Assistant or Associate Professor (without tenure) - Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture

Assistant or Associate Professor (without tenure) - Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Cambridge, MA

The Department of Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is seeking to fill a tenure-track faculty position in the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture (AKPIA) in the Department of Architecture. The position is supported by a generous gift from the Aga Khan as part of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture (AKPIA) at MIT.

AKPIA is an academic leader in the study of architecture and urbanism in the Islamic world. Over the past four decades, the program has graduated leading scholars and practitioners in the field of Islamic Architecture worldwide. Over this period, AKPIA’s students have come from diverse academic and national backgrounds to pursue either an advanced SMArchS degree focused on architecture in the Islamic world, or a PhD degree within the framework of the History, Theory & Criticism program with a focus on the history, theory, and criticism of Islamic architecture or urbanism. The current search aims to build on this tradition while further expanding the scope and ambition of the Aga Khan program to address pressing issues in the Islamic built environment.

The successful candidate will be involved primarily in the study of architecture and/or urban design in the Islamic world, with an interest in design, urban, social, historical and/or environmental questions. They will aid the faculty of the program, and department, in further extending AKPIA’s ambition to address urgent issues facing cities and landscapes in the Islamic world. These include contemporary issues facing the architecture of Islamic societies in a global context; the climate crisis and its unequally distributed effects; the problems of mass urbanization; settlement and displacement, migration and forced displacement; heritage issues; and the quality and conditions of civic space. An important criterion in the search will be the ability of the candidate to engage and collaborate across the realms of design, planning, and contemporary and historical research necessary to engage such essential global challenges.

Candidates should demonstrate evidence of engagement with, and commitment to their work at the highest academic level. This may include works of research, scholarship, and/or design. The individual should be able to demonstrate an ability to develop and teach both graduate and undergraduate courses and supervise Masters and PhD work in an internationally recognized School of Architecture and Planning.

In keeping with MIT's culture of faculty self-governance and the Department's expectations of its faculty, the candidate is expected to participate in the intellectual life and administrative functioning of the department, and to contribute to the department's research and pedagogical agendas. The individual should enjoy collaborating with colleagues, be an articulate communicator, and be dedicated to help steer and support the rich, diverse culture of the Department. In pursuing research, teaching or practice, the individual should also be an effective representative of the department to the external world, in particular to agencies such as the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and the Aga Khan Development Network.

Dedicated to a humanistic and technologically sophisticated vision of design, history, and pedagogy, the Department of Architecture is uniquely positioned within the School of Architecture and Planning and within the larger institution of MIT, which strongly supports innovation and entrepreneurial activity, cross-disciplinary work, and diversity. The Department is actively committed to building and sustaining a diverse and culturally inclusive community of faculty, students, and staff, and a learning and research environment that welcomes and supports diverse interests, orientations, and work. The academic structure of the Department is unique in that each of its five disciplinary areas (Architecture + Urbanism; Art, Culture and Technology; Building Technology; Computation; and History, Theory and Criticism) work at equal intensity, across boundaries, and in collaboration to create an environment in which innovative research and scholarship fuse with the pedagogical agendas of the studios and ongoing design inquiry.

The Department engages productively in research and education alliances with the other units in the School (e.g., the Department of Urban Studies and Planning; Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism; Media Lab; Program in Media Arts and Sciences; Program in Art, Culture and Technology, and Center for Real Estate). In this exciting context, the Department is explicitly committed to excellence in both pedagogical and research activities. Believing that the cross current between the two creates a charged atmosphere for study and a critical edge for research, we are seeking candidates with an ability to thrive and lead in the Department.

Qualifications:

• The position is designed for a junior or developing scholar for whom a hire at the Assistant or Associate without Tenure level is appropriate. An ability to advance a teaching and research agenda in an academic environment are essential.
• Candidates should hold a terminal degree in architecture or an allied discipline and show proven excellence in teaching, scholarship, design practice or a combination thereof. A Doctoral degree is preferred but not required.
• Prospective candidates should have demonstrated accomplishments that qualify them for the above responsibilities, especially familiarity with countries and regions with substantial Islamic populations and their social, cultural, environmental, and architectural contexts. An advanced degree in architecture is required, either a professional master’s degree or doctoral degree, as well as extensive experience in an Islamic context; fluency in at least one language of the Islamic world is strongly preferred.

Application Instructions

Interested applicants should submit: a statement of interest outlining their vision and qualifications for the position, including major professional, research, pedagogical goals and achievements; a curriculum vitae; three current references with contact information; and a maximum 16 page, letter-sized dossier of professional, research or scholarly work. Review of applicants will begin in the Fall of 2021, and will continue until the position is filled. Please submit materials to https://apply.interfolio.com/88659.  Applications will be accepted only online through the Interfolio website. For technical issues, please contact Interfolio staff at 877-997-8807 or help@interfolio.com/88659

MIT is an equal employment opportunity employer.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, ancestry, or national or ethnic origin. MIT’s full policy on nondiscrimination can be found at https://policies.mit.edu/policies-procedures/90-relations-and-responsibilities-within-mit-community/92-nondiscrimination.