Sessional Lecturer - FAH380H1S The History of Art and Crime

Date Posted: 08/19/2026

Faculty/Division: Faculty of Arts & Science
Department: Department of Art History
Campus: St. George (Downtown Toronto)

About the role

This course examines the fascinating and complex world of art crime, exploring its role in a range of topics including theft, forgery, trafficking, looting, vandalism, appropriation, and white-collar infractions. Through the study of cases from antiquity to the recent 2025 Louvre heist, it investigates the underbelly of the art ecosystem as well as the motivations and methods of its criminals. Turning students into sleuths, classes offer a counter-narrative to conventional art history and investigate the legal, ethical, and social complexities of protecting cultural heritage by following its stories beyond galleries into courtrooms and criminal investigations. Through the consideration of art crimes not only as a form of unlawful activity, but also as a lens through which to understand the economics and power of cultural output, the class ultimately asks: What and who has the ability to determine art's authenticity, value, ownership and place in history?

Estimated course enrolment: 80 students
Estimated TA support: 85 TA hours
Class schedule: Fridays 3:00pm - 5:00pm (In Person)
Sessional dates of appointment: January 1, 2027 to April 30, 2027 (includes completion of any course work and marking not finished by April 30, 2027).

Responsibilities

• Design and teach a University credit course, including preparing and delivering one 2-hour lecture per week.
• Develop and publish the syllabus and marking scheme through Quercus.
• Prepare relevant assignments for student assessment, and (if applicable) set and invigilate term tests and final examination/assignments.
• Grade and report final grades.
• Maintain office hours for academic counseling of students.
• Answer queries by email or appointment.
• Supervise a Teaching Assistant (TA).

Requirements

• MA in Art History or a related field is required; PhD in Art History is strongly preferred.
• Teaching, writing, and communication skills in the history of art are required.
• Demonstrated experience in the variety of writing genres and styles associated with art history, including museum exhibitions, publications, reviews, criticism, academic analysis, popular print, and media.
• Demonstrated experience supporting students' academic writing skills.
• At least two years of experience creating and marking undergraduate writing assignments, exercises, and/or undergraduate essays in art history.

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous teaching experience in this or a similar course at the university level.

Pay

• Sessional Lecturer I: $9,997.48
• Sessional Lecturer I - Long Term: $10,699.22
• Sessional Lecturer II: $10,699.22
• Sessional Lecturer II - Long Term: $10,953.96
• Sessional Lecturer III: $10,953.96
• Sessional Lecturer III - Long Term: $11,228.90

Please note that should rates stipulated in the collective agreement vary from rates stated in this posting, the rates stated in the collective agreement shall prevail.