Assistant Professor in Screenwriting

Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Screenwriting

Be part of the School of Film, Media & Theatre’s growing faculty at Georgia State University, an enterprising Research I university in Atlanta. Our next Assistant Professor in Screenwriting will play a central role as the school collaborates to transform its curriculum and pedagogy to foreground experiential, interdisciplinary, and technologically enhanced learning furthering Georgia State’s strategic goal of demonstrating that students from all backgrounds can achieve academic and career success. Opportunities for support for faculty include intramural research grants, summer funding, teaching release time, graduate research assistants, and travel funds.

The School of Film, Media & Theatre is part of the College of the Arts, which was established in 2016 and also includes the Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design, the School of Music, and the Center for Educational Partnerships in Music. In addition to offering some of the university’s most popular majors, the college connects faculty and students with Atlanta’s thriving arts scene and booming film and music industries.

The School of Film, Media & Theatre has over 1200 majors and houses a Ph.D. program in Moving Image Studies, M.F.A and M.A. programs in film/media production and studies, and undergraduate programs in film/media and theatre. We are located in the heart of the third largest media-producing capital in America. The School is dedicated to broadening the range of voices heard in American culture (including perspectives that are often marginalized because of race, gender identity, age, class, rural status, ethnicity, body image, disability, sexual orientation, military status, religion, or political orientation) and to critically examining the functions of mainstream visual storytelling in our culture.

Georgia State University is a national leader in using innovation to drive student success and research growth. The university provides its world-class faculty and more than 50,000 students significant research, teaching, and learning opportunities in one of the 21^st century’s great global cities. In 2022, U.S. News & World Report ranked Georgia State as #2 in Most Innovative Schools, #2 in Best Undergraduate Teaching, #5 in Learning Communities, #6 in First-Year Experiences, and #11 in Top Performers on Social Mobility among national universities.

Responsibilities

We seek a colleague who works in established forms of fiction screenwriting and who is interested in challenging existing screenwriting practices. The selected candidate is expected to teach graduate and undergraduate level courses in screenwriting; to maintain an active research/creative agenda in screenwriting; to advise and mentor graduate students; and to participate in service at the school, college, and/or university levels.

The selected candidate is expected to contribute to the School’s efforts to broaden the diversity of voices in screenwriting. Of particular interest are screenwriters who, through their creative activity and teaching, foreground the narratives and/or experiences of Black, Latinx, Indigenous, AAPI, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and/or Disabled communities. We are actively seeking applicants that have a commitment to equity-forward teaching practices and who recognize and embrace the values of inclusivity and diversity, both in the classroom and in the field.

Evidence of artistic achievement specific to screenwriting (which can include -- but is not limited to -- produced screenplays that have screened theatrically, on television/streaming platforms, in national/international film/TV festivals, awards, or optioned screenplays) is required.

Qualifications

Essential Qualifications

•  M.F.A. or Ph.D. degree in screenwriting or a related field (in hand by August 1, 2022)

•  An emerging record of creative activity in screenwriting
•  Ability to teach advanced and introductory screenwriting courses
•  Ability to mentor young screenwriters (particularly from underrepresented groups)

Preferred Qualifications

• An established record of screenwriting invested in (but not limited to): Black American/African/Diasporic narratives, Black Feminist/Queer/Trans narratives, Latinx, Indigenous, AAPI, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and/or Disabled communities
• Experience in teaching advanced and introductory screenwriting courses in multiple forms (episodic/serial television, web series, short and feature length film)
• An established record of teaching screenwriting in ways that accentuate the contributions of Black American, Black Feminist/Queer/Trans, Latinx, Indigenous, AAPI, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and/or Disabled individuals working professionally within the area of screenwriting historically and/or at the present time
• An established record of mentoring young screenwriters (particularly from underrepresented groups)

Application Procedure

Submit: 1) a letter of application addressing the essential and preferred qualifications as well as your past and/or potential contributions to diversity/inclusion through research/creative activity and teaching; 2) curriculum vitae; 3) a sample or portfolio of representative screenwriting; and 4) at least three letters of recommendation (current and specific to this position).

Applicants should send their materials to Regina Anderson (randerson23@gsu.edu). Questions about the position should be addressed to the chair of the search committee, Professor Daniel Robin (drobin@gsu.edu).To ensure consideration, please submit all materials by January 15, 2022. Review of applications will continue until the position is filled. Should you be recommended for a position, an offer of employment will be conditional on background verification.

Georgia State University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against applicants due to race, ethnicity, gender, veteran status, or on the basis of disability or any other federal, state, or local protected class. As a campus with a diverse student body, we encourage applications from women, minorities, and individuals with a history of mentoring under-represented minorities in screenwriting.