Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Digital Humanities

Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Digital Humanities
Arts, English
Posted: May 27, 2024
Deadline to Apply: Monday, September 16, 2024

Located in downtown Toronto, the largest and most culturally diverse city in Canada, and situated on the territory of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Mississaugas of the Credit and the Wendat Peoples, the Department of English in the Faculty of Arts at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) invite applications for a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Digital Humanities.

The Canada Research Chairs Program is a federally funded program that seeks to achieve excellence by attracting and retaining the most accomplished and promising researchers. The Tier 2 CRC is intended for exceptional emerging scholars, i.e., candidates must have been active researchers in their field for fewer than 10 years at the time of nomination. Further details on the CRC eligibility criteria can be found here.

In collaboration with Toronto Metropolitan University, the successful candidate will develop the CRC application for the April 22, 2025 deadline. The candidate will be appointed to a tenure track position at the rank of Assistant Professor, conditional upon the success of the CRC application, effective January 1, 2026. The CRC Tier 2 appointment is tenable for five years and renewable once. The appointment is subject to final budgetary approval. All nominations are subject to review and final approval by the CRC Secretariat.

The Opportunity
We seek an outstanding emerging scholar in Digital Humanities (DH) with a strong background in literary/media studies and a demonstrated record of DH research, with strengths in one or more of the following areas: Asian, Black, or Indigenous studies, including critical race studies, decolonial studies, or transnational and diaspora studies; feminist and queer studies; game studies; computational humanities; critical code studies; electronic literature and digital arts; and machine learning/artificial intelligence. The CRC will be a full member of the English Department based in the Faculty of Arts, and will teach courses in the English BA and MA programs.

The CRC in Digital Humanities will be situated within and extend the capacity of the Centre for Digital Humanities (CDH), an intersectional hub of cross-faculty research and innovation, based in the TMU Libraries (TMUL). The vision is for the CRC to work actively on campus to develop partnerships, networks, and collaborations in Digital Humanities across the Faculty of Arts and other Faculties. The CRC will have demonstrated expertise in digital humanities, interrogating the values and ideologies that inform the creation of digital tools and the use of digital technologies, while creating innovative pathways to transformative, equitable, and diverse futures.

Responsibilities
The successful candidate will engage in a combination of research, teaching, and service duties, and maintain an inclusive, equitable, and collegial work environment across all activities. Responsibilities of the Chair include contributing to leadership and capacity-building at the CDH, where the candidate will develop and maintain a strong, independent, externally funded research program that will be internationally recognized in five to ten years, to mentor and support diverse trainees, students, future researchers and colleagues in forms such as organizing workshops, co-authoring papers, obtaining patents, and contributing to public policy and professional practice. The incumbent will also effectively teach undergraduate and graduate courses in English and engage in collegial service. The CRC may also contribute to the development of an interdisciplinary undergraduate Minor in Digital Humanities and a Graduate Certificate in Digital Humanities.

Qualifications
Candidates must have a Ph.D. in a humanities discipline, with expertise in the theories and practices of Digital Humanities, in accordance with the Faculty’s requirements. Nominees for Tier 2 Chair positions should, at a minimum, be Assistant or Associate Professors, or possess the necessary qualifications to be appointed to these ranks.

Candidates must also:

be excellent emerging world-class researchers who have demonstrated particular research creativity, in accordance with the CRC Program guidelines;
have demonstrated the potential to achieve international recognition in their field(s) in the next five to ten years, in accordance with the CRC Program guidelines;
as chairholders, have the potential to attract, develop and retain excellent trainees, students and future researchers, in accordance with the CRC Program guidelines;
be proposing an original, innovative research program of high quality, in accordance with the CRC Program guidelines;
have a record of commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion in leadership, teaching and research, including recruiting, mentoring and supporting diverse students, research trainees and research professionals from under-represented groups such as women, racialized people, persons with disabilities and Indigenous peoples and 2SLGBTQ+ people;
evidence of high quality teaching and student training including a demonstrated ability to make learning accessible and inclusive to a diverse student population;
have a strong emerging research profile that demonstrates creativity and evidence of impact, such as peer reviewed and non-peer reviewed publications/contributions, digital humanities practice innovations, articles, memoirs, reviews, creative or artistic works, papers presented at scholarly meetings or conferences, participation in public discourse and debate, constituting a contribution to research;
demonstrate the ability to establish and maintain an independent, externally funded research program, including participation in community partnerships, group grants, and/or ability to attract multi-centre grants;
have a developing expertise in emerging fields of Digital Humanities research practices and methodologies, such as interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral research and critical making, digital cultural preservation, creation and curation, action research, translational research, practice research;
demonstrate experience in knowledge mobilization practices;
provide evidence of research collaborations or strong potential/ability to attract collaborative initiatives and a demonstrated attention to equity, diversity and inclusion in those collaborations or initiatives;
have experience in graduate or undergraduate course development and/or Digital Humanities training workshops;
and demonstrate a capacity for collegial service.
TMU recognizes that scholars have varying career paths and that career interruptions can be part of an excellent academic record. Candidates are encouraged to provide any relevant information about their experience and/or career interruptions to allow for a fair assessment of their application. Search committee members have been instructed to give careful consideration to diverse experiences and knowledges, and to be sensitive to the impact of career interruptions in their assessments.

Applicants who are more than 10 years from having earned their highest degree (and where career breaks exist, such as pregnancy, parental or extended medical leave, clinical training, etc.) may have their eligibility for a Tier 2 Chair assessed through the program’s Tier 2 justification process.

All eligible leaves (e.g., pregnancy, parental, medical, bereavement) are credited at twice the amount of time taken; part-time leaves will be taken into consideration, calculated according to the percentage of leave taken, and credited at twice the amount of time taken; professional leaves (e.g., sabbatical) are not credited, but certain training or administrative leaves may be considered. Other leaves that have had an impact on the nominee’s research career may be taken into account (e.g., mandatory military service, non-research-related positions, unemployment and training unrelated to the research career). This information must be supported by the information contained in the nominee’s CV. Research interruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., closures) are recognized and may be counted as an eligible delay (credited at twice the amount of time) beginning March 1, 2020.

To inquire about CRC eligibility, please contact Dayle Levine, Director, Institutional Programs, Office of Vice-President, Research and Innovation by sending an email to dayle.levine@torontomu.ca with “Tier 2 Justification” in the subject line.

This position falls under the jurisdiction of the Toronto Metropolitan Faculty Association (TFA) (www.tfanet.ca). Visit us at www.torontomu.ca/faculty-affairs to view the TFA collective agreement and a summary of TFA benefits.

Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU)
Serving a highly diverse student population of over 45,000, with 100+ undergraduate and graduate programs built on the integration of theoretical and practical learning and distinguished by a professionally focused curriculum with a strong emphasis on excellence in teaching, research and creative activities, TMU is a vibrant, urban university known for its culture of innovation, entrepreneurship, community engagement and city-building through its award-winning architecture.

Department of English
Our Department offers undergraduate and graduate (Master’s) programs, as well as opportunities to participate in such interdisciplinary graduate programs as the joint graduate program with York University in Communication and Culture (Master’s and Doctoral), Immigration and Settlement Studies (Master’s), and the Master of Digital Media program. The English Department is also home to a number of faculty active in the Centre for Digital Humanities, which engages in collaborative transdisciplinary scholarship, research, and creativity at the critical intersection of the material and the digital. Our faculty prides itself on the excellence of its research, the quality of its teaching and community engagement.

Working at Toronto Metropolitan University
At the intersection of mind and action, Toronto Metropolitan University is on a transformative path to become Canada’s leading comprehensive innovation university. At TMU and within our department/school, we firmly believe that equity, diversity and inclusion are integral to this path; our current Academic Plan outlines each as core values and we work to embed them in all that we do.

Dedicated to a people first culture, TMU is proud to rank number one on the Forbes list of Canada’s Best Employers for Diversity.

We invite you to explore the range of benefits and supports available to faculty, including access to our diverse faculty and staff networks.

Visit us on X at @torontomet, @VPFAtorontomet and @TorontoMetHR, and our LinkedIn page.

TMU is committed to accessibility for persons with disabilities. To find out more about legal and policy obligations please visit the Accessibility and Human Rights websites.

Toronto Metropolitan University welcomes those who have demonstrated a commitment to upholding the values of equity, diversity, and inclusion and will assist us to expand our capacity for diversity in the broadest sense. In addition, to correct the conditions of disadvantage in employment in Canada, we encourage applications from members of groups that have been historically disadvantaged and marginalized, including First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples, Indigenous peoples of North America, Black-identified persons, other racialized persons, persons with disabilities, and those who identify as women and/or 2SLGBTQ+.

How to Apply
Applicants must submit their application online via the Faculty Recruitment Portal [https://hr.cf.torontomu.ca/ams/faculty/] by clicking on “Start Application Process” to begin. Applications should be received by Monday, September 16, 2024 at 11:59PM EST to be considered. The application must contain the following:

A letter of application that includes your interest in the position; what you would bring to the Department and Faculty; the impact on the field of Digital Humanities that you foresee for your research (your 3-page research proposal for the CRC can elaborate on this); and what makes you a strong candidate overall as a researcher, educator, and community member;
a current curriculum vitae providing a clear sense of your scholarly and professional development via your education and your research activities and outcomes; your contributions to making Digital Humanities a more equitable and inclusive discipline through committee work, community engagement, social media, and advocacy;
a research statement discussing the significance, originality, and potential impacts of your current research program (up to 3 pages), and a research proposal for the first term of your CRC research program (up to 3 pages);
recent examples of research activities and outcomes, including, but not limited to, peer-reviewed and non-peer reviewed publications, conference presentations, public talks, articles reaching specialist and non-specialist audiences, and effective use of social media for research impact and networking, knowledge dissemination and translation;
a teaching statement (up to 3 pages) and a dossier of syllabi and other evidence, if available. These must demonstrate how you engage, encourage, and develop the learning capacity of students entering higher education from a diverse array of backgrounds and experiences, and how you embed practices and principles of equity, diversity and inclusion, including universal design for learning in your classroom, course materials, guest lectures, how you embed practices and principles of equity, diversity and inclusion in your classroom, your assignments, and your classroom style;
a statement discussing a record of demonstrated commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, including your record of attracting and mentoring a diverse group of students, trainees, and research personnel, and establishing an equitable and inclusive research environment. This should include a plan for establishing and maintaining a diverse core team (at the student, trainee, personnel and early-career researcher levels), and an environment that is safe and inclusive and allows all team members to reach their full research potential (e.g., through the recruitment and outreach strategy, equitable training opportunities, and professional development and mentoring).
Please note that all qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, applications from Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority, in accordance with Canadian immigration regulations.

Shortlist interviews will be held in person on the TMU campus.

As part of its efforts to amend the conditions of disadvantage in Canada for under-represented groups, and the under-representation of equity seeking groups in faculty and staff, TMU invites all applicants to voluntarily complete an online Diversity Self-ID questionnaire at the time of submitting their application in the recruitment portal.

The information collected will be treated as confidential but will not be anonymous. Applicant Diversity Data containing personal information is accessible by Toronto Metropolitan University staff in the Office of the Vice Provost Faculty Affairs, individuals serving on the Department Hiring Committee, and others involved in recruitment, hiring, retention, training, and evaluative processes.

This information is collected under the authority of Toronto Metropolitan University Act and is needed to establish equity, diversity and inclusion goals and plans, take action to achieve those goals, report on progress, and for other related purposes. All personal information that is collected is used, stored, and destroyed in accordance with Toronto Metropolitan University’s Notice of Collection and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

If you have questions about the collection, use and disclosure of this information by Toronto Metropolitan University, please contact the Director, Faculty Recruitment and Development at zenab.pathan@torontomu.ca.

Contacts
Any confidential inquiries about the opportunity can be directed to the Department Hiring Committee (DHC) Chair Colleen Derkatch at englishchair@torontomu.ca.

For more information about the CRC nomination process at TMU, please contact Julia Pyryeskina, Research Proposal Facilitator (CRC Portfolio), at (julia.pyryeskina@torontomu.ca) or Dayle Levine, Director, Institutional Programs, (dayle.levine@torontomu.ca) in the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation.

Candidates who belong to one or more of the equity-deserving groups recognized at TMU (women, racialized people, First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) Peoples, persons with disabilities and 2SLGBTQ+ people) are welcome to connect with Debbie Thompson (debbie.thompson@torontomu.ca), Executive Director, Office of the Vice-President, Equity and Community Inclusion.

For any confidential accommodation needs in order to participate in the recruitment and selection process and/or inquiries regarding accessing the Recruitment Portal, please contact vpfa@torontomu.ca.

To help us track our recruitment effort, please indicate in your cover/motivation letter where (jobs-near-me.eu) you saw this job posting.