History of Art and Architecture

Position Available: Lecturer in Curatorial Studies

The Department of History of Art and Architecture (HAA) at the University of Pittsburgh and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) located on the Oakland campus of
the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh (CMP) are strongly committed to excellence in research, and to inclusive curatorial and teaching practices that promote collaboration,
diversity, and public outreach. To further our leadership in these areas we seek to hire a Lecturer in Curatorial Studies who will work both as a scholar-teacher in HAA’s dynamic art history department and as a curator with the unique cross-disciplinary collections of the Carnegie Museums. This appointment is jointly funded by the University of Pittsburgh and the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh for the purpose of

creating collaborations between HAA, CMNH, and other museums in the Pittsburgh region. The appointment is for three years, starting September 1, 2020, and is outside the tenure stream, but may be renewable pending budget authorization from both the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

The successful candidate will teach one course per year in HAA’s thriving undergraduate museum studies program, which draws students not only from art history and studio arts, but also from history, anthropology, and other disciplines in the Arts & Sciences. They will also work collaboratively with students and faculty from HAA and other departments at the university interested in teaching and research with the collections at CMP; and will facilitate internships and other experiential learning opportunities for students.

The successful candidate will also devote 50% of the position time serving as Assistant/ Associate Curator (depending on qualifications) in CMNH while helping to foster connections across CMP’s collections and programs. They will assist in challenging and deepening the multiple narratives around the museum’s collections to engage diverse publics in urgent and ongoing discussion of what it means to be human. They will be expected to contribute to and/or to create innovative exhibitions, some of these working with undergraduates in HAA’s museum studies program, at a range of potential venues including CMP and the University Art Gallery.

Salary and benefits will be paid by the University of Pittsburgh and the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh; annual evaluations of the employee will be conducted by the Chair of HAA and the Chief Curator (or equivalent) in CMNH.

 

Minimum requirements:

1. PhD in hand or expected by July 1, 2020 in art history, museum studies, anthropology, or allied fields.

2. Teaching experience as instructor of record in a college or university.

3. Curatorial experience in a museum or gallery.

 

Preferred requirements:

1. Demonstrable record of contribution to, or engagement with, public humanities including issues of diversity and inclusion. This should include a demonstrable ability to connect specialized knowledge to broad intellectual frameworks that cut across disciplines and engage diverse publics.

2. Ability to communicate and collaborate across multiple stakeholders and divisions within institutions.

3. Engagement with active learning pedagogies.

4. Expertise in one or more of the following intellectual domains: race and gender, indigeneity, ancient cultures (especially in Egypt and the Mediterranean region), and the Anthropocene.

 

Application:

Applications must be received no later than January 13, 2020 and should be sent electronically as a single PDF file to HAA Administrative Assistant, Karoline Swiontek at karoline@pitt.edu (412-648-2400). The file should include:

• Cover letter that discusses the applicant’s research and teaching, their approach to museum curation, and how they would embrace the opportunities afforded by this joint appointment

• Curriculum vita

• Teaching portfolio, including at least one sample syllabus and brief evidence of teaching effectiveness (no more than 20 pages total)

• Brief description of the applicant’s museum or gallery experience (1 to 2 pages)

• Writing sample or publication

• Diversity statement. 

In addition, three letters of recommendation addressed to Prof. Kirk Savage, Search Committee Chair, are also required and should be sent under separate cover to Ms. Swiontek at karoline@pitt.edu.

 

Information on HAA and CMNH:

Both the department and the museum are committed to the study and understanding of art and artifacts across the world from the ancient to the contemporary. 

HAA has a strong record of research productivity in the arts and architecture of East Asia, South Asia, the ancient Mediterranean, Europe from the Middle Ages to the present, the Americas, and global contemporary art.  The department also has a highly innovative “Constellations” PhD program, an active University Art Gallery, and a Visual Media Workshop that serves as a hub for Digital Humanities research and collaboration at the University of Pittsburgh: http://www.haa.pitt.edu.

CMP encompasses four museums: Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Carnegie Museum of Art, Carnegie Science Center, and The Andy Warhol Museum: http://www.carnegiemuseums.org. The Warhol is home to an internationally renowned collection of artworks by Andy Warhol, along with archival holdings of approximately 500,000 objects. The Museum of Art’s collection of more than 35,000 objects features a broad spectrum of visual arts, including painting and sculpture; prints and drawings; photographs; architectural casts, renderings, and models; decorative arts and design; and film, video, and digital imagery. The Natural History Museum’s collection of 1.6 million ethnological and historical specimens and archaeological artifacts includes major research collections from Central Africa, Asia (China and Japan), Australia, North America (Arctic, Southwest, Plains, Northwest Coast), and South America (Amazonia). The museum currently has major projects underway on the Anthropocene (see: https://carnegiemnh.org/researcher/anthropocene), on renovating the ancient Egyptian galleries, and on gender and sexuality in nature.

 

The University of Pittsburgh and the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh are Affirmative

Action/Equal Opportunity Employers and value equality of opportunity, human dignity

and diversity. EEO/AA/M/F/Vets/Disabled.