The American Academy in Rome invites applications for the position of Director of its Classical Summer School, beginning in summer 2021, for a term of three years (2021-2023). It is customary for the director-designate to shadow the incumbent in the summer preceding (2020). Salary is negotiable.
ORGANIZATION The American Academy in Rome, founded in 1894, is an independent, privately funded institution that provides opportunities for American artists and scholars to pursue scholarly or artistic projects in close association with the cultural heritage of Rome and the Mediterranean Basin. The core of this group is approximately 30 Rome Prize Fellows, selected each year by rotating juries who review up to 1,000 applications from across the United States. In the summer, the AAR runs a series of summer schools, the oldest and most prestigious of which is the 90+-year old Classical Summer School.
The Classical Summer School was established in 1923 for high school teachers and graduate students of Latin, ancient history and the classics, but its audience has become more varied over the years, including college teachers and those working in related fields. It is of particular use to teachers and scholars with few opportunities to visit Rome and underrepresented groups in classics more generally. It is designed to provide participants with a well-founded understanding of the growth and development of the ancient city of Rome and its immediate environs from the earliest times to the age of Constantine through a careful study of material remains and literary sources. Considerable time is also spent on discussions of pedagogy, and integrating the knowledge gained in the course into the teaching of Greek, Latin and courses on the ancient world.
POSITION DESCRIPTION
Major Responsibilities: The Director is responsible for the overall operation of the Classical Summer School, including selection of participants (in consultation with others on the selection committee appointed by the Board of Trustees), overseeing the budget, preparation of syllabi, lectures and site visits, and evaluation of the students. While certain duties may be delegated to the Assistant Director, overall they include:
▪ recruitment of participants from high school teachers, graduate students and particularly from underrepresented groups in classical studies
▪ preparing and distributing orientation information and course materials
▪ organizing lectures and tours
▪ evaluating final exams and other assignments
▪ coordinating student lodging
▪ providing guidance to the New York office on advertising and marketing strategy
▪ preparing the budget
▪ reporting to the Academy on the Classical Summer School and the students
▪ evaluating and recommending changes and improvements to the Classical Summer School
The Academy will provide assistance on publicity; preparation of guidelines and informational materials on the Summer School; general administrative and accounting tasks; assistance for permissions and other local travel arrangements in and around Rome.
Qualifications
▪ Knowledge of Roman history and material culture from the earliest times to the age of Constantine, museums and sites in and around Rome
▪ Knowledge of Italian
▪ Knowledge of Latin
▪ PhD in a related field (archaeology, classics, art history, etc.)
▪ Considerable experience teaching at the college or university level
▪ Considerable experience presenting material at museums and sites in and around Rome
TO APPLY: Please submit a resume together with a cover letter explaining your perceptions of the Academy, how you view the job of the Classical Summer School Director, why you are interested in the position, and why you feel particularly qualified to do the job. In the letter or CV, please include contact information for three persons familiar with your scholarly work: referees will be contacted only for short-listed candidates.
Please submit this material by email no later than NOVEMBER 4, 2019.
Send all material to Lynne Lancaster, Mellon Professor in Charge of the Humanities: l.lancaster@aarome.org.
All applications will be acknowledged by e-mail within one week.
Candidates to be invited for an interview will be notified that they are finalists by 25 November 2019.
INTERVIEWS: Short-listed candidates will be interviewed at the SCS/AIA meetings in Washington DC in January 2020.
IMPORTANT: Please submit (2) separate documents attached to your email message. Both documents should be in PDF file format.
Indicate “CSS Director” search in the subject of your message.
The file names of your documents should follow the naming criteria below: YOURLASTNAME_Firstname_resume.pdf ; YOURLASTNAME_Firstname_letter.pdf
Do not place your letter in the body of your email message. It should be attached as a PDF document to the email.
American Academy in Rome is a EEO/AA/M/F/VET/DISABILITY Employer