Assistant Professor of Sociocultural Anthropology

We currently seek a dynamic scholar-teacher to help strengthen our anthropology offerings and participate in the long overdue redesign of our sociocultural anthropology minor while forging innovative connections across our expanding departmental programs in communication and civil society, fashion studies, film studies, food studies, global communications and journalism. Such interdisciplinary connections could take many forms, including the design of an interdisciplinary major with sociocultural anthropology at its core. We need a versatile colleague who can teach across our curriculum, clearly articulating anthropology's relevance from first-year students discovering the discipline to seniors engaged in advanced research projects to graduate students in our communications programs.

Our ideal candidate is a scholar whose research and teaching engage some of the urgent questions of our time through innovative ethnographic approaches grounded in sustained fieldwork and complemented by additional methodological skills (e.g. visual, film, digital, multimodal). While geographic specialization is open, we are particularly interested in candidates working in: applied or public anthropology, environmental studies and sustainability, power and global organizations; social movements and social justice; globalization, transnationalism and migration; body and embodiment, ethnographic film and critical practice.

The successful candidate will demonstrate strong disciplinary training, a promising research agenda, commitment to undergraduate and graduate teaching in a liberal arts context and an interest in meaningful participation in department and university service. Teaching will include some combination of existing courses (e.g. introduction, political anthropology, media and anthropology), the development of new core courses (e.g. a 2000-level methods course, a 3000-level ethnographic writing course), and new upper-level course(s) that align with her/his/their scholarly interests.

This position offers the opportunity to shape curriculum in a dynamic department while pursuing research with full academic freedom. You will live and work in Paris within a vibrant international academic community. AUP provides a supportive environment for research growth with faculty development funding and opportunities to engage with AUP’s interdisciplinary research centers.

Qualifications: PhD in Anthropology or closely related discipline by time of appointment (August 1, 2026); engaged research agenda that demonstrates international reach and sustained ethnographic research experience; evidence of teaching excellence and/or mentorship; commitment to liberal arts education in an international environment. The ability to speak French is recommended but not required.

The University is an equal opportunity employer for whom diversity is an essential source of vitality and strength and we strongly encourage women and those from other underrepresented groups to apply.The Institution: Founded in 1962, The American University of Paris (AUP) is a small, undergraduate and Masters degree-granting institution with a Liberal Arts core, dedicated to the advancement of the Arts & Sciences in an international and multicultural environment. AUP brings together the values of the American higher education system with its location in Paris and Europe. Located at the crossroads of American and European institutions of higher education and research, AUP facilitates its faculty’s development of an international and stimulating professional network. The Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools accredits AUP in the United States of America. AUP hascooperative agreements with USA and European-based universities.

https://www.aup.edu/about

The Department: Dedicated to the international and comparative study of communication, media and culture, the department houses five undergraduate majors (Communication and Civil Society, Fashion Studies, Film Studies, Global Communications, Journalism), six undergraduate minors (Comparative Political Communications, Fashion Studies, Film Studies, Food Studies, Global Communications, Journalism, Sociocultural Anthropology) and a dynamic MA program in Global Communications offering additional MA tracks in Fashion; Development Communications; and Digital Cultures and Industries. The department has 16 full-time faculty, 5 part-time faculty, 150 undergraduate majors and 90 graduate students.

https://www.aup.edu/academics/departments/communication-media-and-culture

Summary of Responsibilities:

• Teaching six courses per academic year with emphasis on excellence in the liberal arts tradition of small classroom settings that foster collaboration and discussion; experiential learning opportunities are encouraged

• Professional mentorship and advising of students

• Commitment to sustained research agenda and international scholarship

• Departmental service including curricular development, innovation, and collegial collaboration

• University service through committee work, assessment, and interdisciplinary initiatives

• Active participation in faculty governance and compliance with institutional policies

• Willingness to contribute to the first-year program. Faculty at AUP must have a commitment to liberal arts education in a highly international environment and pursue international research and scholarship. We seek engaged scholars and have high expectations of teaching and scholarly research.

Applications: Please submit your application to https://apply.interfolio.com/169907 including:

• cover letter

• curriculum vitae

• statement of pedagogical philosophy with evidence of teaching effectiveness

• statement of research interests

• a writing sample of recent scholarship

• three confidential letters of reference

Deadline to apply: 20 October 2025

This early submission date allows time to obtain visas, if necessary, for short-listed candidate’s campus visits.