Description
The Assistant Professor will be dedicated to the scholarship and teaching of the first millennium of Christianity, from its post-apostolic period (ca. 100 CE) down to the later Byzantine or early Medieval period (ca. 1000 CE). The ideal candidate’s training and research agenda should reflect the regional and linguistic diversity of the “Christianities” which existed in Late Antiquity: from Egypt, Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon in the East to Africa, Gaul, Italy, and Spain in the West, and beyond. In addition to church fathers, the ideal candidate’s teaching will also bring attention to neglected church mothers. Furthermore, the ideal candidate will be prepared to teach not only the major figures within Christian orthodoxy but also more marginalized figures and movements who were deemed heterodox and suppressed. Alongside this focus on the diversity within Christianity itself, the ideal candidate should be prepared to engage the broader religious and social world of Late Antiquity addressing how Christian beliefs, practices, debates, and moral imaginaries took root in a culturally and ethnically heterogenous world. This might include, for example, addressing Jewish traditions, ancient Mediterranean traditions, classical Greco-Roman philosophies, and eventually the emergence of Islam.
The position involves undergraduate teaching in the University Core, the Theological Studies Major and Minor programs, as well as in the MA in Theology and MA in Pastoral Theology programs. The teaching load is defined as 2-2-2-3 over two years (i.e. two classes per regular semester and three classes every fourth semester). Desirable areas of scholarship and/or teaching may include: development and controversy within Christian doctrine (Christology, Trinity, Pneumatology, Anthropology, Eschatology); Patristics; the emergence of diverse Christian cultures in the form of institutions, literary and textual production (hagiography, monastic rules), or moral program; the history of Christian Asceticism, especially its diverse attitudes toward the body (i.e. food, sex, death, decay, and resurrection); the development of Christian ethics or political thought; the history of biblical interpretation (biblical scholarship, competing exegetical practices, ideal interpreters).
This is a tenure-track faculty appointment. Applicants must hold a Ph.D. or other relevant doctoral degree (e.g., Th.D) from an accredited institution. ABD candidates will be considered but must fulfill all degree requirements by August 15, 2027. This full-time, 9-month academic appointment (August – May) has an annual salary paid over 12 consecutive months, allowing for continuous benefits coverage. Visa sponsorship may be available for qualified candidates.
Requirements
Applicants must hold a Ph.D. or other relevant doctoral degree (e.g., Th.D) from an accredited institution. ABD candidates will be considered but must fulfill all degree requirements by August 15, 2027.
Three academic and/or professional letters of recommendation are required and should be signed by the letter writer and placed on their institutional or professional letterhead (PDFs only). Each letter should be emailed by the recommender directly to the following email address: THSTFacultySearch@lmu.edu. The subject line should read: “[Candidate Name] Recommendation for Late Antiquity.” Letters must be received by September 8, 2026 at 5:00 pm.
