Affiliated Faculty Member | Creativity in Context | Marlboro Institute for Liberal Arts

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The Marlboro Institute for Liberal Arts at Emerson College is accepting applications from candidates who could teach IN 150 - First Year Seminar: Creativity in Context in the Fall 2026 semester, September 2 -December 17, 2026.

This course meets twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:00 pm to 5:45 pm.

Course Description

Why do people create? Literature, film, art, and psychology provide the conceptual framework for solving the mystery of the creative impulse. What are the hallmarks of the creative personality? Is there a causal relationship between mental illness and artistry? How does the larger community of artists-muses, collaborators, and competitors-inspire an individual creator? Must artists be motivated by a sense of duty to society? Orwell’s Why I Write, Hemingway’s A Movable Feast, Plath’s journals, and interviews with artists from the Beatles to Joan Didion to Francis Ford Coppola further illuminate the inspirations, motives, and processes of great artists.

The course fulfills the interdisciplinary perspective requirement of the liberal arts. 

The Student Learning Outcomes for the First-Year Seminars in Interdisciplinary Studies can be found at this link to the course catalog. 

The successful candidate(s) must have the ability to work effectively with faculty, students, and staff from diverse backgrounds. Emerson College is committed to an active, intentional, and ongoing engagement with diversity—in people, in the curriculum, in the co-curriculum, and in the college’s intellectual, social, cultural, and geographical communities. Emerson endorses a framework of inclusive excellence, which recognizes that institutional excellence comes from fully engaging with diversity in all aspects of institutional activities. Therefore, we strongly encourage applications from candidates who can demonstrate through their teaching, research, and service that they can contribute to our excellence in this area.

Emerson College believes the pathway to achieving inclusive excellence is fostering a campus climate where everyone can thrive. As a community of scholars and storytellers, we continually strive to cultivate a collaborative community that draws upon the widest possible pool of talent, characterized by the intentional inclusion of individuals from varied backgrounds, perspectives, beliefs, and values.

Emerson College is the nation’s only four-year institution dedicated exclusively to majors in communication and the arts in a liberal arts context. It is located in the dynamic, multicultural city of Boston in close proximity to major arts institutions, performing arts venues, and research centers. Emerson College has campuses in Los Angeles and the Netherlands, as well as at MCI-Norfolk. At Emerson College, we seek individuals who bring innovation, creativity, and impact to our campuses to increase our depth, breadth, artistry, and diversity in our educational offerings. Emerson’s commitment to inclusive excellence is supported by a range of resources.

All interested candidates are required to submit a brief cover letter, a current CV, and teaching evaluations (if available). A Ph.D. in a relevant field is strongly preferred. Graduate students with ABD status will also be considered.

Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the positions are filled.

Please note: In the job application, in the "CV/Cover Letter/Additional Documents" drop box, applicants must include all of the required materials listed above. You can upload each document separately or as a combined PDF. Your application will not be complete without these documents.

If you are having issues uploading, please email [email protected]

The pay for this course will be $8,679.00 for the Fall 2026 semester.