Tenure-Track Assistant Professor of Anthropology—Public or Community-Based Archaeologist

About the Position:

The Department of Sociology and Anthropology at George Mason University invites applications for a Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in public or community-based archaeology (geographic area open), to begin on August 25, 2027. Candidates should have one or more of the following areas of interest: historic archaeology, the archaeology of colonialism, and/or the archaeology of the recent past. The successful candidate will be expected to engage in scholarly activities, contribute to teaching courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels (including general education courses and an upper division class on archaeological theory), and to provide service at the departmental level. 

About the Department:

The Department of Sociology and Anthropology (SOAN; https://soan.gmu.edu) is a dynamic, collegial department of 22 full-time faculty committed to rigorous scholarship, engaged teaching, and public-facing research. Faculty research spans a wide range of areas including globalization, inequality, migration, health, social movements, urban life, social change, institutions, technology, and the environment, with regional expertise extending across the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe. SOAN is housed within the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS), one of the largest academic units at George Mason University, an R1 institution. In recognition of the university’s commitment to accessibility, return on investment, and upward mobility, it was recently named to the highest tier of the Carnegie Foundation and American Council on Education (ACE) list of Opportunity Colleges and Universities.

The anthropology program features a robust undergraduate program, as well as an MA program with specializations in cultural anthropology and bioarchaeology. The anthropology faculty take a holistic approach to the discipline, with faculty research spanning the subfields of biological anthropology, cultural anthropology, and archaeology. Key areas of emphasis include interrelated questions of human-environment and human-disease interactions; social memory and place; death and mortuary practices; religious practices; foodways and subsistence; urbanism and everyday life; social and political transformation; and governance, colonialism, dispossession, and resistance.  

Responsibilities:

• Maintain an active research program with a sustained record of publication in peer-reviewed sources 
• Teach undergraduate and graduate courses in archaeology, including introductory-level and general education classes
• Contribute to curricular and program development in archaeology  
• Participate in service to the department

Required Qualifications:

• PhD in Anthropology or Archaeology (PhD must be in hand at the time of application)
• Active engagement in public or community-based archaeology
• A research program characterized by strong theoretical grounding with a focus in one or more of the following areas: 1) historic archaeology, 2) the archaeology of colonialism, and/or 3) the archaeology of the recent past
• Experience teaching (or support teaching) in an Anthropology department or a related field
• Ability to teach an upper-division undergraduate/graduate course on archaeological theory 
• Demonstrated record of scholarly achievement

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience teaching undergraduate and/or graduate courses in archaeology
• Methodological approach that complements, but does not duplicate, existing faculty strengths
• Demonstrated record of success at obtaining extramural funding
• Ability to develop an archaeological field school that would serve George Mason University’s undergraduate student body

Instructions to Applicants: 

For full consideration, applicants must apply for the Tenure-Track Assistant Professor position (#10004276) at https://jobs.gmu.edu/ by October 1, 2026.

Complete and submit the online application and provide:

1. A cover letter that addresses research and teaching experience and interests, not to exceed 3 pages
2. Curriculum vitae
3. Copies of up to 3 representative scholarly works
4. A list of three references (with full contact information)

Questions about the position should be directed to the Search Coordinator, Farhana Islam (fislam2@gmu.edu).