USC Society of Fellows in the Humanities

The USC Society of Fellows in the Humanities supports advanced research by postdoctoral fellows and faculty members by promoting intellectual exchange and interdisciplinary approaches to research and teaching in the humanities and humanistic social sciences.

The USC Society of Fellows in the Humanities is an interdisciplinary community of postdoctoral scholars and faculty members in the humanities and humanistic social sciences. Fellows meet regularly in formal and informal settings to present and discuss advanced scholarly research. Postdoctoral fellows are affiliated with the Society as well as with a USC department of their choice, and have faculty mentors in both. Postdoctoral fellows in the humanities engage with each other as well as humanities departments, institutes, and centers at USC and in the broader Los Angeles area.

Each year the Society admits up to five postdoctoral fellows, who are appointed for two-year terms during which they pursue research and teach three courses over four semesters, with one semester for full-time research. They are expected to reside in the Los Angeles area during the academic year and to participate in the scholarly life of the Society, the host department, and the university. The salary for postdoctoral fellows is $57,500 per year plus fringe benefits, with an additional research and travel account of $6,000 per year.

The Society has several goals:

• To support advanced scholarly research in the humanities and humanistic social sciences.
• To build on USC’s commitment to interdisciplinary enquiry.
• To further the professional development of junior scholars by providing time for research and writing, the opportunity to establish a teaching portfolio, and mentoring to help them prepare for careers as tenure-track faculty.
• To add new voices from other institutions to conversations within and across disciplines in the humanities and humanistic social sciences at USC, as well as to conversations about the value and place of the humanities within the university and in society at large.
• To recognize and reward faculty excellence in research and mentoring.
• To contribute to the intellectual and professional development of doctoral students in the humanities and humanistic social sciences.

Launched in Fall 2016, the Society of Fellows in the Humanities emerged from a previous program, the Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellows in the Humanities. The Society builds on other programs sponsored by the Office of the Provost that champion the importance of the humanities for USC’s academic community, including Visions & Voices, faculty grants for Advancing Scholarship in the Humanities and Social Sciences, and expanded support for outstanding humanities Ph.D. students through Provost’s Ph.D. Fellowships.