Associate Professor, Visualizing Futures/Worldbuilding - ASU at Mesa City Center

Company: The Society for Social Studies of Science
Location: Mesa
Posted on: June 25, 2022

Job Description:

Associate Professor, Visualizing Futures/Worldbuilding - ASU at Mesa City Center College of Global Futures and the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, Arizona State University The School of Arts, Media and Engineering (AME) and the School for the Future of Innovation in Society (SFIS ) at Arizona State University seek a diverse pool of dynamic thinkers and creators for a joint, full-time, tenure-eligible associate professor appointment focused on visualizing futures and worldbuilding, which will play a central role in the ASU at Mesa City Center emerging media technologies center opening in fall 2022. This position will have a leadership role in the development and running of the MS in Futures and Design, a cross-disciplinary degree program focused on leveraging emerging/XR technologies and practices to imagine, analyze and create discourse/engagement around futures scenarios and alternate realities. This position will begin Fall 2022. About ASU Arizona State University is a new model for American higher education, an unprecedented combination of academic excellence, entrepreneurial energy and broad access. This New American University is a single, unified institution comprising four differentiated campuses positively impacting the economic, social, cultural and environmental health of the communities it serves. Its research is inspired by real world application blurring the boundaries that traditionally separate academic disciplines. ASU serves more than 80,000 students in metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona, the nation's fifth largest city. ASU champions intellectual and cultural diversity, and welcomes students from all fifty states and more than one hundred nations across the globe. About the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts Arizona State University's Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts is the largest comprehensive design and arts school in the country, located within a dynamic research university focused on transformative change. Built on a unique combination of disciplines, the Herberger Institute comprises the Schools of Art; Arts, Media and Engineering; Music, Dance and Theatre; The Design School; The Sidney Poitier New American Film School, and the ASU Art Museum. The Herberger Institute is committed to redefining the 21st-century design and arts school through developing and scaling ideas that strengthen the role of designers and artists across all areas of society and culture, increasing the capacity of artists to make a difference in their communities. For more information on the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, visit herbergerinstitute.asu.edu . About the School of Arts, Media and Engineering The School of Arts, Media and Engineering in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University offers a dynamic, cross-campus, student-customizable curriculum that prepares students with tangible skills in new media, AI, games, wearable technology and more. We believe the liberal arts degree for the 21st century needs to create citizens who are conversant with hard skills in emerging technology as well as with the soft skills that employers increasingly demand. The School of Arts, Media and Engineering trains students to be socially aware, critically thinking global citizens who strive to bring about positive change, in a society that will be increasingly shaped by incoming revolutions in emerging and new technologies. For more information on the School of Arts, Media and Engineering, visit artsmediaengineering.asu.edu . About the School for the Future of Innovation in Society (SFIS) SFIS is a transdisciplinary unit at the vanguard of ASU's commitment to linking innovation to public value. SFIS faculty backgrounds span the natural sciences and engineering, as well as the social sciences and humanities. SFIS provides a unique ecosystem for scholarship, education, and engagement, with current faculty research areas including, but far from limited to, environmental and energy justice, reproductive justice and biopolitics, technology at borders, peace engineering, data ethics, public interest technology, activism and social movements, and decolonizing space governance. More broadly, the community of SFIS shares a vision of socially responsive and responsible innovation. Collaborative opportunities exist with the Washington, DC-based Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes (CSPO; www.cspo.org) - consistently ranked one of the top science and technology policy think tanks in the world. Situated alongside the School of Sustainability and the new School of Complex Adaptive Systems within the newly created College of Global Futures (CGF; collegeofglobalfutures.asu.edu) and the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory (GFL; globalfutures.asu.edu), SFIS provides a supportive environment within which to develop, grow, and implement a truly transformative scholarly enterprise. Since its creation in 2015, SFIS has maintained that "the future is for everyone." Part of implementing this ethic is creating a diverse faculty that represents both the diversity of interests and issues that humanity faces in its increasingly complex future, and the diversity of students and communities we serve. About ASU at Mesa City Center Arizona State University has joined forces with one of the nation's fastest growing cities to build a digital innovation center in Mesa. ASU at Mesa City Center will open doors for students in emerging industries while helping transform Mesa's downtown area into a bustling innovation district. Once fully developed, this 118,000 square-foot space will leverage its soundstages, audio laboratories, immersive laboratories, screening theaters, fabrication labs and design studios to encourage collaborations aimed at solving problems today and in the future-from visualizing new systems of urban transportation to testing new designs for hospital rooms. This world-class media production site will host hundreds of students making films, video games and other immersive media, as well as extended reality experiences of all kinds. Our inclusive programming will train some of the best storytellers and media entrepreneurs in the world, and the facility will also be an open and inviting place for the public as well as a source of inspiration, entertainment and education. The primary responsibilities for this jointly appointed position will be developing and running the MS in Futures and Design and teaching in and collaborating with the other programs of ASU at Mesa City Center; these make up a cross-disciplinary trio of graduate programs bringing together researchers, designers and engineers to leverage XR technologies and practices for public impact. In addition to leading the MS in Futures and Design program, the successful candidate will be expected to develop an independently funded and collaborative research program; teach and mentor students; participate in professional and university service; engage stakeholders in the university and the community, and demonstrate national and international leadership in their field. ASU at Mesa City Center serves a community and a university that represent a broad range of racial, cultural, and other forms of diversity. We enthusiastically welcome applications from individuals of all races, cultures, nations of origin, abilities, and gender identities. Required Qualifications: Candidates for this position must have:

• Demonstrated excellence in and commitment to teaching in a higher education setting.
• Demonstrate dedication to equity, diversity and inclusion.
• A PhD or other terminal degree in a relevant field.
• Candidates must demonstrate experience and expertise in future-focused research or practice. This could be linked to, for instance foresight, future studies, strategy, speculative design or anticipation, as well as demonstrated experience in the use of creative tools and methods in the conception and communication of imaginative futures as a means of analyzing and guiding decision-making under conditions of uncertainty. Work experience may range from speculative and provocative to more practical, community, or policy-based interventions. Desired Qualifications: Highly-qualified candidates for this position may possess:
  • Evidence of ability to inspire and instruct learners from diverse backgrounds.
  • Ability to communicate effectively in and across multiple disciplinary cultures.
  • Expertise in engaging multiple viewpoints and audiences in a variety of formats.
  • Experience collaborating with colleagues from different disciplines to develop and grow dynamic research and academic programs.
  • Demonstrated skill in teaching and mentoring early career researchers, including graduate students and/or early career faculty.
  • Experience in one or more creative technologies or practices, including but not limited to: visual art/design, creative writing, story-telling, experience design, game design/development, media production, interactive media, 3D modeling/animation.
  • Experience using futures practices or methodologies.
  • Demonstrated experience in working with external stakeholders and communities in a highly collaborative or co-creative manner.
  • Commitment to research, creative activity and/or scholarship that has public impact outside of the academy. This could include work related to community engagement, social justice, communication of science, cross-cultural communication or similar endeavors.
  • Experience teaching online or creating resources for education in an online environment. Instructions to Apply: Please submit:
    • A C.V.
    • A letter of interest/cover letter that includes a description of the applicant's research and teaching interests and addresses their potential alignment with the stated values and mission of ASU and the relevant departments.
    • A statement addressing how the applicant's past and/or potential contributions to diversity, equity, inclusion, and/or racial justice will advance ASU's commitment to inclusive excellence.
    • Contact information for at least 3 professional or scholarly references.
    • Portfolio or repository of evidence related to research and creative activity. This could take the form of a website, link to cloud-based downloads (1GB maximum file size), or a simple document with links out to previous projects. The application deadline is January 3, 2022. Applications will continue to be accepted on a rolling basis for a reserve pool. Applications in the reserve pool may then be reviewed in the order in which they were received until the position is filled.

Keywords: The Society for Social Studies of Science, Mesa , Associate Professor, Visualizing Futures/Worldbuilding - ASU at Mesa City Center, Education / Teaching , Mesa, Arizona