CSMCH-IASH Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Modern and Contemporary History

The three-month CSMCH-IASH Visiting Postdoctoral Fellowship in Modern and Contemporary History is intended to encourage outstanding early-career interdisciplinary research and scholarly collaboration in the broad field of modern and contemporary history. The fellow will be affiliated with the Centre for the Study of Modern and Contemporary History in the School of History, Classics and Archaeology and the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities.

Each year, the CSMCH will select an interdisciplinary research theme – for 2022-23, the theme is 'decoloniality' – and applicants will need to show that their research addresses this theme. The theme is designed to have synergy with the Institute Project on Decoloniality (IPD'24). Otherwise, there is no limit on geographical area or time period, as long as the bulk of the applicant's research falls within the 'modern and contemporary' period (c.1750-present).

Fellows will work in collaboration with both the CSMCH and IASH. The fellow will be expected to:

• Present their work to the CSMCH seminar and to IASH, as well as take part in IASH work-in-progress sessions and other IASH community activities.
• Organise one event in collaboration with the CSMCH. This could be a public engagement event (eg. lecture, film series) or an academic event (eg. colloquium). Applicants should write about their proposed event in the application form. Both CSMCH and IASH will be able to help organise the event and the CSMCH may also provide small amounts of funding where appropriate. 
• Identify and work with a mentor. The mentor should, except where a strong case can be made, be a member of the Centre for the Study of Modern and Contemporary History or the School of History, Classics and Archaeology. The mentor should be named in the application and a short supporting statement should be provided.

In order to facilitate cooperation within HCA and the CSMCH, fellowships can only be taken up from September to June. Candidates should indicate on the application form the dates during which they intend to be in residence.

Fellows will benefit from the combined resources of the School of History, Classics and Archaeology and IASH. The Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities is housed in a 19th century courtyard close to the University Library and about 30 scholars are in residence at any time. Fellows are allocated a private office in the Institute with all the usual research facilities.

The Fellowship comes with a stipend of £1,300 per month (for three months) and up to £500 to offset travel expenses. Visa fees will also be reimbursed. It is anticipated that Fellows will use the Fellowship to launch joint publications, joint applications for research funding and/or collaborative research projects with their HCA mentor and/or with other members of the CSMCH.

The CSMCH website is here: http://www.ed.ac.uk/history-classics-archaeology/modern-contemporary-history-centre

Application procedure

Deadline

The closing date for the receipt of the next round of applications (for visits from August 2022 to July 2023) is 29 April 2022. Applications received after that date will not be considered.

Successful candidates will be notified by email with a formal letter of confirmation to follow; please ensure that you supply a valid email address so that you can be contacted quickly after decisions are made.

The application form

Please complete the online application form here.

References should be emailed directly to iash@ed.ac.uk by 29 April 2022.   

Supporting statements and references

• A minimum of one short supporting statement is required. This must be from the member of staff with whom the applicant wishes to collaborate.
• A minimum of two and a maximum of three confidential references are required. Applicants should ask their referees to send their references by email to iash@ed.ac.uk by the closing date.
• Referees should comment on the nature and quality of the research proposal, as well as on the qualifications of the applicant.

Notes for guidance

• Eligibility. Candidates for the CSMCH-IASH Postdoctoral Fellowship must have been successfully awarded a PhD by the time they apply and must be within 7 years of the award of their PhD, not including career breaks. Consideration will be given to the academic record and the publications of all applicants and their capacity to disseminate their views among a community of like-minded people.
• Theme. For 2022-23, the theme is 'decoloniality'. Applicants should explain how their proposed research fits in with this theme. The following is a working definition of decoloniality, not intended to exclude any decolonial scholars or theoretical frameworks: Informed by the work of a variety of writers in both the Global South and Global North, and spanning Indigenous rights, Africana thought, and movements for reparatory justice, decolonial inquiry contends that knowledge generated within what is termed a ‘colonial matrix of power’ has left us with a narrow, patriarchal and contested understanding of ourselves and the world. One means of addressing this is to challenge accepted theories of knowledge about the modern and the global, understood as ‘epistemic disobedience’, with a view to re-imagining and reconstructing our world, something in which university-based teaching and learning, research and wider community engagement is pivotal.
• Mentor. Candidates will be expected to have been in communication with the member of staff with whom they intend to collaborate before applying, and to name the mentor in their application. The mentor should also provide a short supporting statement. This can be sent directly to iash@ed.ac.uk.
• Residence. Fellows are expected to be resident in Edinburgh throughout the tenure of their Fellowship and to play a full part in the activities of IASH and the CSMCH .
• Teaching. No regular teaching is required but Fellows will give at least one seminar at IASH and one to the CSMCH on their current research work. Fellows will also be encouraged to interact informally with HCA students through seminars, reading groups or research events.
• Facilities. The Institute is close to the University Library and within easy reach of the National Library of Scotland, the Central City Library, the National Galleries and Museums, the Library of the Society of Antiquaries in Scotland, the library of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, and the National Archives of Scotland. Access to both the extensive archival and online resources of all of these collections can be arranged for Fellows as appropriate.
• Application process. Only fully completed applications will be considered. It is the responsibility of each applicant to ensure that all documentation is complete, and that referees submit their reports to the Institute by the closing date. Consideration will be given to the academic record and the publications of all applicants and their capacity to disseminate their views among a community of like-minded people. Particular weight will be placed on the quality and timeliness of the project proposed, as well as its relation to the CSMCH theme for that year.
• Selection. The selection of Fellows will be made by an CSMCH-IASH Visiting Fellows Committee, comprising the Director of the CSMCH, selected members of the CSMCH steering committee, and the Director of IASH or members of the IASH Management Group.
• Contact. For further details about the CSMCH and for help with identifying a mentor within HCA, applicants can contact the Director of the CSMCH (Dr Julie Gibbings, julie.gibbings@ed.ac.uk)