How to Apply
Fill out the application here on UM jobs by clicking the Apply Now button below. Make sure you have the following materials combined into ONE PDF document before applying. You will need this to complete the application process. If you are having trouble uploading, please review our application guide Name the .PDF file as follows: Last Name.First Name.Course Number. For example: Doe.John.Environ244.
- a cover letter addressing interest and qualifications for the position
- a resume or curriculum vita
- copy of undergraduate and graduate transcripts (unofficial is fine); if transcripts are long or difficult to read, a list of relevant courses (number and title) and grade achieved should also be included to expedite the review process.
- teaching history (list course and department)
- any available teaching evaluations
Verify your course schedule against the schedule for the course to which you are applying as a GSI. All GSIs are required to attend the lecture and discussion times as posted. This GSI position has not been previously offered.
This posting is for one GSI at 25% FTE.
Course Description
In the face of the very real climate challenges facing our planet, why read literature, make art, watch film, or study history to learn more about the environment? This course is built on the premise that, far from being a distraction from (or simply a form of pleasure amidst) environmental degradation, such practices can, in fact, enable us to be more attentive, imaginative, ethical, and effective environmental stewards. More specifically, we'll consider the habits of attention that various written, artistic, and conceptual modes demand -- and consider how engaging carefully with work in these genres can help us think of the environmental crisis anew.
Along the way, we will find ourselves asking questions like the following: How might turning to the humanities not only offer us new answers to the questions that various environmental challenges pose, but also alter the terms in which we define such questions and challenges themselves? How can the seeming indirectness of literature (its tendency, say, to speak in symbol or metaphor) help us rethink our belief that successful activism is necessarily "direct"? How might the pace and scale of literary and historical narrative help attune us to environmental problems that unfold slowly, beneath notice, or at a geological rate? How can the "human" focus of the "humanities" give us the language with which to articulate the strange intimacies between human bodies, nonhuman others, and the material environments that surround (and constitute) us all? How can insights from various fields in the humanities help us to understand the relationship between environmental activism and various social justice projects -- or, more fundamentally, to understand the way in which our relationship to the environment is so often already itself gendered and racialized?
Take this class if you're a student of the humanities who wants to better understand the connection between what you do in your home discipline and the work involved in environmental problem-solving and activism. Take this class if you're an environmental activist (and/or PitE major) who is unsure what role the activities you do in the "rest" of your life might have to do with your political and ethical commitments. Take this class if you're skeptical that the humanities and environmental studies might, in fact, have anything to say to one another.
Responsibilities*
- Lead workshop and student-centered activities
- Grade midterm exam
- Grade essay assignments (2)
- Review readings and course material
- Help with course logistics
Required Qualifications*
- Prior course completion requirements: a background in environmental science or humanities (literature, history, classics, languages, etc.)
- Enthusiasm for interdisciplinary studies
- General knowledge of and coursework in politics of environmental issues and literature and history
- Knowledge of globalization and equity issues
- Excellent person-to-person and group communication skills.
- Strong organizational skills.
- Applicant must be in good standing as a graduate student at the University of Michigan. If the language of instruction at the undergraduate institution was not English, a student must be evaluated by the English Language Institute (ELI) for English proficiency and either pass the GSI-OET or have this test waived by the ELI before they can be eligible for a GSI appointment in LS&A.
Desired Qualifications*
- Teaching experience and/or experience facilitating discussion is preferred
- Graduate Concentration in environmental studies or humanities is preferred.
Modes of Work
Positions that are eligible for hybrid or mobile/remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment. Learn more about the work modes.
Contact Information
If you have questions about how to apply for the position, please email [email protected]. Please contact instructor for questions about job responsibilities Nikki Ruolo - [email protected]
Decision Making Process
Faculty review applications for positions in their courses and indicate their ranked preferences. They are also asked to indicate whether they regard any applicants as unqualified and why based on the required and desired qualifications listed above. Faculty may look at previous teaching experience as a positive but will not view a lack of teaching experience as a negative on an application.
Applications are NOT rolling. Faculty will not be provided with any applications until after the application deadline.
If a student is ranked as the number one preference for multiple courses, they will receive multiple offer letters and have the opportunity to decide which offer they want to accept.
We anticipate all offer letters to be sent by Friday, August 22nd, 2025. However, if a position opens back up due to unforeseen circumstances after being filled, applicants' information will be kept on file to be contacted with a potential offer letter.
Selection Process
The University will not discriminate against any applicant for employment because of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, genetic information, marital status, familial status, parental status or pregnancy status, sex, gender identity or expression (whether actual or perceived), sexual orientation, age, height, weight, disability, citizenship status, veteran status, HIV antibody status, political belief, membership in any social or political organization, participation in a grievance or complaint whether formal or informal, medical conditions including those related to pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding, arrest record, or any other factor where the item in question will not interfere with job performance and where the employee is otherwise qualified. The University of Michigan agrees to abide by the protections afforded employees with disabilities as outlined in the rules and regulations which implement Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
You can contact the Office of Institutional Equity for accessibility and equity concerns at [email protected] and the University Ombuds for anonymous personnel support at [email protected].
Unsuccessful applications will be retained for consideration in the event that there are last-minute openings for available positions. In the event that an Employee does not receive their preferred assignment, they can request a written explanation or an in-person interview with the hiring agent(s) to be scheduled at a mutually agreed-upon time.
This position, as posted, is subject to a collective bargaining agreement between the Regents of the University of Michigan and the Graduate Employees' Organization, American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO 3550."
Standard Practice Guide 601.38, Required Disclosure of Felony Charges and/or Felony Convictions, applies to all Graduate Student Assistants (GSAs). SPG 601.38 may be accessed online at https://spg.umich.edu/policy/601.38, and its relation to your employment can be found in MOU X of your employment contract.
GEO Contract Information
The University will not discriminate against any applicant for employment because of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, genetic information, marital status, familial status, parental status or pregnancy status, sex, gender identity or expression (whether actual or perceived), sexual orientation, age, height, weight, disability, citizenship status, veteran status, HIV antibody status, political belief, membership in any social or political organization, participation in a grievance or complaint whether formal or informal, medical conditions including those related to pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding, arrest record, or any other factor where the item in question will not interfere with job performance and where the employee is otherwise qualified. The University of Michigan agrees to abide by the protections afforded employees with disabilities as outlined in the rules and regulations which implement Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Information for the Office for Institutional Equity may be found at https://oie.umich.edu/ and for the University Ombuds at https://ombuds.umich.edu/
Unsuccessful applications will be retained for consideration in the event that there are last minute openings for available positions. In the event that an employee does not receive their preferred assignment, they can request a written explanation or an in-person interview with the hiring agents(s) to be scheduled at a mutually agreed upon time.
This position, as posted, is subject to a collective bargaining agreement between the Regents of the University of Michigan and the Graduate Employees' Organization, American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO 3550.
Standard Practice Guide 601.38, Required Disclosure of Felony Charges and/or Felony Convictions applies to all Graduate Student Assistants (GSAs). SPG 601.38 may be accessed online at https://spg.umich.edu/policy/601.38 , and its relation to your employment can be found in MOU 10 of your employment contract.
U-M EEO Statement
The University of Michigan is an equal employment opportunity employer.