Scholar in Residence (EXPIRED)

The Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization at the University of Colorado Boulder, in conjunction with the CU Philosophy Department and the Department’s Center for Values and Social Policy, invites applications for the position of Scholar in Residence from August 1, 2020 to May 31, 2021.  Applications are welcome from philosophers working in any part of the values area, but we are particularly interested in those whose work connects in some way to the Benson Center’s 2020-21 theme of “Community or Disunity?”.  Candidates are expected to hold a PhD at the time of appointment. We welcome applications both from recent PhDs and from more established scholars wishing to spend a year in Boulder.

Scholars in Residence will be asked to teach one class per semester and to participate regularly in the extended community of both the Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization and the Center for Values and Social Policy, through attendance at lectures, engagement with students, and participation in the academic life of the University.

The mission of the Benson Center is to explore the culture, languages and ideas of the Western tradition, ranging from antiquity to modern society. The Center is especially concerned with the values that emerge from that tradition, and their ongoing role in the institutions of the United States. Integral to this mission is the Center’s commitment to fostering research, debate and dialogue on the fundamental issues of our time – moral, political and economic. Its aim is to promote a lively and balanced conversation that respects both conservative and liberal ideals, thus fostering the full diversity of political, economic and philosophical perspectives on the CU Boulder campus.

The central objective of the Center for Values and Social Policy is to serve as a non-partisan, campus-wide resource for supporting research, teaching, and public outreach about normative issues that are closely connected to matters of social policy. This includes work in applied normative philosophy, broadly construed to include work in applied moral, social, political and legal philosophy as well as related philosophical work that takes place at a more theoretical level.

Applications should include a letter of interest, CV, sample of scholarly work, and names and contact information for three references.  The letter of interest should describe the candidate’s fit with the general mission of both Centers (and, to the extent possible, with the Benson Center’s 2020-21 theme of “Community or Disunity?”), and it should also describe a research project to be pursued over the course of the year.  All application materials should be submitted through CU's online submission portal at: https://jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDetail/?jobId=25041.

To ensure full consideration, applications should be received by Friday, May 1, 2020.