Description
The School of Civic Leadership at The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), in partnership with the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Study of Core Texts and Ideas invites applications for full-time tenured faculty positions at the associate or full professor level in the Great Books, with a field in political thought and constitutionalism.
Exceptional candidates will be eligible for endowed chairs and professorships. Successful candidates’ primary appointments will be in the School of Civic Leadership, with affiliations in the Thomas Jefferson Center. The possibility of partial appointments in the disciplinary department may also be explored. Appointments will begin in Fall 2027.
Successful candidates will teach in the School’s discussion-based Great Books curriculum, centered on close reading of primary texts. Courses are conducted as small seminars and discussion sections in which students engage directly with foundational, wisdom-seeking works in and between a range of disciplines: political thought, philosophy, literature, religious studies, history, and the liberal arts broadly. Candidates will also contribute to the overall core curriculum.
The School of Civic Leadership at The University of Texas at Austin prepares students for leadership in a free society through rigorous education and scholarship. Its dual mission is to equip students with the knowledge and aptitudes to lead public and private institutions and to produce research of the highest scholarly quality.
Building on its Civics Honors major, the School will launch a Great Books major in Fall 2027 in partnership with the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Study of Core Texts and Ideas. The School is also developing an interdisciplinary PhD program in Civic Thought.
Housed in the College of Liberal Arts, the Thomas Jefferson Center advances the close study of foundational texts through its Jefferson Scholars Program, Core Texts and Ideas Certificate, and Civic Thought Initiative. Its programs encourage students to examine their beliefs, broaden their understanding of others, and engage in thoughtful, respectful dialogue.
Qualifications
We seek outstanding candidates with a Ph.D. in a field related to the Great Books whose pedagogy and scholarship speak to the School of Civic Leadership’s core mission of educating citizens for freedom in its multiple senses: economic, political, and intellectual.
We are especially interested in work in the history of political thought from antiquity to the present:
- The founders of ancient and modern political philosophy;
- The medieval traditions of political thought;
- The Renaissance and early modernity;
- Critiques of modernity; and
- The essential documents of American constitutionalism (for example, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, The Federalist, and the Lincoln-Douglas debates); together with the broader tradition of American political thought, read in light of enduring questions of political life and human nature.
More broadly, we are interested in work that inquires into expressions of Western civilization that have become central to the American civic experience:
- The roots of the West in Athens and Jerusalem;
- Roman law;
- American letters;
- Works of literature, art, architecture, music, and science;
- Reflections on politics and civic life; and
- Moral reflection.
Application Instructions
The School of Civic Leadership and the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Study of Core Texts and Ideas invite applicants to submit:
- A cover letter;
- Curriculum vitae; and
- The names of three recommenders; letters will be requested at a later stage.
Cover letters should:
- Give a brief overview of the candidate's research agenda;
- Highlight areas of teaching competence; and
- Concisely describe how the candidate would contribute to developing the School of Civic Leadership and the study of the Great Books at the University of Texas.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.
