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Occidental College’s Media Arts & Culture Department (MAC) invites applications for a Visiting Assistant Professor of Theory and Practice in Critical Race & Media Studies for a 1-year full-time, terminal appointment beginning August 2025. We are seeking a theorist/practitioner or critically-engaged media practitioner/scholar with demonstrated teaching/mentoring abilities and a compelling body of research or research-practice oriented around the representation and underrepresentation of race and ethnicity in film, television, social media, video games/interactive media, and /or other forms of popular entertainment. The candidate should have a commitment to high-impact teaching and to fostering an inclusive learning environment.

The new hire will teach 5 courses total (3 in the Fall, 2 in the Spring), including one of our gateway courses— Introduction to Digital Media and Culture. Candidates will also offer topical electives in the candidate’s area of interest, listed under such thematic headings as: Topics in Media Representation; Topics in Film History; Topics in Media Theory and Practice; or Topics in Digital Culture. In addition to these courses, the position also requires curating a semester of the Oxy Cinematheque event series in the Spring 2026 semester. In addition, the candidate will serve as a second reader on senior comprehensives projects as directed by the department chair.

The position requires a PhD in film/media studies or related field.

We are open to various specialties, but of particular interest are candidates whose teaching addresses critical race approaches to non-cinematic media in addition to film, such as television, social media, gaming, remix, etc.; and/or media activism.

Special consideration will be given to candidates with expertise or practice in diasporic, transnational media studies, or African, African American or Black diasporic, Latinx/Chicanx, Indigenous and/or Global South media studies whose teaching forges interdisciplinary connections, involves media-making, and/or expands the forms that research can take within a liberal arts context.

Our ideal candidate will help us continue developing and supporting our signature approach to media arts and culture, which combines media history, theory, and practice; leverages Occidental’s location in Los Angeles; and manifests our four cornerstones of Excellence, Equity, Community, and Service. Black, Latina/o/x, Native American, and other historically underrepresented candidates are encouraged to apply.

EXPECTED SALARY: starting at $61,000 (for a 9 month appointment)