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The Program in Middle East Studies at Smith College invites applications from senior scholars to serve as the inaugural occupant of the Janet Wright Ketcham '53 Chair in Middle East Studies, beginning July 2015. This appointment will be at the associate or full professor level with tenure.We seek a distinguished scholar of the Middle East with a focus on issues in the contemporary Arab world. Scholarly proficiency in Arabic is required; knowledge of other regional languages is desirable. Candidates for this appointment must have a track record of intellectual leadership in the field and a passion for undergraduate teaching.  Applications are encouraged from broadly trained scholars of the region, as well as those with comparative training in Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Palestine, and/or Turkey.The successful candidate will be a scholar-teacher trained in the history, economics, politics, societies, and/or cultures of the region, and will be able to teach across disciplines. The successful candidate will be expected to offer both undergraduate seminars in her/his fields of specialization and intermediate courses that address the contemporary geopolitical and cultural landscape of the Middle East in a global context, and to contribute to the development of a broad interdisciplinary introduction to Middle Eastern Studies. We are particularly interested in applicants whose specializations enhance the existing strengths of our Program in Middle East Studies (www.smith.edu/mes).   Tenured faculty at Smith teach two courses each semester, interact with students in small classes, and actively advise independent undergraduate research.The College's commitment to research is supported by a generous sabbatical policy and faculty development funding, and faculty benefit from the rich intellectual, cultural, and creative atmosphere supported by the Five College Consortium, comprised of Smith, Amherst, Mount Holyoke and Hampshire Colleges, and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Located in the vibrant college town of Northampton, Massachusetts, Smith College is among the nation's leading liberal arts colleges and its largest women's college, and is dedicated to excellence in teaching and research across the liberal arts.Applications may be submitted online only at http://apply.interfolio.com/26948 with a letter of application, a curriculum vitae, a statement of teaching and research, and three confidential letters of recommendation from fellow scholars of Middle Eastern Studies. Review of applications will begin December 1, 2014.