Postdoctoral Fellowship for Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Sawyer Seminar

September 1, 2022 to May 31, 2023

New York University invites applications for a one-year postdoctoral fellowship to support an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Sawyer Seminar entitled “Indigenous Futures in Times of Crisis” scheduled for the 2022-23 academic year.

This seminar will focus on the theoretical, physical, and relational labor that Native people undertake to preserve their lands, bodies, knowledges, and heritages in the face of profound social and environmental crises. Over the course of a yearlong series, this program will bring Indigenous community leaders, activists, artists, and scholars from across the Americas and the Pacific into critical conversation with students, faculty, and local community. It will also produce a podcast series consisting of conversations between the postdoctoral fellow and the Indigenous scholars and community leaders who participate in the seminar. The seminar is designed to address urgent questions in contemporary Indigenous communities including, What are the relationships between Indigenous sovereignty and community wellbeing? How do Native peoples define and envision sustainable futures? And how might Indigenous knowledges inform broader conversations about environmental and social justice?

The seminar working group will be led by Professors Elizabeth Ellis (history), Dean Saranillio (Social and Cultural Analysis), Simón Trujillo (English), Andrew Needham (History) Faye Ginsburg (Anthropology), Eugenia Kisin (Gallatin), Jane Anderson (Anthropology), and Edward Berenson (History).

Qualifications

The Mellon Sawyer fellowship is a nine-month appointment from September 1, 2022 to May 31, 2023 and includes stipend, health benefits, moving expenses, and a research budget. The fellow is expected to be in residence at New York University and will be hosted by the Department of African American Studies. The range of duties for the successful candidate will include:

  • Active participation and involvement in all seminar workshops, during the 2022-23 academic year
  • Continuing ongoing research on a topic related to the seminar’s theme
  • Teaching one undergraduate course during either the Fall 2022 or Spring 2023 semester
  • Creating content for seminar podcast series including interviewing seminar participants
  • Coordinating Sawyer Seminar events
  • Assisting with digital media to support the seminar

Eligibility

  • Ph.D. in a relevant humanities or social science field received no earlier than 2017.
  • Evidence of current or future scholarly productivity and evidence of research that connects to the themes of the Sawyer Seminar
  • Previous experience in audio or podcast production preferred but not required

Application Instructions

Review of applications will begin April 2, 2022. At this stage, we ask applicants to submit a CV; a cover letter describing how the applicant’s research relates to the core themes of the seminar; an article-length writing sample; and the names and contact information of two references. All application materials should be submitted via Interfolio.

More here.

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