Black Political Thought
Faculty of Arts and Science
Queen’s University, Canada

The Departments of Political Studies and Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts and Science at Queen’s University invites applications for a Tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor with specialization in the Black Political Thought. The preferred starting date is July 1, 2021.

This position is one of seven positions created in support of the interdisciplinary field of Black Studies at Queen’s and the planned BA Minor/General in Black Studies.

Applicants must self-identify as Black persons including those from Africa or of the African diaspora (e.g. African and Africa descended people from the Caribbean, North America, Europe, or Latin America).

The successful candidate will have demonstrated knowledge and experience in Black Political Thought. BPT is an inherently global and diverse field, which includes perspectives from Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, Canada and the United States, covers significant questions of political theory, including power, human nature, and just societies, while critically interrogating the meaning of race and practices of racist oppression such as colonialism and slavery, in all of its diversity, including, but not limited to perspectives from North American, European, Latin America, Caribbean, and/or African traditions and approaches. This scholar will assist the department in developing the breadth of analytical insight that Black political theory offers and in working toward the decentring of Western theoretical frameworks within our disciplines. By Western political theoretical frameworks, we refer not to geographical location, but to the canon of political thought that has arisen out of exclusionary disciplinary practices in Europe/North America and that centres whiteness.

Recognizing the underrepresentation of Black faculty at Queen’s, this candidate is expected to play a central role in the development of the Black Studies Minor degree at Queen’s, through advancing research and teaching in the analysis of race and racism, through providing a global scope of analysis, and through addressing such fundamental concerns as human freedom, historic injustice, and the impact of colonialism. Queen’s University and the Departments of Philosophy and Political Studies have vigorous commitments to anti-racism, equity, diversity and inclusion, and this exciting new position will enhance our aspirations and efforts.

The successful candidate must have a PhD or equivalent degree in Philosophy, Political Studies, or a related discipline completed by the appointment start date. ABDs will be considered only with scheduled defense dates. They are expected to play a major role in delivery of graduate and undergraduate programs in the Department of Philosophy or the Department of Political Studies (department to be chosen by the selected candidate) and the Black Studies undergraduate program at Queen’s and will be expected also to undertake a significant research program in this important field. Collaboration with scholars and students in both units and beyond would be welcome and would build on a longstanding successful record of cooperation.

The main criteria for selection are academic and teaching excellence. The successful candidate will provide evidence of high-quality scholarly output that demonstrates a record for independent research leading to peer‐assessed publications. A commitment to seek to secure external research funding, as well as strong potential for outstanding teaching contributions at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, dedication to academic and pedagogical excellence, and an ongoing commitment to fostering equity and diversity are requirements for this position. The successful candidate will be expected to make contributions through service to the Department, Faculty, University, and/or broader community. Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Queen’s University is one of Canada’s leading research‐intensive universities with a global reputation and is a recognized leader in Canadian higher education. The Departments of Philosophy and Political Studies are both mid-sized units with strong undergraduate, Master’s and Doctoral programs and outstanding global reputations. Queen’s historic campus is located in the heart of the vibrant Kingston community in the Thousand Islands region of South Eastern Ontario. Queen’s is positioned centrally with respect to three major metropolitan areas: Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa. Additional information about Queen’s University can be found at http://www.queensu.ca/facultyrecruitment. The University is situated on the traditional territories of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe, in historic Kingston on the shores of Lake Ontario. Kingston’s residents enjoy an outstanding quality of life with a wide range of cultural, recreational, and creative opportunities. Visit Inclusive Queen’s for information on equity, diversity and inclusion resources and initiatives.

People from across Canada and around the world come to learn, teach and carry out research at Queen’s University. Faculty and their dependents are eligible for an extensive benefits package including prescription drug coverage, vision care, dental care, long term disability insurance, life insurance and access to the Employee and Family Assistance Program. You will also participate in a pension plan. Tuition assistance is available for qualifying employees, their spouses and dependent children. Queen’s values families and is pleased to provide a ‘top up’ to government parental leave benefits for eligible employees on maternity/parental leave. In addition, Queen’s provides partial reimbursement for eligible daycare expenses for employees with dependent children in daycare. Details are set out in the Queen’s-QUFA Collective Agreement. For more information on employee benefits, see Queen’s Human Resources.

Queen’s University has developed a special program, as described by the Ontario Human Rights Commission, in connection with the search to fill this position.

This opportunity is open only to qualified individuals who self-identify as Black persons including those from Africa or of the African diaspora (e.g. African and Africa descended people from the Caribbean, North America, Europe, or Latin America). Recognizing the intersectionality of identities within Black communities, applications from Black candidates who also, for example, identify as women, persons with disabilities, and 2SLGBTQ+ persons are welcome. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, in accordance with Canadian immigration requirements, Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada will be given priority.

To comply with federal laws, the University is obliged to gather statistical information as to how many applicants for each job vacancy are Canadian citizens / permanent residents of Canada. Applicants need not identify their country of origin or citizenship; however, all applications must include one of the following statements: “I am a Canadian citizen / permanent resident of Canada”; OR, “I am not a Canadian citizen / permanent resident of Canada”. Applications that do not include this information will be deemed incomplete.

In addition, the impact of certain circumstances that may legitimately affect a nominee’s record of research achievement will be given careful consideration when assessing the nominee’s research productivity. Candidates are encouraged to provide any relevant information about their experience and/or career interruptions.

A complete application consists of:

• a cover letter (including one of the two statements regarding Canadian citizenship / permanent resident status specified in the previous paragraph);
• a current Curriculum Vitae (including a list of publications);
• a statement of research interests;
• a statement of teaching interests and experience (including teaching outlines and evaluations if available);
• a statement of experience in and commitment to facilitation and promotion of equity, diversity, and inclusion;
• a writing sample; and,
• three letters of reference.

The application deadline is May 15, 2021. However, the selection process will continue until the position is filled. Applicants should send all documents, in their application packages by email as a single PDF to Michelle Knapp-Hermer at knappm@queensu.ca although hard copy applications may be submitted to:

Department Manager
Michelle Knapp-Hermer
Department of Political Studies
Queen’s University
Mackintosh-Corry Hall, Room C321
68 University Ave
Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6

Applicants should arrange for three letters of reference to be sent by the closing date of May 15, 2021. Letters should be dated, and include the referee’s name, position, department, institution, email address and telephone number, the name of the nominee, and the period of time and the capacity in which the referee has known the nominee.

The University will provide support in its recruitment processes to applicants with disabilities, including accommodation that takes into account an applicant’s accessibility needs. If you require accommodation during the interview process, please contact Michelle Knapp-Hermer at knappm@queensu.ca.

Academic staff at Queen’s University are governed by a Collective Agreement between the University and the Queen’s University Faculty Association (QUFA), posted at http://www.qufa.ca and at http://queensu.ca/facultyrelations/faculty‐librarians‐and‐archivists/collective‐agreement.

Only candidates selected for interviews will be contacted.

PHIL POLS Black Political Thought (PDF, 116KB)

Posted: 13 April 2021
Closing: 15 May 2021

The Department offers three Post-Doctoral Fellowships:

• The Buchanan Postdoctoral Fellowship in Canadian Democracy
• The Peacock Postdoctoral Fellowship
• The Skelton-Clark Postdoctoral Fellowship

For more information, click here. All available positions will be listed below.

The Department welcomes inquiries from students who are applying for a Social Science and Humanities Research Council post-doctoral fellowship. Please e-mail the Head of the Department and the intended supervisor for further information.

Skelton-Clark Postdoctoral Fellowship
Queen's University
Department of Political Studies

The Department of Political Studies at Queen’s University invites applications for the Skelton-Clark Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Canadian Affairs. This fellowship provides an opportunity to spend time in an intellectually stimulating environment conducting research, writing, and teaching on topics in any area of Canadian politics. Total salary is approximately $52,000. (Unlike some post-doctoral fellowships, this PDF salary is taxable because it carries full Queen’s benefits.) This sum includes remunerations for teaching two half-courses in Political Studies. The fellowship is tenable for 24 months from 1 September 2021.

Candidates must have been awarded a doctorate in Political Science/Political Studies from a recognized university no earlier than 1 January 2018; or have completed the doctorate no earlier than 1 January 2016 but have had their career interrupted or delayed for family reasons; or they must reasonably expect to have completed all degree requirements by 1 September 2021.

The University invites applications from all qualified individuals.  Queen's is strongly committed to employment equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace and encourages applications from Black, racialized/visible minority and Indigenous/Aboriginal people, women, persons with disabilities, and 2SLGBTQ+ persons.

The University has policies in place to support its employees with disabilities, including an Accommodation in the Workplace Policy. The University will provide support in its recruitment processes to applicants with disabilities, including accommodation that takes into account an applicant's accessibility needs. If you require accommodation, please contact Michelle Knapp-Hermer at knappm@queensu.ca. 

Postdoctoral fellows at Queen's University are governed by two collective agreements. The Postdoctoral Fellow Collective Agreement, which is posted at https://www.queensu.ca/facultyrelations/post-doctoral-fellows/collective-agreement, governs the overall terms of the appointment. The candidate will also be appointed to a term adjunct teaching position as defined by the Collective Agreement for All Faculty, Librarians and Archivist between QUFA and Queen’s University which is posted athttp://www.queensu.ca/facultyrelations/faculty-librarians-and-archivists/collective-agreement.

Please direct inquiries to Michelle Knapp-Hermer at knappm@queensu.ca. Applications must include a current c.v. and a one-page, single-spaced statement outlining the applicant’s program of post-doctoral research. Applicants must arrange for three referees to submit letters of reference on their behalf, either mailed to the address below or sent by email to knappm@queensu.ca .

Please send applications to: Michelle Knapp-Hermer at knappm@queensu.ca, Department Manager, Department of Political Studies. We will consider only applications received by June 24, 2021.

Skelton-Clark Postdoctoral Fellowship (PDF, 160KB)

Posted: 9 June 2021
Closing: 24 June 2021

Buchanan Postdoctoral Fellowship in Canadian Democracy
Department of Political Studies
Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6

The Department of Political Studies at Queen’s University invites applications from suitably qualified candidates for the Buchanan Postdoctoral Fellowship in the field of Canadian Democracy. This fellowship provides an opportunity to spend time in an intellectually stimulating environment conducting research, writing, and teaching on topics related to any aspect of Canadian democracy.  The fellowship is tenable for 24 months from 1 September 2021. A postdoctoral supervisor will be named depending on the successful candidate’s specialization.

The value of the fellowship in 2021-2022 will be $35,601.  The successful applicant will be expected to maintain an active research program and to teach two one-term courses per year in Canadian politics in the Department of Political Studies.  The teaching stipend is determined by the collective agreement and is approximately $8200 per one-term course for a total of approximately $52,000 per year.  There will be a one-time $2,000  travel and research grant in addition to this sum and $5,000 for the successful candidate to organize a workshop or symposium in their field in either year of the fellowship.

Candidates must have been awarded a doctorate in Political Science or a cognate field from a recognized university no earlier than 1 January 2018; or have completed the doctorate no earlier than 1 January 2016 but have had their career interrupted or delayed for family reasons; or expect to have completed all doctoral degree requirements by 1 September 2021.

The University invites applications from all qualified individuals.  Queen's is strongly committed to employment equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace and encourages applications from Black, racialized/visible minority and Indigenous/Aboriginal people, women, persons with disabilities, and 2SLGBTQ+ persons.

The University has policies in place to support its employees with disabilities, including an Accommodation in the Workplace Policy and a policy on the provision of job accommodations that take into account an employee's accessibility needs due to disability. The University will provide support in its recruitment processes to applicants with disabilities, including accommodation that takes into account an applicant's accessibility needs. If you require accommodation during the interview process, please contact Michelle Knapp-Hermer at knappm@queensu.ca.

Postdoctoral fellows at Queen's University are governed by two collective agreements. The Postdoctoral Fellow Collective Agreement, which is posted at https://www.queensu.ca/facultyrelations/post-doctoral-fellows/collective-agreement, governs the overall terms of the appointment. The candidate will also be appointed to a term adjunct teaching position as defined by the Collective Agreement for All Faculty, Librarians and Archivist between QUFA and Queen’s University which is posted at http://www.queensu.ca/facultyrelations/faculty-librarians-and-archivists/collective-agreement .

Applications should be submitted electronically to Michelle Knapp-Hermer, Department Manager at knappm@queensu.ca and include a current C.V. and a 1 page, single spaced statement outlining the applicant’s program of post-doctoral research, one writing sample and three letters of reference. Applicants must arrange for three referees to submit letters of reference on their behalf, emailed to knappm@queensu.ca.

Applications will be received until 25 June 2021. Review of applications will commence shortly thereafter, and the final appointment is subject to budgetary approval. Additional information about the Department of Political Studies can be found at https://www.queensu.ca/politics/ .

Buchanan Postdoctoral Fellowship (PDF, 169KB)

Posted: 11 June 2021
Closing: 25 June 2021

TA POSITIONS AVAILABLE – 2021-2022 (Fall and Winter Terms)
Department of Political Studies
Queen’s University, Kingston, ON CAN K7L 3N6

The Department is seeking Teaching Assistants for a number of courses in the Fall and Winter terms. A TA assignments survey will be distributed to graduate students by Kristina Fennell, Graduate Assistant. Please direct any questions to gradpols@queensu.ca. The course options are listed below: 

Fall

• POLS 110A: Introduction to Politics and Government (Jonathan Rose)         
• POLS 211: Canadian Government (Elizabeth Baisley)
• POLS 230: American Elections (Paul Gardner)
• POLS 242: Comparative Politics: Contemporary Regimes (Dalal Daoud)
• POLS 250A: Political Theory (Colin Farrelly) 
• POLS 261: International Politics (Wayne Cox)
• POLS 280: Introduction to Women, Gender, and Politics (Yolande Bouka)
• POLS 384: Strategies of Political Research (Christian Breede)

Winter

• POLS 110A: Introduction to Politics and Government (Elizabeth Goodyear-Grant)         
• POLS 212: Canadian Politics (Rachel Laforest)
• POLS 244: Comparative Politics: Democracy & Democratization (Zsuzsa Csergő)
• POLS 250B: Political Theory (Colin Farrelly) 
• POLS 262: International Political Economy (Andrew Grant)
• POLS 385: Introduction to Statistics (Kyle Hanniman)

For course descriptions, please consult the Undergraduate Courses page on our website. 

Posted: 7 July 2021

CALL FOR PROJECT MANAGER
Race, BIPOC and Global South Perspectives in IR

The IR Field in the Department of Political Studies is seeking applications to fill a project manager position for a resource bank on “Race, BIPOC and Global South perspectives in IR.” The preferred starting date is July 15, 2021. This project is a central component of a broader set of efforts undertaken by the IR field towards diversifying and decolonizing the IR curriculum at Queen’s.

Qualifications:

• Candidates must be enrolled in a PhD program at Queen’s in Political Studies or a cognate field. Preference will be given to Political Studies students with a specialization in the field of International Relations;
• Strong interest in, and some familiarity, with ongoing conversations around diversifying/decolonizing IR that are currently taking place in the broader IR scholarly community;
• Excellent writing and communication skills;
• Strong organizational skills and capacity to work with minimal supervision;
• Prior RA (or GRF) experience will be considered an asset;
• Familiarity with course creation and development in onQ will be considered an asset;

We invite applications from all qualified individuals. Queen’s is strongly committed to employment equity, diversity and inclusion in the workplace and encourages applications from Black, racialized/visible minority and Indigenous/Aboriginal people, women, persons with disabilities, and 2SLGBTQ+ persons. Given the nature of the project, a strong preference will be given to candidates who self-identify as Black, racialized/visible minority, and/or Indigenous/Aboriginal.

Roles and Responsibilities: The selected candidate, working under the supervision of Dr. Stéphanie Martel and Dr. Stéfanie von Hlatky, and in collaboration with the Anti-Racism Advisor as well as an editorial committee consisting of IR Faculty in the Department and other graduate student representatives, will carry out tasks related to the ongoing development and management of the resource bank and related activities. These tasks include:

• Monitoring social media (i.e., Twitter) conversations and announcements on matters and initiatives relevant to the resource bank, such as new publications and resources;
• Monitoring publications on themes relevant to the resource bank in IR journals and other traditional and non-traditional venues for publications on world politics;
• Updating the resource list as needed and on an ongoing basis based on the aforementioned monitoring tasks;
• Supervising an undergraduate research assistant in the development of an onQ course to be populated based on the resource list;
• Providing updates to the editorial committee and coordinating with editorial committee members on matters related to the resource bank and related activities as needed;
• Monitoring the email account for the project, and adjudicating requests for additions and other edits to the resource list and related onQ course in collaboration with the editorial committee;
• Coordinating with the Anti-Racism Advisor, the Equity Committee, the Department Head or any other actor or resource in the Department or at Queen’s as relevant to the project;
• Assisting with the planning of events and other activities related to the project, such as editorial committee meetings, roundtable discussions, etc.
• Attending and contributing to editorial committee meetings and other field meetings where the project is to be discussed;
• Assisting in notetaking during events and meetings;
• Other tasks related to the project arising on an ad hoc basis.

Employment Conditions:

• The preferred start date for the contract is July 15, 2021.
• The anticipated number of work hours is: 7 hours per week, for a total of 84 hours for the initial contract.
• The initial contract will be for a duration of 3 months, with the possibility of a renewal based on performance review and verification of enrollment status. Multiple renewals may be granted for the duration of the project.
• Salary will be based on standard RA rates at Queen’s for graduate students.

A brief statement of interest, most recent transcript, and CV may be sent directly to Dr. Stéphanie Martel at stephanie.martel@queensu.ca. Applications will be reviewed starting July 14 and on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.

Call for Project Manager - RBGIR (PDF, 131KB)

Date Posted: 7 July 2021

Closing Date: 14 July 2021