Position: Assistant Professor of English
Effective Date: August 17, 2026 (Fall Semester)
Salary Range: The Assistant Professor (Academic Year) classification salary is $74,652 to $158,688/year; $6,221 to $13,224/per month (12 monthly payments per academic year). The anticipated hiring range is $86,004 to $90,000 per year; $7,167 to $7,500/per month (12 monthly payments per academic year). Salary offered is commensurate with qualifications and experience.
Application Deadline: Review of applications to begin November 17, 2025. Position opened until filled (or recruitment canceled).

California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI). CSULB earned the prestigious Seal of Excelencia in 2023, joining a distinctive group of colleges and universities who have been recognized for its commitment to Latine/x student success. CSULB is committed to serving diverse students and has established and actively supports the Black Excellence Collegium, dedicated to promoting Black excellence and advancing Black Student Success, and El Concilio for Latinx Success at the Beach, whose mission is to build capacity and promote inclusive servingness across initiatives and efforts for the benefit of all students. The President’s Equity & Change Commission is dedicated to achieving inclusive excellence in our community and culture and throughout the university. CSULB’s Beach 2030 University Action Plans prioritize engaging all students; expanding access to higher education; promoting intellectual achievement; building community; and cultivating resilience.

College of Liberal Arts
Department of English

 Required Qualifications:

• Ph.D. in English or closely related field. Degree at time of application or official notification of the completion of the doctoral degree by August 1, 2026.
• Specialization in African American/Black Diasporic Literature and Literary Studies with generalist competency in American Literature
• Demonstrated potential for or evidence of excellence in teaching at the college level, both   undergraduate and graduate courses
• Demonstrated potential for or evidence of successful research and publication
• Demonstrated commitment to working successfully with a diverse student population, including low socioeconomic and first-generation students

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in teaching courses in African American/Black Diasporic Literatures and Literary Studies
• Expertise in African American/Black Diasporic Literatures and Literary Studies
• Ability to teach American literatures by U.S. writers of color that spans multiple eras/movements/genres, including, for instance, realist, naturalist, modernist, postmodern, postcolonial, transnational, womanist, feminist, queer, and/or genre literature in novel, poetry, drama, and non-fiction
• Ability to teach critical theory and its histories (e.g., postcolonial theory, decolonial theory, race theory, gender theory, New Historicism, ecocriticism, Black literary theory, etc.) particularly as they have shaped the study of African American and Black Diasporic Literatures
• Potential for developing campus-wide interdisciplinary programs with other departments such as Africana Studies, Chicano and Latino Studies, Asian and Asian American Studies, American Indian Studies, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Comparative World Literature, Sociology, and/or History
• Potential for developing service-learning courses, pursuing community-based research, and/or engaging in other high-impact pedagogical practices
• Experience successfully working with populations demographically and/or socioeconomically similar to the CSULB student body
• Experience mentoring or supporting students using inclusive and culturally relevant teaching strategies in a diverse classroom

Department of English

The Department of English’s mission is to graduate students who value imagination, creativity, and expression, and who will advocate for these habits of mind in their own writing, research, and teaching. Our faculty and students are dedicated to the study of the utility, intricacy, and beauty of cultural production in English, and they advance the understanding and appreciation of these virtues through original research and creative activities. The diversity and complexity of the human experience is represented throughout the entire range of literature written in English, and we believe that intensive study of literature and writing advances the humanistic values of discovery, critique, compassion, and innovation. Our practices and methods prepare our students to understand and solve problems through research, to create texts for various audiences and purposes, and to find new forms of expression in a variety of genres and media.

Using their skill in interpretation, our graduates will be able to find meaning in any text, as well as in their daily lives. A democratic society requires members who can comprehend and evaluate arguments from multiple perspectives, understand and empathize with others, and express their own ideas and positions with clarity, force, and eloquence. It is our mission to ensure that our graduates will have these skills.

The Department of English is one of the largest departments in the College of Liberal Arts (CLA), currently enrolling 775 majors in four-degree options (Literature, Rhetoric and Composition, Creative Writing, and English Education). Our MA in English is the largest graduate program in CLA, and we also offer an MFA in Creative Writing. Our student publications include Riprap (creative writing and art) and Watermark (scholarly work), and many of our faculty and students participate in the Medieval and Renaissance Studies Association. Each year, our department co-sponsors the Helena María Viramontes Lecture in Latina/o/x Literature, along with many other guest lectures and readings. Our faculty are active in their fields of study and regularly publish scholarly and creative work in national and international venues.

Duties:

• Teach undergraduate- and graduate-level courses on African American/Black Diasporic literatures and literary studies, and literature by U.S. writers of color and courses in American literature (depending on successful applicant’s area of expertise), introductory surveys, genre courses, special topics courses, and other core courses within the major. (Mode of instruction may include in-person, hybrid, online, and/or any combination thereof.)
• Develop new courses in areas reflecting the applicant’s expertise in African American/Black Diasporic Literatures
• Develop and engage in research, scholarly, and creative activities on African America/Black Diasporic Literature, leading to conference presentations and publications
• Advise and mentor undergraduate and graduate students
• Supervise Master’s theses and grade final comprehensive examinations
• Participate in service to the department, college, and university within the shared governance structure and to the community and profession beyond the university

CSULB seeks to recruit faculty who enthusiastically support the University’s strong commitment to the academic success of all our students, including students of color, students with disabilities, first-generation college students, veterans, students with diverse socio-economic backgrounds, and students of diverse sexual orientations and gender expressions. CSULB seeks to recruit and retain a diverse workforce as a reflection of our commitment to serve the People of California, to maintain the excellence of the University, and to offer our students a rich variety of expertise, perspectives, and ways of knowing and learning.

Information on excellent benefits package available to CSULB faculty is located here: CSU Employee Benefits

How to Apply - Required Documentation:

• A Student Success Statement about your teaching or other experiences, successes, and challenges in working with a diverse student population (maximum two pages, single-spaced). For further information and guidelines, please visit:  http://www.csulb.edu/EquityDiversityStatement
• Letter of application addressing the required and preferred qualifications
• CV 
• Names and contact information for three references (to be contacted for confidential letters of recommendation at the semi-finalist stage)
• Copy of transcript (at the semi-finalist stage) from institution awarding highest degree
• Evidence of successful teaching (syllabi, course handouts, tests, student evaluations, etc.), if applicable
• Finalists should be prepared to submit an official transcript (e-transcript preferred, if available)

How to Apply: Click Apply Now icon to complete the CSULB online application
 
Requests for information about the position and process should be addressed to:

Dr. George Hart, Chair
 California State University, Long Beach
 Department of English
 1250 Bellflower Boulevard
 Long Beach, CA 90840-2403
 (562) 985-4223 or E-Mail: christopher.knight@csulb.edu

 EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS:
A background check (including a criminal records check and telephone reference check with most recent employer) must be completed satisfactorily before any candidate can be offered a position with the CSU. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background check may affect the application status of applicants or continued employment of current CSU employees who apply for the position.

The person holding this position is considered a “mandated reporter” under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and is required to comply with the requirements set forth in CSU Executive Order 1083 Revised July 21, 2017 as a condition of employment.

Pursuant to the CSU Out of State Employment Policy, hiring employees to perform CSU-related work outside of California is prohibited effective January 1, 2022. By prohibiting employment outside of California, the CSU also prohibits hiring and retaining employees working permanently from a business location outside of the United States. Exceptions to the Policy are limited to approved and documented purposes for conducting CSU business outside of California.

All employees who assign and/or oversee work are responsible for ensuring that compliant work controls and procedures consistent with Federal, State and local regulations and University policies are implemented and maintained to provide for the protection of individuals and to safeguard the environment. Everyone is expected to comply with applicable Environmental Health and Safety regulations and University policies, programs and procedures. For more information, the systemwide policy can be found at https://calstate.policystat.com/policy/18172024/latest/ and questions may be sent to Environmental_Health_Safety@csulb.edu.

The CSU strongly recommends that all individuals who access any in-person program or activity (on- or off-campus) operated or controlled by the University follow the COVID-19 vaccine recommendations adopted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) applicable to their age, medical condition, and other relevant indications and comply with other safety measures established by each campus. The systemwide policy can be found at https://calstate.policystat.com/policy/9779821/latest/ and questions may be sent to fahr@csulb.edu.

All university program and activities are open and available to all regardless of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin. Consistent with CSU’s Nondiscrimination Policy, as well as state and federal law, CSULB provides equal opportunity in education and employment without unlawful discrimination or preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin. To access CSULB’s full statement on Equal Opportunity and Excellence in Education and Employment, please visit Equity and Compliance.