2026-2027 African & African American Studies, Black Male Studies Search
The Department of African & African American Studies at Louisiana State University continues to build an academic unit that addresses creative areas of research that are consistent with its mission and values. To this end, the department solicits applications for an open-rank tenured or tenure-track position in Black Male Studies.
Scholarly attention to Black boys and men in the United States is nearly non-existent in American colleges and universities. When Black boys and men are studied as a specific demographic, unfortunately, they are typically written off as if they have no unique experience of their own that is worthy of considerate academic research despite the fact that empirical research has consistently demonstrated the inordinate amount of discrimination and violence that are specifically directed at them in the systems and milieus of America precisely because of their identity and social location. Conversely, Black boys and men have shown creativity and resilience in society, education, family, and community.
The successful candidate for this position will have a demonstrated record of research, publications, and instruction that show regard for this demographic and treat them as fully human in their theories and methods, rather than deficit and pathology frameworks that predominate current approaches. The candidate will be expected to develop undergraduate and graduate courses in their areas of specialization and to work with the Chair and faculty to facilitate significant research relationships. Standard teaching load is 2/2.
Required Qualifications: Ph.D. in Sociology, Philosophy, Education, Psychology, Public Health, Africana Studies, or related disciplines. An offer of employment is contingent on a satisfactory pre-employment background check.
Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. Applicants should submit a cover letter, explaining their qualifications, highlighting research and publications in Black Male Studies, a Curriculum Vitae, and a relevant sample publication. Please attach all documents under the “Resume/CV” section of your application. The limit is five attachments. In addition, please have three (3) letters of recommendation sent to the Co-chair of the Search Committee, Dr. Sarah Becker at sbecker@lsu.edu.
For general inquiries about the Department, please contact the Department Coordinator, Ms. Taylor R. King at aaas@lsu.edu. Regarding specific questions about the search or the status of your application, please contact Co-chairs, Dr. Sarah Becker (sbecker@lsu.edu) or Dr. Jas Sullivan (jamsulli@lsu.edu).
About the Department
A comprehensive, doctoral, high-research activity university that is located in the Capitol City of Baton Rouge, Louisiana State University enrolls over 30,000 students and offers the opportunity for undergraduates to pursue African & African American Studies (AAAS) as their major and minor courses of study and graduate students from any of the university’s graduate programs to pursue a Graduate Minor in Africana Studies.
Founded as a program in 1994, AAAS became a department in 2021, AAAS is a highly productive faculty, both in the College of Humanities & Social Sciences and among our national peer departments. The department’s mission is to promote critical thinking and challenge students to attain the highest levels of intellectual achievement and personal development through the study of ideas, practices, theories and experiences of Africans, African Americans, and other diasporic communities. To fulfill our mission, AAAS is comprised of visionary faculty, whose work commands a range of expertise and focuses on history, ethnicity, and gender, social, cultural, political, religious, and literary studies. Our faculty’s commitment to excellence supports AAAS’s mission to be the center of Africana Studies excellence in our region and nation. In addition, we are committed to promoting community engagement and to addressing pressing social issues through research and pedagogy.
Toward these ends, our department offers a B.A. as well as a minor and Graduate Minor in Africana Studies. Since its inception, AAAS has taken innovative steps to ensure that our students’ academic and civic goals and needs are met. This entails organizing and sponsoring events that involve the participation of surrounding communities. Furthermore, we work tirelessly to recruit the brightest and the best from our communities and to support student scholarship.
