Teaching Fellow in Italian Studies

Durham University is one of the world’s top universities, boasting a welcoming and vibrant international community. Durham is an exceptional place in which to base your career. Our strengths across the Arts and Humanities, Sciences and Social Sciences see us listed as a top 5 UK and top 100 global university with our students and our world leading academics sitting at the heart of delivering our ground-breaking work. As part of our ambitious strategy we are growing and we look forward to welcoming your application.

Italian at Durham is one of the top Italian units in the UK: it appears in the top five in major national league tables, contributing to Durham University’s top-30 placing for Arts and Humanities in the THE World Reputation Rankings 2022.
Italian Studies at Durham is firmly embedded within the broad research culture of the School of Modern Languages and affiliated research institutes and centres. There are currently four members of academic staff in Italian actively engaged in research and publication in the School, part of an overall complement of over fifty research-active staff. Individual staff research expertise ranges from medieval and early modern studies to the modern and contemporary period and includes literature, cinema, visual arts and culture, critical theory, cultural studies, heritage studies, Jewish studies, cultural translation, gender studies and feminist theory, with colleagues often working from a comparative, interdisciplinary, and transnational perspective. Teaching-focused staff in Italian are at the forefront of scholarship pertaining to inclusive, intercultural, and transnational language pedagogy, as well as technology-enhanced approaches that draw on translation studies, e-learning and learners’ autonomy. At Durham, we actively strive to create close synergies between language and cultural modules.

Italian Studies at Durham contributes in crucial ways to the School’s international and interdisciplinary projects listed above. At the same time, it nurtures well established links with local institutions in County Durham, such as Ushaw College and The Bowes Museum, as well as institutions in Italy and across the Atlantic – in the US, Canada and Mexico, as well as Chile, Brazil and Argentina. In Italian-speaking areas, close ties have been developed with the Università degli Studi and the Università per Stranieri in Siena, Roma Tre, Università della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano-Mendrisio, and Villa I Tatti in Florence. Italian Studies hosts the ‘Durham-Cini Research Collaboration’, a research initiative which involves (amongst other things) a jointly-funded visiting fellowship scheme to the Fondazione Giorgio Cini in Venice. It also runs a language exchange programme with the Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia. 

More detailed information on the unit, its staff and modules, is available from Italian Studies - Durham University and related webpages.

Applications are invited for a Teaching Fellow in Italian Studies. You will have research expertise and teaching experience in Italian Studies, with a particular emphasis on Italian culture of the medieval period, broadly defined. You should be able to teach Italian literature, culture and history across different periods. You should have excellent Italian. 

If successful you will be fully integrated in the Italian Studies team within Durham University’s School of Modern Languages and Cultures and you will be expected to contribute to the delivery of teaching on the relevant programme, to include the convening of modules, all aspects of assessment, the supervision of final-year dissertations, and academic advising.

The role of Teaching Fellow offers the opportunity of valuable experience to those early in their academic career.  Durham University is keen to maximise the career benefits of this role in terms of exposure to relevant departmental experience.   The post of Teaching Fellow will involve a significant but rewarding teaching load, which may extend into the summer period, and includes administrative duties that relate to education.

The post is for a fixed term of 12 months only. Successful applicants will ideally be in post by 1st September 2022.

The University provides a working and teaching environment which is inclusive and welcoming and where everyone is treated fairly with dignity and respect. Candidates will be expected to demonstrate these key principles as part of the assessment process

Key responsibilities

• Offer lectures, seminars, classes, and dissertation supervisions at all levels, demonstrating awareness of different approaches to and methods of teaching and supporting student learning, as well as the ability to manage one's own teaching and designing, planning and writing teaching materials where relevant.
• Develop and deliver an inclusive curriculum and make an active contribution to an inclusive community in which diversity is embraced and celebrated.
• Seek and take on board feedback on teaching, contribute to the educational skills of colleagues and generally engage with others in continuing professional development by attending relevant training and development courses.
• Provide support to students, including the assessment of their academic performance, the provision of feedback, and dealing with student disciplinary matters and complaints.
• Undertake effectively and efficiently any administrative role allocated by your Head of Department.
• To take part in relevant meetings, such as those of the School's Board of Studies or meetings of the Italian Studies unit.
• To contribute to fostering a collegial and respectful working environment which is inclusive and welcoming and where everyone is treated fairly with dignity and respect.
• To engage in wider citizenship to support the department and wider discipline.
• The modules that the successful candidate will be expected to convene and deliver solo are the second-year module ITAL2041 (The World of Dante) and the final-year module ITAL3151 (From the Middle Ages to Modernity: The World of Petrarch).
• The module to which the successful candidate will be required to contribute a 5-week segment based on their own research specialism is the first-year module ITAL1091 (Languages and Literatures of Italy).
• Other modules to which the successful candidate might be expected to contribute to include Specialised Translation Italian <> English on the MA in Translation Studies (MATS), Italy and the Arts ITAL1081 , or Renaissance and Baroque in Word and Image ITAL2131 .
• The candidate will be assigned the supervision of a number of 20- and/or 40-credit final-year dissertations by students in Italian Studies (MLAC3001 and MLAC3012 ).
• The candidate will be integrated into the Italian Studies team, supporting the delivery of the relevant programme, to include convening responsibilities, participating in all aspects of assessment (design, marking, moderation), and student academic advising.

For informal enquiries please contact Professor David Cowling, Head of School ([email protected]) and/or Dr Katrin Wehling-Giorgi, Director of Italian Studies ([email protected]). All enquiries will be treated in the strictest confidence.    

We prefer to receive applications online via the Durham University Vacancies Site. https://www.dur.ac.uk/jobs/

Applications are particularly welcome from women and black and minority ethnic candidates, who are under-represented in academic posts in the University.

What to Submit

• a CV and covering letter which details your experience, skills and achievements in meeting (or the potential to meet) the criteria set out above.
• a statement as to your aspirations as a Teaching Fellow in terms of what motivates you, what you would like to achieve and what your broad approaches to teaching excellence and innovation are (maximum 2 pages).

You should provide details of 3 referees and the details of your current line manager so that we may seek an employment reference (if they are not listed as an academic referee).  Please note:

• We shall seek references during the application process.  Unless in the case of very early career candidates, referees should not (if possible) include your PhD supervisor(s) and include references from a University other than your own.
• We would ask that you alert your referees to this application as soon as possible so that we can quickly obtain references.  If you do not wish (some or all) of your referees to be approached during the recruitment process; you must clearly indicate this to us at the time of your application.
• References sought for candidates may be made available to the panel during the shortlisting process.
• We will seek a reference from your current line-manager if we make you an offer of employment (albeit you may have also nominated your line manager as an academic referee).  Please clearly indicate on the application form which referee is your current line-manager and indicate if we should only approach them once an offer has been made.

It is anticipated that shortlisted candidates will be invited for interview and assessment in late August.

Person Specification

Candidates applying for a grade 7 post will have recently completed or be concluding their PhD and, while they may have limited direct experience of the requirements for the post, they must outline their experience, skills and achievements to date which demonstrate that they meet or that they have the potential to achieve the below criteria:  

Essential Criteria:

• A good first degree in Italian Studies.
• A PhD in Italian Studies. (Applications are welcome from those who are awaiting their viva or are close to submitting, but it is expected that the successful candidate will have the PhD before taking up the post). 
• Experience of teaching and examining at University level with positive student feedback gained.
• Demonstrable ability to teach, convene and examine the Italian Studies modules listed under 'Key responsibilities' above.
• Experience of contributing to the development and delivery of high-quality teaching and/or assessment of learning at university level, including the design and creation of successful learning environments and curricula.
• Demonstrable ability to participate in the collegial/administrative activities of an academic department and/or discipline.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills with the ability to engage with a range of students and colleagues across a variety of forums. 

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience of successfully developing innovative teaching methods for the design/delivery of high quality teaching. 
• Research expertise in Italian Studies that complements the specialisms of existing staff.
• Demonstrable ability to teach translation from Italian into English at MA level.
• Experience of successfully working in an administrative role within an organisation or department.
• Experience of providing high quality one-to-one student supervision.
• Participation in student-orientated extra-curriculum activities.
• Evidence of work undertaken (or which would be undertaken) in preparation for teaching and keeping up to date with developments in the subject area, such as:
  •  active membership and engagement with a professional body;
  • demonstrable innovation in educational practice;
  • publication in a scholarly journal or relevant professional publication;
  • Attending and presenting internal and/or external seminars or at a regional conference; and/or
  • Materials/curriculum development for wider use in a department.
• Candidates may have, or should have the ability to attain the rank of Fellow of HEA.

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