Tutor in History of Design (Global Design History), Royal College of Art

Here's something different – but also evidence of the "big tent" nature of global history approaches. The Royal College of Art has announced a search for a Tutor in the History of Design, with an emphasis on Global Design History. The call for applications explains more:

The College is seeking to appoint a tutor to work full time within the History of Design programme which is jointly run by the College and the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A). The programme is internationally recognised as the leading centre for the postgraduate study of the history of design. The programme focuses on design and material culture from the early fifteenth century to the present day. Global design history – the impact of global flows of people, ideas, things and capital on local design and material culture, and global design communities as 'local' in their own right - has been a core aspect of the programme for more than a decade. 

The History of Design two-year MA programme currently has c. 70 MA students. The programme is taught by a team of academics located in both of the institutions involved. Curators from the Museum play an important role within the taught element of the programme, and students benefit from cross-Programme interactions and workshops within the College. The RCA and V&A are jointly responsible for management, planning and delivery, supporting teaching and research in the programme equally. This Tutor post is the only jointly employed member of the staff team.  The post holder is therefore expected to work across the two institutions, and be part of both the School of Humanities at RCA and the Research Department at the V&A. 

The successful candidate will be a specialist in an area of global design history, modern to contemporary. The role requires a passion for teaching, a commitment to research and an understanding of current debates, methodologies and practices in design history and relevant related fields. You will have the desire to deliver the highest standards at an international level. You will have an academic track record in a relevant field, with experience in higher education at a postgraduate level, and preferably research supervision. You will be active in research at or near the forefront of your discipline. 

Question can be addressed to hr at rca.ac.uk, while applications should be sent through RCA's internal application system.

As is common with job searches in the United Kingdom, there is a very short turnaround on the application – it's due July 11th – and it bears understanding that this is a position that starts this autumn. Good luck!