Assistant Professor in Socio-Cultural Anthropology - Fall 2027

The Department of Anthropology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville invites applicants for a full-time tenure-track position in Socio-Cultural Anthropology at the rank of Assistant Professor beginning August 1, 2027. The position will focus on food sovereignty in relation to indigenous or other marginalized communities.

The University is engaged in a next-level initiative aimed both at substantially elevating the University’s national reputation for impactful research, scholarship, and creative activity and at assembling a roster of faculty committed to delivering one of the nation’s best educational experiences for undergraduate and graduate students.

We seek to hire a scholar with broad training in socio-cultural anthropology or closely related disciplines with a strong background in ethnographic methods and community engagement. While regional expertise is open, we seek a scholar whose regional focus complements those of existing faculty. This position is part of a new College-wide faculty hiring constellation intended to bring together tenure-line faculty members whose research, scholarship, and creative activity can help bring new, interdisciplinary perspectives to the area of Societal Resilience to Environmental Hazards .

Candidates who can contribute to this interdisciplinary constellation will be preferred. The Department of Anthropology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville is a three-field department that includes cultural anthropology, anthropological archaeology, and biological anthropology. The Department of Anthropology hosts the Disaster, Displacement and Human Rights Program and collaborates with interdisciplinary programs on campus like Native American and Indigenous Studies, Latin American, Caribbean and Latinx Studies, and Africana Studies.

We are seeking a scholar who strengthens the department’s socio-cultural anthropology subfield and can offer courses of relevance to students across the department and university. The successful candidate will be expected to teach two courses per semester, maintain a robust research profile, and contribute to departmental and university service.

An earned doctorate in Socio-Cultural Anthropology or a closely related field must be in hand by the time of appointment. Required Qualifications Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology, Social Anthropology, Socio-Cultural Anthropology, or a closely related field. Ph.D. in hand before the start date of August 1, 2027. Use of ethnographic field methods for research.

Research focus on food sovereignty and/or indigeneity. Ability to teach upper-division undergraduate and graduate courses in cultural anthropology, specifically in ethnographic methods and theory.

Preferred Qualifications

Ability to teach courses focused on the geographical area of their expertise. Ability to teach courses pertinent to themes such as vulnerability and resilience in the context of environmental hazards, climate change impacts on vulnerable communities, environmental justice and indigenous societies.

Applicants should submit a cover letter that addresses relevant research and teaching experience, a CV, research statement, and the names and contact information of three referees. Letters of reference, sample syllabi, and a statement of teaching philosophy will be requested at a later stage. Please submit application materials via Interfolio at https://apply.

interfolio.com/194222 . Review of applications will begin on November 15, 2026, and will continue until the position is filled. Preference will be given to applications received before the November 15 deadline. Direct any questions to Dr. Arsalan Khan, Search Committee Chair, at akhan53@utk.edu . About the University of Tennessee, Knoxville The new hire will be joining an active faculty at the University of Tennessee – Knoxville, a research-intensive university with more than 31,000 undergraduate and 7,000 graduate students.

The city of Knoxville was recently named by Trip Advisor as a “Top Ten Destination on the Rise,” boasting an attractive and walkable downtown that hosts celebrated restaurants, shopping venues, and year-round cultural events and community-gathering activities. The Knoxville metropolitan area has a population of nearly 700,000 and is within easy driving distance to Atlanta, Nashville, Asheville, Cherokee, Cincinnati, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.