Teaching Fellow in Chinese Studies

The School of Modern Languages and Cultures (MLAC) at Durham University seeks to appoint a talented individual to the role of Teaching Fellow in Chinese Studies. The appointment will be on a fixed term full-time (1 FTE) basis for twelve months, starting on 1^st September 2026, replacing Professor Qing Cao while he undertakes a Leverhulme Research Fellowship.

We invite applications for those with research expertise in Chinese Studies, and in particular from candidates with interests in film studies, visual culture and contemporary cultural and literary studies. The post offers an exciting opportunity to make a major contribution to the development of internationally excellent teaching while allowing you the opportunity to progress and embed your career in an exciting and progressive institution. While independent research is not part of the role, the postholder will be able to participate in the School’s research community.

MLAC is one of the largest and most successful such Schools in the UK and is ranked joint 40^th (7^th in the UK) in the 2026 QS World Rankings by Subject. It brings together research in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hispanic Studies, Italian, Japanese and Russian Studies. Our reach spans Europe, the Arab world, Russophone Eurasia, Hispanic America, and East Asia, and their mutual socio-cultural, intellectual and linguistic relations. Our expertise ranges from the medieval and early modern periods through to the contemporary era, with particular strengths in visual arts and culture, the relationship between the sciences and the humanities, textual scholarship, gender and sexuality studies, critical and cultural theory, travel literature, creative writing, and translation. Indeed, translation — understood in its broad sense of transmission, interpretation and circulation of cultural forms, ideas and histories — underpins the School’s collective practices.

The role

Applications are invited for a Teaching Fellow in Chinese Studies. The post is at 1 FTE for a fixed term of 12 months, beginning on 1^st September 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter. As the post is funded by a Leverhulme Trust award, we do not anticipate that it will be extended beyond this fixed term.

The successful applicant will have excellent Chinese and English language skills (L1 language proficiency or near-equivalent in both cases), as well as research expertise and teaching experience in Chinese Studies. You should be able to teach aspects of Chinese cinema, film, visual culture, and contemporary literary and cultural studies. You will be fully integrated in the Chinese Studies team within Durham University’s School of Modern Languages and Cultures and you will be expected to contribute to the delivery of teaching on the BA in Chinese Studies and other relevant undergraduate and postgraduate programmes as appropriate, to include curriculum development, the convening of modules, and all aspects of assessment.

Teaching Fellowships offer the opportunity of valuable experience to those early in their academic careers. The post of Teaching Fellow will involve a significant teaching load, which may extend into the summer period, and there may be related scholarship and the opportunity for administrative duties which relate to education and pedagogy.

The post is for a fixed term only, and it is not anticipated that the post will be extended beyond this fixed term.

Successful applicants will, ideally be in post by 1^st September 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter.

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