How to Apply
Please upload the following documents as one PDF document with your application:
1. A cover letter as the first page of the application, which should address your specific interest in the position and outline skills and experiences that directly relate to it (see below).
2. CV (including names of two faculty references).
3. U-M GSIs must attach the Teaching Evaluation summary page for all courses taught.
Responsibilities*
- Leading three discussion sections per week (in person, on Fridays 10am-2pm).
- Grading student participation in discussion sections, ArcGIS storymaps, and on Canvas discussion posts.
- Grading three mini-assignments (a narratological critique, a collective policy review, and a 300-400 word creative piece), and an oral, final project completed in pairs and presented in discussion sections.
- Preparation for leading the discussion sections based on syllabus and lectures, and previous weeks? work.
- Holding regular office hours throughout the semester to assist students enrolled in discussion sections.
- Serve as students? first port of call for any questions pertaining to the course, and remain regularly available over email to assist them.
- Attending weekly coordination meetings with the course instructor.
- Attending all lectures (T/Th, 11:30-1 PM) and taking attendance at all lectures.
Required Qualifications*
- Applicants must be currently enrolled as a graduate student in LSA and be in good academic standing.
- Availability to teach during the assigned discussion sections and lecture times.
- Experience using Canvas for course management and communication.
- Strong interpersonal skills with a willingness to contribute to a positive and supportive work environment through effective communication and collaboration.
- Willingness to collaborate with the course instructor to tailor discussion section format and content to the demands of the course.
Desired Qualifications*
- Relevant academic preparation for leading the discussion sections.
- Relevance to the candidate's graduate training or career goals.
- Familiarity with environmental humanities scholarship/ecocriticism.
- Linguistic competency in French (preferred, not required as the class is taught in English with no prerequisites).
- At least one year of previous experience as a GSI at U-M.
Course Description
FRENCH 243 (Environmental Policy and Storytelling)
Tuesdays and Thursdays (Lecture), 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Fridays (Discussion), 10:00 AM, 11:00 AM, and 1:00 PM
The history of our planet is perhaps the greatest story of all. But how can we tell a story about something so vast? More importantly, how do we tell the story of the world when we don?t know how it ends? This course brings narratological and cultural frameworks to bear on environmental and climate policy with an emphasis on France and the Francophone world. Policy tells a story about the environment. Whether a grassroots activist manifesto or a World Bank report, policy offers concrete solutions and it imagines: it posits beginnings (an earlier environment), invents endings with dates and projected outcomes (?by 2030?), and supplies a cast of characters (?stakeholder?, ?beneficiary?). Narrative frameworks can help us bring a critical eye to questions of who narrates the story of our planet, how they do so, and what is being narrated (and by that same token what is being left out).
We begin the semester by studying the major concepts and policies related to anthropogenic environmental change, from the Anthropocene to IPCC and UNFCCC reports, and the United Nations? Sustainable Development Goals. From Week 3 onwards, our place-based structure will delve into fourteen Francophone case-studies. Each tackles a specific environmental policy developed in response to a specific ecological change or crisis?from toxic algae blooms in Brittany to uranium mining in Niger. Each week these policy documents are placed in dialogue with literature, film, or a graphic novel which tell this story from a different angle, or sometimes, offer a new narrative altogether. By bringing a creative approach to policy (and a political approach to literature and film), we explore how art?and you as critics?can complicate and ultimately improve real-world environmental and climate policy.
French 243 is a Grand Challenge course and is therefore comparative and interdisciplinary by design. In lectures, in assignments, and foremost, in GSI-led discussion sections, students will be placed in the role of critic and policymaker. The discussion sections foster an atmosphere in which students actively analyze, pointing to gaps in, and propose improvements to contemporary environmental policy.
This course is taught in English with no prerequisites.
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
Contact the RLL Graduate Coordinator at [email protected] with questions. Applications are due 14 days after the date of posting and offers will be extended by 12/07/2026.
Decision Making Process
The Department of Romance Languages and Literatures will make the selection based on the required and desired qualifications listed. They may conduct in-person or on-line interviews. We anticipate an offer will be made by December 7, 2026.
Selection Process
All GSI appointments are subject to administrative approval. The department reserves the right to cancel the availability of this appointment due to low enrollment or other reasons within the purview of the Chair of the department. Applicants may request information about the status of their application from the program at any time.
Unsuccessful applications will be retained for consideration if there are last minute openings for available positions.
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 Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.