Part-time teaching positions in Social Foundations at NYU Liberal Studies

NYU Liberal Studies is seeking part-time instructors to teach Social Foundations I or Social Foundations III in Fall 2018.

• Social Foundations I – Social Foundations I introduces students to the ancient world and ends with the dissolution of the Western Roman Empire, of the Gupta Empire in India, and of the Han Dynasty in China. This course takes a global perspective and uses an interdisciplinary approach. Part of its aim is to explore enduring questions such as the relation between the individual and society, between justice and power, and between humanity and the divine. In addition to drawing from seminal texts from the Mediterranean world and the Middle East, instructors give extended attention to at least one non-Mediterranean/non-European culture. The ancient societies from which the texts emerged are as much objects of study as the ancient texts themselves. Students are encouraged to make connections between earlier ideas, the students’ own lives, and the world today. Students are also encouraged to distinguish between understanding a text in its historical setting and engaging in broad historical criticism. Accordingly, writing assignments strive to strike a balance between close reading and comparative assessment.

• Social Foundations III – Social Foundations III examines major intellectual and historical events from the Enlightenment and the Qing dynasty (around 1700) to the contemporary world. This period has seen some of the most rapid and significant changes in human society and scientific understanding. At the same time, many of the enduring questions of humanity have become even more critical as disparate cultures interact in a new global arena. The authors and themes studied in Social Foundations III come from a range of texts both interdisciplinary and international. Among the themes the course explores are the philosophical and political debates that followed the creation of global colonial empires, as societies from around the world confronted imperial policies and institutions. The course also considers the rise of vast, new international markets, the spread of revolutionary and national liberation movements in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, new challenges to established property, and the social effects of industrialization. In addition, instructors discuss postmodern attempts to question and undermine the institutions and practices that structure contemporary societies. Students consider criticisms of Western practices that come from both within the West and from other regions of the world, giving special attention to the reception of Western texts by other traditions, and, conversely, the influence of these other traditions on the West.

Each course meets twice weekly, with class sessions lasting 75 minutes. A PhD in Political Science, History, Philosophy, or a related Humanities discipline is strongly preferred, though senior graduate students (ABD) with teaching experience will be considered.

Candidates should send a CV and brief cover letter to Irene Hahn, the Liberal Studies Assistant Director of Academic Administration:   <irene.hahn@nyu.edu>  Please specify in your cover letter which course(s) you are prepared to teach. Interviews to commence as soon as possible.