Postdoctoral Fellowship in Studies of Early Modern Europe at McGill University
The Institute for the Public Life of Arts and Ideas at McGill University seeks a Postdoctoral Fellow in Studies in Early Modern Europe with a demonstrable research interest in the public life of arts and ideas. The Fellow will join a research project—Early Modern Conversions: Religions, Cultures, Cognitive Ecologies.
Early Modern Conversions is a five-year, international, interdisciplinary project (2013-2018) that studies how early modern Europeans changed their confessional, social, political, and even sexual identities. These subjective changes were of a piece with transformations in their world— the geopolitical reorientation of Europe in relation with the Ottoman Empire and the Americas; the rethinking of Latin Antiquity; changes in the built environment; the reimagining of God. The research is growing together with a History Visualization Lab able to track the growth of multiple conversional forms, both geographically and historically. Among the partners taking part in the Conversions project are the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Centre for Research in Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities (Cambridge), the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Headquartered at the Institute for the Public Life of Arts and Ideas (IPLAI), McGill University, and funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, the project is developing an historical understanding that will also enlighten modern debates about corporeal, sexual, psychological, political, and spiritual kinds of transformation.
The start date for the year-long position is September 1, 2016. There is the possibility of a one-year renewal. Candidates will have a PhD in one of the fields represented in the project, a research program relevant to the central interests of the project, and a demonstrable interest in public life of works of art and intellect. The Fellow will work on his or her own research program, collaborate with colleagues in an interdisciplinary context, and take part in the development of the project’s program of public outreach, education, and exchange. He or she will serve on the project’s Education and Public Exchange Working Committee and might have opportunities to teach courses in his or her area of specialty. The fellowship stipend is $40,000 per annum.
Applications, consisting of a cover letter, CV, and an article-length writing sample should be sent to Paul Yachnin, Director, Early Modern Conversions, at conversions@mcgill.ca. Please arrange to have three letters of reference sent to the same address; referees should include the name of the candidate in the subject line of their emails. The deadline to submit all application materials is July 15, 2016.
