Three openings in the Social Science at Quest University Canada

Quest University Canada (http://www.questu.ca/about_quest/index.php) has opened applications for three social science positions. Rather than hiring by discipline, we hope to fill a hole in our social sciences. We seek someone interested in First Nations or African issues who might approach these studies through psychology, anthropology or sociology. Quest is a new university. We graduated our first class on 30 April 2010. Classes are taught on the block system, and capped at 20 students per class. We scored higher than any other institute in North America on the NSSE scores last year. Quest University Canada seeks to educate undergraduates in the Liberal Arts and Sciences tradition, and to do it well. We do not have departments and teach a number of conceptually based courses (for example, I and a number of my colleagues taught a course last year called Asymmetry and taught about areas of asymmetry in our fields -- brain lateralization, language, handedness, chirality of molecules, and spin of universes). Our Social Sciences area consists of two economists, a political scientist, a cultural geographer, a conservation geographer, and me, a cognitive developmental psychologist. If you have questions about our experiment in education, you can contact me directly (megan.bulloch@questu.ca) or respond to the ad below.

Social Science General - Full-time, Continuing Position

Quest University Canada seeks applicants for a full-time, continuing faculty position and we will consider candidates from any social science discipline or any interdisciplinary program where the focus is on the social sciences. The successful candidate will teach concentration courses in their area of specialty and social science courses in our Foundation Program, especially Global Perspectives and Democracy and Justice, which are required of all students. All Quest faculty are expected to be able to teach the Cornerstone and Question courses, and candidates who demonstrate the willingness and experience to teach Rhetoric will be given special consideration. In your letter of application please discuss which courses you can create for our concentration program that would expand our offerings to Quest students interested in the social sciences. Please also specify how you are qualified to teach Democracy and Justice and Political Economy. For more detail on these and other courses see http://www.questu.ca/academics/foundation_program/course_descriptions.php). Rank open. Please do not apply for this position if you are applying for any other position currently being offered at Quest. Hiring for this position is subject to budgetary approval.

All Quest classes are seminar-style and are limited to enrolments of fewer than 20 students. Our faculty is highly interactive and attuned to opportunities to develop interdisciplinary courses. Further details about Quest and the application procedure can be found under Information for Faculty Applicants. Applications should be sent to ssfaculty@questu.ca; please put the words "Social Science General" in the subject heading.

A PhD (or equivalent) and some teaching experience is required. Although research, especially that involving undergraduates, is encouraged, those seeking a research-focused faculty position should not apply. Applications should be received by November 1, 2011; interviews for finalists will be scheduled in November and December. The start date for the position is August 1, 2012.

First Nations Studies or African Studies

Quest University Canada seeks applicants for a full-time faculty position who can teach courses in First Nations or African Studies. The successful candidate will also teach social science courses in our Foundation Program, especially Global Perspectives and Democracy and Justice, which are required of all students. All Quest faculty are expected to be able to teach the Cornerstone and Question courses, and candidates who demonstrate the willingness and experience to teach Rhetoric will be given special consideration. We will consider candidates from Sociology, Political Science, Anthropology, Psychology, Geography and History, as well as candidates who have completed social science degrees in First Nations or African Studies. The ability and willingness to develop field-based courses is also highly desirable.

All Quest classes are seminar-style and are limited to enrolments of fewer than 20 students. Our faculty are highly interactive and attuned to opportunities to develop interdisciplinary courses. Further details about Quest and the application procedure can be found under Information for Faculty Applicants. Applications should be sent to ssfaculty@questu.ca; please put "First Nations" or "African" studies in the subject heading.

A PhD (or equivalent) and some teaching experience is required. Although research, especially that involving undergraduates, is encouraged, those seeking a research-focused faculty position should not apply. Applications should be received by October 20, 2011; interviews for finalists will be scheduled in November and December. The start date for the position will be August 1, 2012.

Social Science Foundation Courses - Full-time, One Year Position

Quest University Canada seeks applicants for a full-time, one year faculty position and we will consider candidates from any social science discipline or any interdisciplinary program where the focus is on the social sciences. The successful candidate will teach four blocks (sections) of Global Perspectives, and two blocks (sections) of Political Economy, both Foundation courses required of all students. Hiring for this position is subject to budgetary approval.

Global Perspectives orients the student toward contemporary problems in the world. Themes may include intercultural communications, globalization and development, international relations, global social issues such as AIDS, poverty, or environmental degradation, among others. All Global Perspectives blocks introduce the student to world issues in order to help him or her understand basic differences between developed and developing nations, international institutions, some contemporary global challenges, future directions for these contemporary challenges, and the basic geography of the world. During the course, students should develop their ability to critically evaluate different sources of information, use evidence from texts to support an argument or perspective, understand global issues from a wide range of cultural or socioeconomic perspectives, understand how a person’s cultural background may influence their values and perspectives on global issues, and distinguish regions from each other and understand basic geographical and cultural differences between them. In your letter of application please discuss how you would approach the course.

The Political Economy course explores the way economists and makers of economic policy examine problems, how markets work (and fail to work), and policy responses (both appropriate and inappropriate) to economic problems, within the context of liberal democratic society. The following concepts should be a part of every Political Economy course. At the end of the course, students should be able to describe central economic concepts, how economists analyse problems, and the kinds of problems they deal with (including attempts to analyse non-economic phenomena), how markets work, how economic policy impacts outcomes by changing the incentives that people face, the relationship between government and the economy in a free market system, and key indicators - such as measures of economic and social welfare, inequality, and macroeconomic.

All Quest classes are seminar-style and are limited to enrolments of fewer than 20 students. Our faculty is highly interactive and attuned to opportunities to develop interdisciplinary courses. Further details about Quest and the application procedure can be found under Information for Faculty Applicants. Applications should be sent to ssfaculty@questu.ca; please put the words "Foundation position" in the subject heading.

A PhD or ABD status and some teaching experience are required. Applications should be received by November 15, 2011; interviews for finalists will be scheduled in November and December. The start date for the position is August 15, 2012 and the end date for the position is May 15, 2013.