. Gordon Gow (ggow@ualberta.ca). 

DH and MTS are housed in the Faculty of Arts, which is the oldest and most diverse faculty on campus and is one of the largest research and teaching centres in Western Canada (https://www.ualberta.ca/arts/index.html). A guiding principle of the Faculty of Arts is that we must work together to foster a welcoming, equitable, and antiracist working and learning environment. We acknowledge that diversity in Indigeneity, race, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, religion, language, and disability is key to our excellence in learning, teaching, research, service, and community engagement. We commit to taking deliberate action towards dismantling the conditions that allow for structural oppression and racism to persist. 

Edmonton and the University of Alberta are situated on Treaty 6 territory, homeland of the Métis, and traditional meeting ground and home for many Indigenous Peoples, including Cree, Saulteaux, Blackfoot, Dene, and Nakota Sioux. Established in 1908 as a board-governed, public institution, the University of Alberta has earned the reputation of being one of the best universities in Canada based on strengths in teaching, research, and service. The University is a recent signatory to the Scarborough Charter, which confirms a commitment to fostering Black flourishing and sustained commitment to redress anti-Black racism and to promote Black inclusion. 

The University’s main campus is located in Edmonton, Alberta’s capital city. The Edmonton metropolitan area is the sixth largest in Canada, with a population of nearly 1.5 million people. It has the second largest Indigenous population of any city in Canada. There is a vibrant computer game industry in Edmonton, which includes companies such as BioWare, Inflexion, and BeamDog, and a host of independent game companies. Many of these companies and employees collaborate with the university in games teaching and research.

Duties

The successful candidate will:

• Teach four courses per academic year (usually two courses each in the fall and winter terms) in the Digital Humanities program and the Media Studies program including existing graduate courses in Digital Humanities and undergraduate courses in game studies, and will develop and teach additional courses in their areas of expertise;
• Supervise graduate students serve on graduate committees in the Digital Humanities program, in Media Studies, and elsewhere in the university;
• Conduct a robust research program that includes publications in peer-reviewed venues suitable to the applicant’s research agenda, as well as publication in policy, government, and industry venues as appropriate. Research output should also include academic and community conferences, workshops, and seminars;
• Collaborate with sectors outside of academic, including community groups, non-profits, and industry; and
• Engage in active and effective service to the Digital Humanities program, Media Studies, the Faculty of Arts, and the University of Alberta

Minimum Qualifications

The successful candidate will have the following qualifications:

• a PhD or an equivalent degree in game studies, digital humanities, media studies, game design, or a closely related field (applicants who are ABD with a strong expectation of degree completion by July 1, 2023 will be considered and if successful would be required to complete their PhD by July 1, 2023);
• an innovative and robust research program demonstrated by a strong record of publications and presentations in important venues suitable to the candidate’s career stage and appropriate to their research priorities, a successful research funding history (especially in the case of applicants who already hold a tenure-track position), and a clear plan for future research; 
• excellence in teaching and mentorship suitable to the candidate’s career stage, as demonstrated by a teaching portfolio that includes teaching evaluations, a statement of the candidate’s approach to teaching, and sample course outlines;
• suitable experience in game making (video or tabletop) or facilitating game making (expertise in games criticism may in some cases be considered as a suitable substitute); and
• A commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) as demonstrated by active and intentional practice within the applicant’s research, teaching, and/or service

Preferred Qualifications

The search committee would view as positive candidates who have demonstrable expertise or proven potential to develop expertise in one or more of the following areas:

• success with widening participation activities for marginalized communities, such as coding or game-making clubs; 
• the formation of partnerships with creative industries, technology companies, and media/arts institutions;
• game engine environments, such as suitable expertise in Unity, Unreal, Godot, or Twine;
• applied Digital Humanities methods, such as suitable expertise in Python, JavaScript, SQL, or XML; or 
• Quantitative methods, such as suitable expertise in R.

How to Apply

To have your application considered, please select the Apply Online icon below and submit the following:

• Cover letter that includes highlights of the candidate’s profile and the names of the three referees;
• Curriculum vitae (CV) that includes a list of publications and conference presentations;
• Research statement that outlines main areas of current and future research (submit under “Research Plan”);
• Writing samples from recent research publications or presentations (submit under “List of Publications”); and
• Teaching dossier that includes a statement regarding the applicant’s approach to teaching, evidence of or potential for teaching effectiveness (such as awards, student feedback, and peer or supervisor evaluations), and one previously-taught course outline (submit as an attachment under "Statement of Teaching/Research Interests").

Letters of reference will be requested from applicants selected for interviews. Applicants selected for interviews will be expected to contact the three referees and arrange to have their letters of reference sent via email attachment to Gloria Stroyek (mtsea@ualberta.ca).

The committee will begin reviewing files on 1 December 2022. The position will remain open until filled.