King's College London

About us

King’s has been a pioneer in the field of languages, literatures and cultures since its foundation almost two hundred years ago, when the study of languages and literature was recognised as central to how we communicate with the world.

Our department responds to the crucial importance of languages, literature and cross-cultural comparison in knowing and engaging with the world in which we live and which we want to shape.

Our students come from all over the world from many different backgrounds, attracted by our reputation for and dedication to excellent teaching, by the work we do to create a dynamic and inclusive community, and by the opportunity to study right in the heart of London, a global and multilingual city where we experience languages and cultures in action every day.

About the role

The Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures wishes to appoint a Lecturer in Comparative Literature for a fixed-term period of twelve months. 

The role comprises teaching, administration, and research. The successful candidate will teach on a range of modules on Comparative Literature programmes such as second-year compulsory modules on nationhood and on the formation of literary canons; a specialist final-year module on modern myths and the reception of ancient mythologies; supervision of undergraduate dissertations; and a specialist MA module on postcolonial literature, particularly by African diaspora writers. In an administrative role, they will convene the MA in Critical Theory, which involves managing admissions, allocating dissertation supervisors, and acting as personal tutor for all students on the programme. The role includes one day a week free of teaching for research.

The successful candidate will have a PhD in a relevant field, preferably the reception of ancient myth, especially in postcolonial literature. They will also have relevant experience of undergraduate teaching and a publication record appropriate to their career stage.

This is a full time post (35 Hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract from 1st September 2025 until 31st August 2026.

About you

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria

1. PhD awarded in relevant subject area preferably the reception of ancient myth, especially in postcolonial literature
2.  Undergraduate teaching experience at HEI 
3. Publication record appropriate to career stage 

Desirable criteria

1. Administrative experience 
2. Experience in student pastoral care 
3.  Postgraduate teaching experience 

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the next page after you click “Apply Now”. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

Further information

We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community.

We are committed to working with our staff and unions on these and other issues, to continue to support our people and to develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King's.

As part of this commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and through this appointment process, it is our aim to develop candidate pools that include applicants from all backgrounds and communities.

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit’ pages.

Interviews are due to be held on 8 July 2025.