Assistant Professor in Dept Humanities - Digital Humanities

Position Rank and Title: Assistant Professor of Digital Humanities / Humanities

Department Name: Humanities Department

Compensation: Commensurate with qualifications, experience, and rank as established by the CSU Salary Schedule. Anticipated hiring academic year annual salary range: $90,000-$94,000

Faculty employee benefits are very competitive for the higher education sector. See the CSU Employee Benefits Summary for details about the CSU’s excellent benefits package.

Target Start Date: 17 August, 2027

Application Deadline: 1 December 2026 (Applications accepted until filled or closed)

Position Description

The Department of Humanities at San José State University invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Digital Humanities or Humanities, with an expertise that lies at the intersection of critical science and technology studies with the humanities. We seek a teacher-scholar whose research, pedagogy, and community engagement examine the social and cultural roles, implications, impacts, affordances, etc., of technologies within their concomitant historical, economic, social, and cultural contexts.

Successful candidates will be grounded in critical science and technology studies while engaging in other humanities fields and questions, for example: artificial intelligence, knowledge, and creativity; data privacy and sovereignty; social bonds and groups; visual arts; arts and social practice; technology, race, and ethnicity; chatbots and religious experience; technology and religious change; technology and the environment; science, technology, and ethics; etc. We value scholar-teachers who will be able to teach in both the Digital Humanities and in other programs within the department, depending on expertise (American Studies, Creative Arts, Environmental Humanities, and/or Religious Studies) as well as our robust General Education offerings.

The Humanities Department at SJSU is a prominent center for creative, critical, interdisciplinary study and research on campus. Both the department and the College of Humanities & Arts are committed to equitable and culturally sustaining teaching and scholarship, recruiting, hiring, and nurturing a diverse faculty that mirrors our student body. We support a full range of scholarly and creative activities, from traditional research to scholarship of engagement and public humanities to creative work. We believe that faculty and student success are inextricably linked and seek faculty who will support and enhance these missions.

Our Department’s Digital Humanities program is currently growing, with three courses and a certificate (coming Fall 2027). In addition, the Humanities Department offers three B.A. Programs: a Liberal Studies Teacher Preparation B.A.; a Creative Arts B.A., which includes an Arts Therapy Preparation concentration; and a Humanities B.A., in which students pursue a concentration in American Studies, Liberal Arts, or Religious Studies. We also house a range of certificates and minors, including Environmental Humanities and Middle East Studies. The department also houses the Humanities Honors program, which is open to all interested students, and provides multi-semester, enriching and in-depth courses and experiences.

The College of Humanities & Arts is committed to the Digital Humanities and to fully participating and intervening from critical humanistic perspectives into the campus engagement with technology. In conjunction with the Martin Luther King, Jr., Library, has created a Digital Humanities Center, partially funded by an NEH grant. This Center is public facing and offers a range of events and opportunities for students and members of the community. Further, the College has created the Advanced Institute for Ethics and Technology (ai-et), and is currently taking application for the first class of Fellows to the institute. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to work with both of these, depending on their interests.

The Department of Humanities and San José State University value institutional excellence and are committed to advancing equity through research, teaching, and service. We enroll more than 40,000 students, many of whom are historically underserved; approximately 45% of our undergraduate students are first-generation college students and 38% are Pell Grant recipients. In addition, we are both a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI). SJSU aspires to create holistic learning environments that facilitate both individual and collective transformation. We seek teacher-scholars who cultivate inclusive, empowering spaces for mutual learning, skill-building, and knowledge exchange for all students. Our commitment to lifelong learning supports meaningful connections among faculty, staff, students, alumni, and the broader communities we serve.

We invite all applicants to include a Statement of Institutional Excellence (or incorporate it into your cover letter) to share how your lived and professional experiences will contribute to the SJSU community—particularly in relation to student success. A guide to writing this statement can be found at SJSU Institutional Excellence Statement Guidelines.”

Required Qualifications

• A doctorate in Digital Humanities, Critical Science and Technology Studies, Culture Studies, Humanities or related fields (e.g., American Studies, Ethnic Studies, Religious Studies, etc.)
• Demonstrated potential for effective, culturally sustaining teaching, and/or successful teaching experience.
• Record of, or demonstrated potential for, research, scholarship, or creative activity in the field of Digital Humanities, Critical Science and Technology Studies, and/or related fields.
• Applicants should demonstrate an awareness of and sensitivity to the educational goals of a socially and economically diverse student population as might have been gained in cross-cultural study, training, teaching, and other comparable experience.

Preferred Qualifications

Priority will be given to candidates who possess one or more of the following:

• Demonstrated experience, expertise, and/or scholarship in the social and cultural significance and impact of “artificial intelligence,” social media, digital data, and/or surveillance technologies
• Work in engaged scholarship and/or public humanities
• Demonstrated experience or interest in pedagogical approaches that account for broad cultural, learning, and socio-economic diversity within a classroom, including the ability to apply different kinds of critical, decolonial, and culturally sustaining pedagogies
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate and lead on issues of research/scholarship, pedagogy, curriculum, etc.

Key Responsibilities

• Teach undergraduate courses in Digital Humanities and other programs in the department; teaching load is three 3-unit courses per semester (as long as faculty is eligible for the RSCA Assigned Time” program); develop new curriculum as program, department, and student needs and interests dictate.
• Maintain an active research/scholarship, creative, and/or community-engaged agenda as appropriate to your tenure-track appointment and aligned with the broad topic of technology and society/culture.
• Advise and mentor students and develop cross-departmental and institutional partnerships and collaborations as warranted by teaching and scholarly interests and departmental needs.
• The candidate will participate in shared governance, usually in department, college, and university committees and other service assignments.
• Faculty shall organize all their classes within the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS).
• The candidate must demonstrate awareness and experience in understanding the needs of a student population of great diversity – in age, abilities, cultural background, ethnicity, religion, economic background, primary language, sexual orientation, gender identity, and academic preparation – through inclusive course materials, teaching strategies, and advisement.

Other Duties

Note that all San José State University employees are considered mandated reporters under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and are required to comply with the requirements set forth in CSU Executive Order 1083 as a condition of employment. Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act) and CSU systemwide policy, some faculty duties may lead to designation as a Campus Security Authority (CSA). CSAs are required to complete Clery Act training and to immediately report Clery incidents to the institution.

Faculty employees must complete CSU employee training as assigned and required based on their role (e.g., Data Security, FERPA, Preventing Discrimination and Harassment, Title IX, Health and Safety). The President may recommend or require compliance with safety measures that decrease the likelihood of COVID-19 transmission or illness and allows the core mission and activities of the campus to continue.

Application Procedure

Click Apply Now to complete the SJSU Online Employment Application and attach the following documents [departments may specify length of items below (e.g. 2 pages)]:

• letter of interest (no more than 2 pages)
• curriculum vitae
• institutional excellence statement (dedicated statement, no more than 2 pages)
• statement of teaching interests/philosophy (no more than 2 pages)
• Statement of research/scholarship (2 pages)
• Three references with contact information

Pursuant to California Education Code 89521, applicants will be required to disclose whether they have received a final administrative decision or final judicial decision determining that they have committed sexual harassment within the last 7 years only after a determination is made that they meet the minimum qualifications for the position, and before an offer of employment is extended. Applicants who reach the final stages of the application process must also sign a release form that authorizes the release of information by the applicant’s current and/or former employers to the CSU concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.

Inquiries may be directed to the Department Chair or Search Committee Chair: J. Todd Ormsbee todd.ormsbee@sjsu.edu

Conditional Offer

The work for this faculty position may only be performed in the State of California and requires establishing an on-campus presence. Employment is contingent upon US residence and proof of eligibility to work in the United States. Satisfactory completion of background and reference checks (including criminal records and prior employment) are required. SJSU will make a conditional offer of employment, which may be rescinded if the background and reference checks reveal disqualifying information, and/or it is discovered that the candidate knowingly withheld or falsified information. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background and reference checks may affect the continued employment of a current employee who was conditionally offered the position.

San José State University: Silicon Valley's Public University

Located in the heart of Silicon Valley — one of the most innovative regions in the world — San José State University is the founding campus of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system and the first public university in the West. Recognized as a leading transformative educational institution, San José State is an essential partner in the technological, economic, cultural, and social development of Silicon Valley, the Bay Area, and California. SJSU is a top-200 school nationally in research funding and second highest in research productivity in the CSU system. Cutting-edge research, world-class scholarship, student-centered learning, diverse communities, and commitment to social justice, allow SJSU to provide life-changing opportunities and advance the public good locally and globally.

Equal Employment Statement

San José State University prohibits discrimination on the basis of Age, Ancestry, Caste, Color, Disability, Ethnicity, Gender, Gender Expression, Gender Identity, Genetic Information, Marital Status, Medical Condition, Military Status, Nationality, Race, Religion, Religious Creed, Sex, Sexual Orientation, Sex Stereotype, and Veteran Status. This policy applies to all San José State University students, faculty, and staff as well as University programs and activities. Reasonable accommodations are made for applicants with disabilities who self-disclose.

Campus Security and Fire Safety Notification

Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, the Annual Security Report (ASR) is also now available for viewing at https://www.sjsu.edu/clery/docs/SJSU-Annual-Security-Report.pdf. The ASR contains the current security and safety-related policy statements, emergency preparedness and evacuation information, crime prevention and Sexual Assault prevention information, and information about drug and alcohol prevention programming. The ASR also contains statistics of Clery crimes for San José State University locations for the three most recent calendar years. A paper copy of the ASR is available upon request by contacting the Office of the Clery Director by phone at 408-924-1501 or by email at clerycompliance@sjsu.edu.

Pursuant to the Higher Education Opportunity Act, the Annual Fire Safety Report (AFSR) is available at https://www.sjsu.edu/clery/docs/SJSU-Annual-Fire-Safety-Report.pdf. The purpose of this report is to disclose statistics for fires that occurred within SJSU on-campus housing facilities for the three most recent calendar years, and to distribute fire safety policies and procedures intended to promote safety on Campus. A paper copy of the AFSR is available upon request by contacting the Housing Office by phone at 408-795-5600 or by email at uhs-frontdesk@sjsu.edu.

Advertised: September 22, 2026 (9:00 AM) Pacific Daylight Time
Applications close: Open until filled