How to Apply
Submit a resume and cover letter specifying both your knowledge and experiences related to the focus of the course, and your experiences in teaching, supervising, or otherwise working with undergraduate students. In the letter, please also describe your teaching and assessment philosophy for a course of this nature.
Job Summary
Teach a 3-credit seminar-style undergraduate course where students learn about the history, people, politics, and contemporary context of Detroit in conjunction with learning how communities shape and are shaped by their populations. Topics explored include education, labor, politics, housing, and transportation. The course is for first-year University of Michigan students living on the Marygrove campus, who are all part of the Learning, Equity, and Problem-Solving for the Public Good degree program in the Marsal Family School of Education. More information about LEAPS is available on the Marsal Web Site.
This is a fixed-term lecturer appointment with the possibility of renewal. There will be two sections of this course. Instructors will meet weekly to coordinate between sections of the course and will attend a monthly LEAPS Program meeting. This is a 3-credit course and the assigned effort will be 25%. The course meets on Wednesday mornings from 9am-12noon, and the overall work expectation is three contact hours with students each week during class time, and 12 hours of total effort per week that may include office hours and some weekend or evening events.
Required Qualifications*
- Bachelor's degree or higher.
- Experience with undergraduate college students.
- Deep familiarity with the topics of the course: Detroit education, labor, politics, housing, and transportation.
- Ability to meet with students during the required course hours in person on the Marygrove Conservancy campus at 8701 W. McNichols, Detroit for the entire fall semester.
Desired Qualifications*
- Experience teaching undergraduates
Course Description
The City as Identity (EDUC 130) is a 3-credit course designed to introduce first-year LEAPS students to the history, people, politics, industries, and contemporary context of the City of Detroit.
A pedagogy of place or place-based education informs this course. We engage Detroit as a site of inquiry. Detroit's history illustrates cities as contested spaces, where issues of identity and affluence affect equity and life experiences. We want students to be introduced to foundational histories of Detroit and with community responses to the challenges and opportunities of recent decades.
The course is also intended to connect to key LEAPS learning goals, including:
- Developing fluency with social science approaches to thinking and reasoning, which may involve the use of GIS or other mapping tools to understand the urban landscape;
- Developing fluency with humanistic and creative approaches to thinking and reasoning, which may include historical methods or the analysis of literature;
- Learning to understand the city through the lens of systems thinking and complexity (how elements interact with each other);
- Developing multimedia literacies and fluency in reading and writing, through creative course assignments that might involve interactive documents;
- Introducing and understanding civic structures that make up the government of Detroit
- A starting point for navigating cultural differences in terms of the different identity groups within and across Detroit;
- Weighing ethical implications of different choices made and imposed on residents of the city over time.
In addition, LEAPS courses should, through their activities and assignments, support students' development of self and group learning goals including:
- Self-knowledge and reflection How does my own identity help me understand Detroit and vice-versa;
- Communication, collaboration, and teamwork through group projects or other collaborative opportunities.
LEAPS students take required first-year courses as a cohort, and the program strives to align assignments and expectations across courses. All LEAPS instructors are expected to work in collaboration with other faculty teaching the same course and with the Program Chair and Academic Program Manager to improve alignment with the program, within other sections of the same course, and with other courses.
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.
This is an in-person position.
Additional Information
- The course will be taught at Marygrove in Detroit on Wednesdays from 9am-12noon during the fall semester.
- Additional time outside of class will be required for office hours.
- The role also requires attendance at faculty meetings during the term, times TBD.
- There will be two sections of this course, which will be taught by two collaborating instructors who will work together during the 2026 summer to co-develop this course. Instructors are required to align course offerings with each other so that students have equivalent experiences no matter which section they are in.
Selection Criteria:
- Familiarity with Detroit, specifically topics including education, labor, politics, housing, and transportation.
- Experience with the learning goals and topics of the course.
- Experience with teaching undergraduates, especially first-year students.
Union Affiliation
This position is covered under the collective bargaining agreement between the U-M and the Lecturers Employee Organization, AFL-CIO, which contains and settles all matters with respect to wages, benefits, hours and other terms and conditions of employment.
U-M EEO Statement
The University of Michigan is an equal employment opportunity employer.