Teaching Fellow in English Literature: Gender and Sexuality

TEACHING FELLOW IN ENGLISH LITERATURE: GENDER AND SEXUALITY - 99862

Position Details

School of English, Drama and Creative Studies in the College of Arts and Law

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £31,406 to £40,927, with potential progression once in post to £43,434

Grade 7

Full time

Fixed-term for up to 12 months

Closing Date: 6 July 2022

Background

The Department of English Literature

The Department of English Literature is a central part of the School of English, Drama and Creative Studies within the College of Arts and Law; our partner department within the School is the Shakespeare Institute, based in Stratford upon Avon. The Department has an excellent track record in teaching and an active research culture that emphasises excellent publications, productive collaboration within and beyond the University, and wide-ranging public engagement. Staff in the department research, publish and teach across the full chronological range of English Literature from Old English to the present day and are committed to a rich diversity of theoretical, historical and intellectual approaches to their subjects.

The School of English, Drama and Creative Studies (EDACS)

This is a vibrant and thriving school, situated within the College of Arts and Law. It hosts a community of academics and students researching and learning in all areas of English and American literature, Language and Linguistics, Film Studies, Creative Writing, and Drama and Theatre Arts. It has particular strengths in the study of Shakespeare both on campus and at our Shakespeare Institute in Stratford upon Avon. Our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes offer students the opportunity to combine academic scholarship with creative practice through performance, film and creative writing. EDACS aims to promote inter-disciplinarily and intellectual collaboration both in teaching and research.

Equal Opportunities

The University of Birmingham is an equal opportunities employer. The School of English, Drama and Creative Studies recognises that strength and success comes from diversity and strives to maintain a flexible and supportive environment that enables all staff and students to flourish.

Role Purpose

As a Teaching Fellow in the Department of English Literature, the post holder will be expected to undertake approximately 14-16 hours of timetabled teaching per week at undergraduate and postgraduate taught level and participate in the department's overall contribution to the School, College, and University. The post holder will also undertake personal academic tutoring and supervise UG and PGT dissertations. The post will include organisation, management and leadership duties. The successful candidate will have considerable relevant teaching and assessment experience in the field of English Literature, across a range of periods, and ideally across different levels and disciplinary areas. The candidate should be committed to providing an excellent student learning experience. The successful candidate will be required to demonstrate expertise in the study of gender and sexuality.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

• Teach and mark modules at a range of levels to undergraduate and postgraduate students, predominantly through allocated lectures and seminars, so that the School's teaching objectives are met.
• Contribute to the design of modules with other colleagues.
• Working with existing teams on the design and delivery of existing undergraduate modules on 'Women's Writing' and 'Gender and Sexuality Studies'.
• Plan and prepare own teaching, including guidance notes and handouts in accordance with the established objectives of the teaching programme.
• Devise and supervise projects, student dissertations and practical work.
• Develop an approach to planning and reviewing own teaching.
• Undertake full range of responsibilities in relation to supervision, marking and examining. (Summative assessment, including assessed work contributing to the final award - as a mark or as a credit - such as unseen examinations, essays, dissertations or presentations, is subject to validation by the academic supervisor.)
• Frequently update own subject expertise.
• Undertake personal professional development in teaching, including self-reflection on own teaching, using student and peer review feedback, to enhance own teaching and learning processes.
• Contribute to knowledge transfer on own specialism that is of manifest benefit to the College and the University, often under supervision of a project leader.
• Undertake management/administration arising from teaching.
• Contribute to Departmental/School teaching-related activities and undertake organisation, management and leadership duties.
• Contribute to enterprise, business development and/or public engagement activities of manifest benefit to the College and the University, often under supervision of a project leader.
• Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.

Person Specification

• A PhD in English Literature
• High level analytical capability
• Considerable experience of teaching undergraduate students and co-ordinating modules
• Considerable experience of marking and co-ordinating the assessment of undergraduate work in English Literature
• Expertise in the study of gender and sexuality
• Ability to design and deliver module materials successfully
• Ability to assess and organise resources effectively
• Understanding of and ability to contribute to broader management/administration processes
• Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day-to-day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly.

For further information please contact Dr Dave Gunning, Head of the Department of English Literature, D.R.Gunning@bham.ac.uk.

Valuing excellence, sustaining investment

We value diversity and inclusion at the University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community and are open to discussions around all forms of flexible working.