Post-doctoral Fellow Amherst College Center for Humanistic Inquiry (EXPIRED)

The Center for Humanistic Inquiry at Amherst College, in its inaugural year, seeks a Mellon-Keiter Postdoctoral Fellow from across the disciplines to explore the theme of “Mattering Lives.”  Our theme resonates with urgent ongoing cultural and political conversations about the ways in which lives matter—that is, take on meaning and value—in differing ways.  It also implicates emerging questions about the nature and encoding of the human; of our materiality in relation to other forms of life, technology, and ways of being; and of the ways in which life and lives are made manifest through various forms of representation, media, and imaginative culture.  We invite applicants from scholars whose research takes up some aspect of our theme from a humanistic perspective. 

Amherst College’s Robert E. Keiter 1957 Fund for Postdoctoral Fellows, with matching funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, supports exceptionally promising young scholars for two years of half-time teaching (one course each semester) in an appropriate host department and half-time research at the college.  In the first year (2015-16), the fellow will have an office in the Center for Humanistic Inquiry and will be expected to participate in workshops and conferences organized to explore our theme.  This appointment, at the rank of Visiting Assistant Professor, includes an annual salary of $58,000 and, in addition, a yearly $2,500 allowance for professional travel and research support and additional support for moving expenses.  The Mellon-Keiter Postdoctoral Fellowship is open only to recent Ph.D.s who have not already held a regular faculty appointment. A candidate must have completed all requirements for the Ph.D. by July 1, 2015.  

Amherst College is an equal opportunity employer and encourages women, persons of color, and persons with disabilities to apply. The college is committed to enriching its educational experience and its culture through the diversity of its faculty, administration, and staff.

Candidates should submit electronically to http://apply.interfolio.com/28970  a cover letter that addresses the connection between the candidate’s scholarship and the center’s theme, a CV, a research statement, a writing sample, and three confidential letters of recommendation addressed to Professor Martha M. Umphrey, Director, Center for Humanistic Inquiry, Amherst College.  Review of applications will begin on March 31, 2015, and continue until the position is filled. Applications received by this date will be assured of full consideration.