Assistant or Associate Professor of English

Location: Granville, OH

Position Type: Tenure Track Faculty

Position Description

The English Department at Denison University seeks an experienced teacher and active scholar for a full-time, tenure-track position as Assistant or Associate Professor of English specializing in any period of early British literature before 1700, to begin in August 2026. Strong candidates will demonstrate a commitment to teaching at the undergraduate level, an appreciation of the context of a small residential liberal arts institution, and a clear and active research agenda. Preference will be shown for candidates who can contribute to the curricular breadth of the English Department and the general education mission of the college.

Denison’s standard teaching load is 3/2. Our new faculty member will be expected to teach sections of Denison’s first-year writing course, literary surveys of early British literature and Shakespeare, as well as additional introductory and upper-level literature courses of the candidate’s design. Members of the English Department regularly contribute courses in Denison’s interdisciplinary programs. The English Department offers a major and a minor in both literature and creative writing and forms a lively intellectual community of faculty and students; a demonstrated investment in teaching, advising, and mentoring undergraduate students is thus required.

Information about our program, curriculum, literary lecture series, and student publications can be found at https://denison.edu/academics/english. Denison is a fully residential college, and all classes are held in person and on campus. Since successful candidates will be expected to maintain an ongoing research agenda, applicants should show promise of a strong publication record. Contributions to the life of the department, institution, and the larger community are an essential part of Denison’s mission; we expect our new colleague to engage in service activities within these communities.

Denison University seeks candidates who will contribute to a vibrant academic community characterized by open inquiry, robust debate, and mutual respect. We value faculty who design learning environments that actively engage students in examining questions from multiple, and sometimes competing, perspectives. Our classrooms aim to foster critical thinking, intellectual curiosity, and the capacity to engage constructively across lines of difference, including differences in political or ideological commitments.

Denison is a highly selective, residential liberal arts college enrolling approximately 2,400 students from across the nation and around the world. The college is located in the village of Granville, 30 minutes from Columbus, Ohio, the state capital, which hosts a wide range of cultural and artistic opportunities. Granville offers an excellent public school system and easy access to outdoor activities. A supportive environment for teacher-scholars who value both classroom and research excellence, Denison offers extensive support for its faculty, including an annual professional development account, competitive professional development funding, and a one-semester research leave after a successful pre-tenure review. The college also offers opportunities for student-faculty research collaboration, stipends for supervising summer-research students, and a range of workshops and mentoring programs to develop our strengths as teacher-scholars. Denison offers a competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package, including tuition benefits to attend Denison or other affiliated colleges and a generous retirement contribution.

Qualifications

A Ph.D. must be in hand by August 2026 (ABD will be considered as Instructor until Ph.D. is obtained; Associate Professor will be hired at rank on an accelerated tenure review timeline). Demonstrated teaching expertise and scholarly activity in British literature before 1700 is required.

Application Instructions

Please submit a letter of interest, a current CV, a statement of teaching philosophy (no more than 2 pages), and a writing sample (no more than 15 pages) via Interfolio by October 24, 2025. Candidates will subsequently be asked to supply three confidential letters of recommendation. We plan to conduct Zoom interviews in December with on-campus interviews following in early 2026.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Denison University is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, veteran status, or other legally protected classes.

Title IX Notice: Sex discrimination is prohibited by federal law through Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Denison does not discriminate on the basis of sex in the education programs or activities that it operates including admissions and employment. For Denison's official Notice of Non-Discrimination, please visit https://denison.edu/forms/non-discrimination-notice. You can learn more about Title IX at Denison at https://denison.edu/campus/title-ix.

Job seekers who may need a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should contact the Office of Human Resources at (740) 587-6299 or by email at HR@denison.edu.