Lecturer in Early Modern Literature

Salary: £39,347 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 10 April 2024

The Role

The School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics (SELLL) wishes to appoint a Lecturer in Early Modern Literature (Teaching and Research).

This is a full-time (1 FTE) fixed-term appointment for 12 months with a start date of 1 September 2024. This is a maternity cover post for Dr Emma Whipday.

We are looking for candidates with expertise in Early Modern Literature to teach across our degree programme.

At stage 1, you will contribute to survey modules.

At stage 2, you will teach on a team-taught module, Renaissance Bodies.

At Stage 3 you will design and convene a sole-taught module on Early Modern Drama and supervise undergraduate dissertations.

As a T and R post, the role also includes provision for you to develop your research and contribute to the research culture of the school and faculty. Other duties expected of the role may include acting as personal tutor to students, participating in open days, and attending relevant subject, school, and faculty meetings.

SELLL is a robust and highly motivated intellectual community of 55 academic and research staff working across the fields of English Literature, Creative Writing, and Language and Linguistics. We offer a range of undergraduate degrees, both Single Honours English Literature and Joint Honours English Literature with Creative Writing, Language and Literature, and English Literature and History. We run thriving post-graduate taught and post-graduate research degrees.

We have excellence in established and inter-disciplinary areas of research, across a full range of periods and genres, with innovation in critical and textual scholarship. 79% of our research in Literature and Creative Writing was rated as world leading in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework assessment. We have a strong core of Early Modern scholars whose expertise includes Shakespeare and women’s cultural production (Chedgzoy); the Renaissance urban gothic (de Rycker); Thomas Nashe (de Rycker); women’s life writing, political writing and poetry (Connolly); Ben Jonson (Connolly).

In joining our School, you will have the opportunity to participate in interdisciplinary Faculty Research Groups including the Medieval and Early Modern Studies network, (https://research.ncl.ac.uk/mems/); the Newcastle Medical Humanities Network, the Gender Research Group, and the Performance Research Network. Further network and funding opportunities are available through the three Research Institutes: Humanities, Social Sciences, and Creative Arts Practice.

As the first unit in our subject area in the UK to have been recognized for our commitment to the advancement of equality and diversity through a Athena Swan Bronze accreditation, we value the benefits of a diverse intellectual community of staff and students and promote the principles of equality and diversity in all of our activities. We therefore encourage applications from individuals whose work draws on and reflects the full range of backgrounds, perspectives and diversity of our modern world, and welcome applications from underrepresented groups.

For further enquiries, please contact Professor Jo Robinson, Head of School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics (Jo.Robinson2@newcastle.ac.uk), or Dr Kirsten MacLeod, Head of the English Literature Subject Group (kirsten.macleod@newcastle.ac.uk).

We ask that candidates submit a covering letter of up to 2 A4 pages only, alongside a CV. No other materials are required at shortlisting stage.

For the candidate information pack please click here.

Key Accountabilities

· Contribute as an active citizen in the School and University Community, working collaboratively with colleagues

· Undertake administrative duties as required by the Head of School

· Have a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and ethics, responsibility and sustainability

Teaching and Learning

· Design and deliver high quality teaching and learning material, resources, and activities in Early Modern Literature and related areas to our students, in line with School and Faculty teaching objectives 



· Supervise undergraduate dissertations and research projects across periods


· Set, assess and moderate coursework in accordance with University standards, providing timely and effective feedback to students

· Provide personal tutoring and pastoral guidance (when appropriate, obtaining specialist support and advice)


· Ensure all our students benefit from studying in a research intensive, research excellent academic environment

· Evaluate own teaching practice and presently have or have a willingness to work towards a category of Fellowship with the HEA

Research

· Conduct research that demonstrates international standards of excellence in terms of originality, significance and rigour in the subject area of Early Modern Literature

· Disseminate research results through appropriate media to advance knowledge in the field and enhance the University’s reputation for high quality research

The Person 

Knowledge and Experience

· Teaching experience at undergraduate level in Early Modern Literature, rooted in strong disciplinary knowledge that engages, challenges, and inspires our students

· Evidence of or the potential to supervise undergraduate research and dissertation projects

· Evidence of research outputs that are commensurate with career stage

· Experience of/potential of providing academic guidance and/or pastoral care to students


· Experience of/potential of providing support or mentoring to colleagues or students

Attributes and Behaviour

· Commitment to maintaining and supporting a diverse and inclusive working environment, in which all colleagues (academic and Professional Services) and students are treated fairly and respectfully

· Excellent organisational, time management and presentation skills

· Ability to work as part of a team and on own initiative


· Willingness and ability to assume administrative responsibilities

Qualifications

· You will have a PhD in hand in a relevant subject area

· Teaching qualification (Higher Education Academy Fellowship or equivalent) or the expectation of completing a teaching qualification while in post

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 26832