Calls for Applications: Postdocs, Fellowships, and Programs of interest

Lauren Turek

Application season is in full swing and I've come across a number of fellowships and programs for graduate students, postdocs, faculty members, and independent scholars who work on religion in American history. The following might be of interest to readers and have deadlines approaching in the next few months:

Problems in the Study of Religion

A 2016 NEH Summer Institute for College and University Faculty

May 31-June 17, 2016

University of Virginia

Charlottesville, VA

Problems in the Study of Religion brings together college and university faculty as well as advanced graduate students from the many disciplines that have a stake in understanding religion, for the purpose of coming to terms with the manifold changes in the study of religion that have occurred over the past decade.

Running for three weeks, the Institute will introduce scholars, within religious studies and without, to the enormously productive re-thinking of the idea of “religion” that has happened in recent years, in order to assist those interested in developing a richer and more nuanced understanding of the strengths and weaknesses, the opportunities and pitfalls, that come with using the category of “religion” to understand highly diverse manifestations of human practice and belief within the United States and around the world today.

The primary activities of the Institute will be close reading and discussion of important contemporary scholarship on the history, current hot spots, and teaching about religion, punctuated with lectures by specialists from select fields in the study of religion. Institute participants will also engage in independent research projects, making use of the University of Virginia’s world-class research facilities and staff.

For more information and application instructions, please visit: https://studyofreligionseminar.wordpress.com/

The Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia

Visiting, Postdoctoral, and Doctoral Fellowships 2016-17

The Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia has a number of fellowship opportunities available for established scholars, postdocs, and graduate students who work on topics broadly related to American cultural change (many of the scholars at the institute explore religious culture in the United States, using a range of interdisciplinary approaches). Fellowship offerings include the following:

VISITING FELLOWSHIPS

Visiting Fellowships are offered on a competitive basis to established scholars looking for semester and year-long sabbaticals and whose work directly contributes to the intellectual priorities of the Institute’s research programs. These fellowships typically provide office space, a stipend covering some portion or all of a sabbatical leave, and some research funds. Visiting Fellows are expected to be in residence and to participate in all Institute events.

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS

Institute Postdoctoral Fellowships are awarded on a competitive basis to recent PhDs whose research directly contributes to the research priorities of the Institute. It is principally designed to support work on first books. These fellowships will, in most cases, be directly linked to specific Institute programs. The tenure of the IASC Postdoctoral Fellowship is one year with the possibility of renewal (for up to three years). Renewals are based on performance and funding availability. To be eligible for a Postdoctoral Fellowship applicants must successfully defend their dissertations prior to the start of the academic year in which they have been awarded a fellowship.

DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS

The Doctoral Fellowship supports students through the research and writing stages of their dissertations. Both fellowships are awarded on the basis of demonstrated academic promise and how closely their scholarly interests fit with the Institute’s research priorities. Doctoral Fellows must be in residence during their fellowship and attend all Institute events. 

Applications for the 2016-2017 academic year are now open. To apply, please visit Jobs @ UVa and perform a search with "Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture" selected as the department. For more information, please visit: http://www.iasc-culture.org/people_fellows_program.php

John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics 

Postdoctoral Fellowship 2016-17

The John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics seeks applications from junior scholars and recent Ph.D. graduates for up to three postdoctoral fellowships in residence at Washington University in St. Louis.  The appointment is for one year, renewable for a second year.  Eligible applicants must have completed the Ph.D. by July 1, 2016, and no earlier than January 1, 2011.  The research associates will spend most of their time pursuing research and writing on their own projects.  They will also serve the intellectual life of the Danforth Center through participating in its biweekly interdisciplinary seminar.  Their teaching responsibilities will include: 1) developing one course per year to augment the Center’s curricular offerings, and 2) possibly assisting in one additional course each year (depending on the particular teaching needs of the Center).  Washington University in St. Louis is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer and especially encourages members of underrepresented groups to apply.

Required Qualifications:  Applicants should hold a doctorate in religious studies, politics, anthropology, American studies, history, Jewish studies, sociology, or another relevant field.  Scholars should be engaged in projects centrally concerned with religion and politics in the United States, historically or in the present day.

For more information and application instructions, please visit: http://rap.wustl.edu/postdoctoral-research-associate/