Tier II Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Digital Humanities

Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Digital Humanities

Located in downtown Toronto, the largest and most culturally diverse city in Canada, Ryerson University, is on the territory of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee and the Wendat Peoples and is known for innovative programs built on the integration of theoretical and practical learning. Our undergraduate and graduate programs are distinguished by a professionally focused curriculum with a strong emphasis on excellence in teaching, scholarly research and creative activities. Ryerson is known for its culture of entrepreneurship and innovation and is recognized as a city builder, as it continues its growth through award-winning architecture and expansion of its campus.

Dedicated to a people first culture, Ryerson is proud to have been selected as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers and a Greater Toronto’s Top Employer for every year since 2015. To learn more about our work environment, please visit us on Twitter:  @RyersonU, @RyersonHR and @RyersonECI and our LinkedIn company page. We invite you to explore employment at Ryerson. Aboriginal candidates who would like to learn more about working at Ryerson University are welcome to contact Ms. Tracey King, Indigenous Human Resources Lead at t26king@ryerson.ca.

The Opportunity 

The Faculty of Arts at Ryerson University invites applications for a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Tier 2 Canada Research Chair (CRC) to be appointed in the Faculty of Arts with a focus on Indigenous Knowledges within a Digital Humanities approach. As defined by the guidelines, Tier 2 chairs, tenable for five years and renewable once, are for “exceptional emerging researchers acknowledged by their peers as having the potential to lead in their field.” 

The candidate will develop, with Ryerson University, the CRC nomination package for the April 2020 deadline. Upon a successful nomination to the CRC program, the candidate will be appointed to a tenure track position at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor, effective January 1, 2021, subject to final budgetary approval. 

We are seeking an outstanding emerging scholar to join our dynamic, community-focused research environment in the Faculty of Arts and across campus.  Working with the Centre for Digital Humanities (CDH), the CRC in Indigenous Digital Humanities will be situated at the university’s intersectional hub of cross-faculty research and innovation, both within the CDH and in the Library’s Collaboratory. The vision is for the CRC to work actively on campus to develop partnerships, networks, and collaborations in Indigenous Digital Humanities, across the Faculty of Arts and other Faculties. We would also facilitate the CRC to work closely with Indigenous knowledge keepers and research groups on campus, including the Chair in Indigenous Governance, The Yellowhead Institute, the Aboriginal Education Council, the Indigenous Scholarship Librarian in the University Library, and the Indigenous Advisor in the Yeates School of Graduate Studies.

As a future leader in Indigenous Digital Humanities, the CRC will engage with the ethical and respectful protection of Indigenous knowledges, asking who is telling the story, to whom, for what purpose, and with what authority, while also aiming to tell new stories, in innovative ways, for diverse audiences. The CRC in Indigenous Digital Humanities will contribute to leadership in the ongoing work of truth and decolonization in the context of Indigenous and settler relations, who are bound to learn from each other as they share the land and the stories of the lives lived upon it. The CRC will have demonstrated expertise in digital humanities, interrogating the values and ideologies that inform the creation of digital tools and the use of digital technologies, while creating innovative pathways to transformative Indigenous futures. 

Ryerson’s Faculty of Arts is comprised of ten humanities and social science departments, as well as several research centers. Serving a dual role within the University, the Faculty of Arts combines a liberal arts education with Ryerson's unique form of relevant, practical learning. The Faculty of Arts is also a home to both the Centre for Digital Humanities, which engages in collaborative transdisciplinary scholarship, research, and creativity at the critical intersection of the material and the digital, and the Yellowhead Institute, which focuses on the realization of Indigenous self-determination.

This position falls under the jurisdiction of the Ryerson Faculty Association (RFA) (www.rfanet.ca).

The RFA collective agreement can be viewed here and a summary of RFA benefits can be found here.

Responsibilities 

The incumbent will be expected to develop and maintain a strong, independent, externally funded research program that will be internationally recognized in five to ten years, mentor and support excellent diverse trainees, students, future researchers and colleagues, teach undergraduate and graduate courses and engage in collegial service.

Responsibilities of the Chair include the following: contributing to leadership at the Centre for Digital Humanities (CDH), where the candidate will build a research program and develop a research hub in Indigenous Digital Humanities; enriching the work of the Faculty of Arts and graduate programs at Ryerson; and participating in the ongoing effort to Indigenize the curriculum and decolonize the academy, in collaboration with Ryerson-based and community groups working to realize the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and the Office of the Vice President, Equity and Community Inclusion. The CRC may also help to develop an interdisciplinary undergraduate Minor in Digital Humanities and a Graduate Certificate in Digital Humanities, and may be part of an emerging Indigenous Studies curriculum in the Faculty of Arts. 

Qualifications 

Candidates must have a PhD in humanities, with expertise in the theories and practices of Indigenous Digital Humanities and must also present the following: 

demonstrated and documented commitment to upholding the values and practices of equity, diversity and inclusion as they pertain to service, teaching and Scholarly, Research and Creative Activities, including recruiting, mentoring and supporting diverse students, research trainees and research professionals from under-represented groups such as women, racialized people, persons with disabilities and Indigenous peoples and 2SLGBTQ+ people;  evidence of high quality teaching and student training including a demonstrated ability to make learning accessible and inclusive to a diverse student population;  a strong emerging research profile that demonstrates creativity and evidence of impact, such as peer reviewed and non-peer reviewed publications/contributions, digital humanities practice innovations, articles, memoirs, reviews, creative or artistic works, papers presented at scholarly meetings or conferences, participation in public discourse and debate, constituting a contribution to research;  demonstrated ability to establish and maintain an independent, externally funded research program, including participation in community partnerships, group grants and/or ability to attract multi-center grants;  a developing expertise in emerging fields of Digital Humanities research practices and methodologies, such as interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral research and critical making, digital cultural preservation, creation and curation, action research, translational research, practice research; 

experience in developing knowledge mobilization practices that include community engagement; evidence of research collaborations or strong potential/ability to attract collaborative initiatives; demonstrated attention to equity, diversity and inclusion in those collaborations or initiatives;  experience in graduate or undergraduate course development and/or Digital Humanities training workshops; and demonstrate a capacity for collegial service. 

Preference will be given to Indigenous scholars with lived experiences and a strong commitment to Indigenous knowledges and methodologies, and who have extensive experience in collaborating with Indigenous students, organizations and communities. 

To meet the criteria of the CRC program, candidates must demonstrate potential to achieve international recognition in their fields in the next five to ten years, as well as capacity as Chairholders to attract, develop and retain diverse, excellent trainees, students and future researchers, particularly from under-represented groups such as women, racialized people, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and 2SLGBTQ+ people. Accordingly, candidates shall be assessed for excellent, emerging world-class research of high quality that is original, innovative and particularly creative. The CRC in Indigenous Digital Humanities is subject to the Canadian Tri-Council Policy Statement on Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans, including the chapter on research involving the First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada (http://www.pre.ethics.gc.ca/default.aspx). 

All nominations are subject to review and final approval by the CRC Secretariat. Please consult the Canada Research Chairs website for more information about the CRC program and eligibility http://www.chairs-chaires.gc.ca/. The Tier 2 CRC is intended for exceptional emerging scholars (i.e., candidates who have been an active researcher in their field for fewer than 10 years at the time of nomination). Applicants who are more than 10 years from having earned their highest degree (and where career breaks exist, such as maternity, parental or extended sick leave, clinical training, family care, etc.) may have their eligibility for a Tier 2 chair assessed through the program’s Tier 2 justification process. Please contact the research office by sending an email to vpri@ryerson.ca with "Tier 2 Justification" in the title. 

Ryerson recognizes that scholars have varying career paths and that career interruptions can be part of an excellent academic record. Candidates are encouraged to provide any relevant information about their experience and/or career interruptions to allow for a fair assessment of their application. Search committee members have been instructed to give careful consideration to diverse experiences and knowledge, and be sensitive to the impact of career interruptions in their assessments.

Equity at Ryerson 

At the intersection of mind and action, Ryerson is on a transformative path to become Canada’s leading comprehensive innovation university. Integral to this path is the placement of equity, diversity and inclusion as fundamental to our institutional culture. Our current academic plan outlines each as core values and we work to embed them in all that we do. 

Ryerson University welcomes those who have demonstrated a commitment to upholding the values of equity, diversity, and inclusion and will assist us to expand our capacity for diversity in the broadest sense. We encourage applications from First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples, Indigenous peoples of North America, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, and those who identify as women and/or 2SLGBTQ+ people. 

As part of its efforts to correct the conditions of disadvantage in Canada for under-represented groups, we will, by separate communication invite all applicants to voluntarily complete an online Diversity Self-ID questionnaire. The information collected will be treated as confidential, but will not be anonymous. The communication will provide details on who will have access to the data and how it will be used.

How to Apply 

Applicants must submit their application online via the Faculty Recruitment Portal at https://hr.cf.ryerson.ca/ams/faculty/ (click on “Start Application Process” to begin) by November 1, 2019. The application must contain the following: 

A letter of interest and curriculum vitae.  3 recent research publications or equivalent.  A statement outlining the current and future scope of your research, how you incorporate equity, diversity and inclusion in your research practice, and your plans for sharing your research findings and knowledge (max. 5 pages).  Examples of recent teaching materials (eg course syllabi, workshops, community education events, mentoring and team building activities)  The contact information for three individuals who may be contacted for references, one of which may be a community reference. 

Please note that all qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, applications from Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority. Candidates must therefore indicate in their application if they are a permanent resident or citizen of Canada.  

Any confidential inquiries can be directed to the search committee chair, Dr. Paul Moore c/o Ms. Kathryn Rowan, Manager, Academic Administration (krowan@ryerson.ca). Review of applications will begin after November 1, 2019, and will continue until the position is filled. We thank applicants in advance for their applications; however, only applicants under consideration will be contacted about their candidacy. 

Ryerson is committed to accessibility for persons with disabilities. To find out more about our plans, policies and resources, please visit our Accessibility website. We want all applicants to be able to participate fully in the recruitment process. If you have any accommodation requests, and/or inquiries regarding accessing the Faculty Recruitment Portal, please contact Davina Chan, Sr. HR Consultant, at davina.chan@ryerson.ca. All requests for accommodation will be treated confidentially.