Penn Program in Environmental Humanities Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship

The Penn Program in Environmental Humanities is now inviting applications for our second two-year Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow. We seek applicants whose research, teaching, and public engagements support and complement PPEH’s core commitments:

• broadly interdisciplinary, collaborative inquiry across the arts and sciences,
• arts-driven inquiry into place, particularly our campus and the City of Philadelphia as well as urban ecology in other global contexts,
• public engagement, particularly in and with environmental justice communities and concerns,
• the creation and growth of “living archives” via practices of “urgent collection.”

Fellows will be expected to pursue their own research agendas as well as actively participate in PPEH’s signature public environmental humanities projects, in Philadelphia and beyond. The ideal candidate’s application materials will explicitly address how their research and teaching intersects with the Program’s ongoing public initiatives to expand the right to research. Candidates with production experience in digital public humanities are particularly encouraged to apply.

The Fellowship carries a stipend of $55,000 plus health insurance and a $4500 research fund. In addition to pursuing their proposed research, Fellows are required to teach one undergraduate seminar each year, participate in regular seminars, and design and produce one public environmental humanities engagement (symposium/workshop/conference/installation/exhibit/etc) in their second year.

Scholars who received or will receive their PhD between December 2010 and May 2019 are eligible to apply. You must have your degree in hand or have passed your defense no later than May 2019 to be eligible. Your application will not be considered unless this condition is met (i.e., you are ineligible to apply if you will defend or otherwise submit your dissertation anytime after May 31, 2019). Preference will be given to candidates whose proposals are interdisciplinary, who have not previously enjoyed use of the resources of the University of Pennsylvania, and who would particularly benefit from and contribute to PPEH’s intellectual community on Penn’s campus and beyond.

To apply, candidates should submit a cover letter, c.v., contact information for three references, and a research and teaching statement of no more than 750 words highlighting their public-facing work. Semi-finalists will be asked to supply three letters from academic referees and a writing sample; finalists will be interviewed via video conference in early-mid March. Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled.

The Penn Program in Environmental Humanities is strongly committed to Penn’s Action Plan for Faculty Diversity and Excellence and to creating a more diverse faculty. The University of Pennsylvania is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Minorities/Women/Individuals with disabilities/Protected Veterans are encouraged to apply.