人文社会科学部/人間文化課程/ポピュラー文化研究(英語版)

July 14, 2026

Call for application in Popular Culture Studies

at Iwate University, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

1.Position and Number of Positions:

1 (One), Associate Professor (full-time position) or Lecturer (tenure track). This position is

open only to women applicants.

• The current open recruitment is limited to female applicants in accordance with Article 8 of the

Equal Employment Opportunity Law, as part of the university's efforts to promote gender equality.

1. Affiliation:

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

(Department of Human Sciences and Cultural Studies)

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (Master's Program)

(Division of Interdisciplinary Cultural Studies)

3.Research field:

Popular Culture Studies [Research with an international comparative perspective is

preferred.]

1. Courses to be Taught:

The successful candidate will teach courses in the following general and specialized areas.

4a. General Education:

Foreign Languages Courses: The successful candidate will be expected to teach courses

in one of the following languages: English, German, French, Chinese, Korean, or Russian.

4b. Undergraduate Specialized Education:

Single-instructor Courses: Basic Seminar, Popular Culture Studies, Comparative

Culture Studies, Advanced Topics in Popular Culture Studies I & II, Seminar in

Popular Culture Studies I & II, Advanced Research, and related courses.

Omnibus (team-taught) Courses: Basic Synthetic Sciences (Human Culture) A or B,

International Cultural Studies, International Exchange Training, and related subjects.

4c. Graduate Education:

Advanced Studies in Popular Culture, Advanced Seminar in Popular Culture Studies I,

II, and III, Master's Research / Advanced Research, and related courses.

Omnibus (team-taught) Courses: Foundations of Interdisciplinary Cultural Studies,

Advanced Studies in Multicultural Coexistence, Cultural Management Studies, and

related subjects.

Note:

• The teaching responsibilities may be revised according to the University's educational needs.
• In order to support the university-wide implementation of General Education Courses, the

successful candidate will be required to teach at least one course in either the General

Education Curriculum or the Specialized Basic Curriculum, in accordance with the field of

appointment.

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• Faculty members assigned to Academic Knowledge courses* in the General Education

Curriculum will be required to prepare on-demand content for remote classes and a video

syllabus (course overview).

• Academic Knowledge courses are lecture-based courses in the applicant's area of expertise

designed at a level accessible to lower-year students from faculties other than the applicant's own.

The required on-demand materials must cover either two 1-credit courses (7 classes of 100

minutes each), or one 2-credit course (14 classes of 100 minutes each), or an equivalent

amount of instructional content.

1. Term of employment:

Associate professor: None (however, the retirement age is the last day of the fiscal year in

which the employee reaches 65 years of age.)

or

Lecturer: 5 (five) years. Please note that an interim evaluation will be conducted by the day

at which three years have passed from the date of employment, and a tenure review

will be conducted seven months prior to the expiration date of the tenure-track faculty

member's term. Tenure (associate professor, without tenure) will be granted if target

values required for granting tenure have been met during the term. In the case of a

particularly outstanding evaluation in the interim evaluation, the eligibility for

granting tenure may be discussed at that time.

1. Qualification for application:

Those who meet all the following requirements:

(1) Applicants should hold a Ph.D. degree (including a degree awarded in a foreign country)

or have research achievements comparable to those of a Ph.D. holder.

(2) Applicants should have research achievements in the field of Popular Culture Studies

[Research with an international comparative perspective is preferred] or a related field.

(3) Applications are welcome from candidates of all nationalities. However, the successful

candidate must be able to teach and perform administrative duties in Japanese.

(4) Applicants should demonstrate a strong commitment to both research and teaching.

They should also be willing to contribute actively to faculty and university

administration.

• The following qualifications are desirable:
• Experience in international exchange activities and/or study abroad.

• Teaching experience at a university or other research institution.

• Starting date:

April 1, 2027

1. Workplace Address:

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Iwate University, 3-18-34 Ueda, Morioka, 020-
8550, Japan

1. Application deadline:

September 15, 2026, 5:00 p.m. (JST)

• Application documents must arrive by the above deadline.

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1. Submission of application documents:

Applications should, in principle, be submitted electronically by e-mail.

(1) Curriculum vitae (Please use the specific style as shown in the attached document.)

(2) Educational and research achievements (Please use the specific style as shown in the

attached document.)

(3) PDF files of less than five major publications selected from (2). (However, publication

books are acceptable by mail in the form of one copy of the original.)

(4) Abstracts of each major publication of (3) (approximately 400 characters in Japanese:

PDF file)

(5) Summary of your previous research activities and future research plans (within 1,200

characters in Japanese, PDF file)

(6) Statement of your educational policy (within 1,000 characters in Japanese, PDF file)

(7) List of courses previously taught (Please use the specific style as shown in the attached

document.)

1. Application document submission method:

(1) Online Application

E-mail: senkojinsha [at] iwate-u.ac.jp (Please replace [at] with @ before sending your email.)

• Please use "Popular Culture Studies Application" as the subject line of your e-mail.

(2) Mailed documents

Popular Culture Studies Faculty Search Committee

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Iwate University

3-18-8 Ueda, Morioka, Iwate 020-8550

Japan

• Please write clearly in red on the front of the envelope “Popular Culture Studies application

documents enclosed”, if by mail.

• Applications should, in principle, be submitted electronically by e-mail. If you wish us to

mail back the publication books you submit, please state it, and enclose a cash on delivery

slip with a return envelope.

1. Contact for inquiries:

Name: Popular Culture Studies Faculty Search Committee

E-mail: senkojinsha [at] iwate-u.ac.jp (Please replace [at] with @ before sending your email.)

• E-mail only

• Others:

(1) The selection criteria are stipulated in the “National University Corporation Iwate

University Teacher Selection Criteria” and the “Iwate University Faculty of Humanities

and Social Sciences Teacher Selection Criteria” and selection will be made in accordance

with these criteria.

(2) After screening the documents, a second screening (an interview and a trial lesson) will

be conducted. Please note that the travel expenses will not be paid in the second

screening. In some cases, the second screening may be held online. Further details

regarding the interview and teaching demonstration will be provided to shortlisted

candidates.

(3) If you wish us to mail back the publication books you submit, please state it, and enclose

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a cash on delivery slip with a return envelope.

(4) The salary and working conditions after hiring will be in accordance with the regulations

established by Iwate University.

(5) Employees are enrolled in social insurance, employment insurance, workers'

compensation insurance, and the MEXT Mutual Aid Association.

(6) Holidays are weekends and holidays, year-end, and New Year holidays, etc.

(7) Personal information submitted as part of the application process will be handled

confidentially and used solely for the purposes of recruitment.

(8) This open recruitment is a women's quota by virtue of the Article 8 Equal Employment

Opportunity Act. Newly appointed female researchers will receive start up research

funding.

1. Comments:

Iwate University is promoting diversity and is taking the following measures to increase

and retain diverse researchers.

• Up to 1,000,000 yen for start-up expenses (research expenses) will be provided.

Tenure-track faculty members (Lecturers) will receive a research grant of 1,000,000

yen, the amount for 2 years starting from the date of hire.

• Up to 1,000,000 yen of retention fund (research expenses) will be provided.

Female Associate Professors appointed to the university will receive 500,000 yen per

year for 2 years as research expenses.

Female Lecturers appointed to the university will receive 200,000 yen, the amount for

2 years starting from the date of hire.

• Any maternity, childcare, or family care leave taken before or after childbirth will be

taken into consideration during the selection process (regardless of gender, please

specify the period of leave in your resume).

• Career support for female researchers: https://diversity.iwate-u.ac.jp/support/womenreserchers/
• Various support for Work-life balance support*: https://diversity.iwate-u.ac.jp/support/wlb/

Research supporters/assistants assignment system, dual residence allowance system,

next generation development support (support for balancing childbirth and childcare)

and family caregiver support, on-campus childcare space, etc.

• Available regardless of gender.

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