Junior Anniversary Fellowship
“Bridge-building is my vocation.” – Prof. David Daiches, IASH Director 1980-86
IASH was founded in 1969 with the pursuit of intellectual understanding as its highest priority. Interdisciplinarity and creativity have defined its history ever since. In our 50th anniversary year, we have created new Fellowships for the most promising scholars in the arts, humanities and social sciences. A Junior Anniversary Fellowship for up to 10 months is available to early career researchers who have completed their doctorate in the last three years.
For 2022-23, we are seeking applications centred on the place of the humanities in the 21st century. As IASH is located in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Science, a key role for the Anniversary Fellows is to take forward inquiry in a cross-disciplinary way, perhaps at the outermost disciplinary boundaries of the humanities, arts and social sciences.
This might involve the Fellows working in one of IASH’s existing thematic areas. In the environmental humanities or medical/health humanities or gender and sexuality studies, intellectual advance will inevitably draw on both the humanities (broadly understood) and other more-distant disciplines such as ecology or biomedicine. Alternatively, Fellows may wish to undertake work in the digital humanities, applying analytical and visualising tools from digital methods to their humanities topics or using crowd-sourced approaches in inventive ways. Applicants may also present their own distinctive rationale for genuinely innovative work at the boundaries of the humanities.
IASH provides an enviable location in one of the world’s most intellectually inspiring cities, together with a dynamic network of international connections. Home to the Scottish Enlightenment, Edinburgh has a rich cultural heritage of scholarship and creativity that continues to the present day. In this haven of libraries and archives, galleries and music venues – all set amid iconic architecture – IASH takes the humanities beyond campus to engage the public and work with organisations in a variety of different sectors. The Institute welcomes visiting researchers from across the world. Since 1970, over 1,250 Fellows have stepped through our doors. Up to 30 researchers are in residence at any one time in our amazing – and eclectic – nineteenth-century building just on the edge of the University’s central campus, boasting views of the Meadows. From upwards of 65 countries, IASH Fellows form a global alumni community, and many career-long connections begin at the Institute.
What does an IASH Anniversary Fellowship offer?
IASH hosts a lively scholarly community of visiting fellows. It is a supportive environment for postdoctoral researchers, while also offering networking opportunities with successful mid-career and eminent senior scholars. The Institute occupies a historic building with private courtyard and leafy views – perfect for uninterrupted thinking, reading and writing. Yet there is also plenty of opportunity to socialise and share ideas.
In short, the 2022-2023 IASH Junior Anniversary Fellowship provides:
- Research visit at the University of Edinburgh for ten months
- Bursary of £15,000*, plus travel grants
- Dedicated office space, University e-mail and library access
- An allocated University mentor from an area relevant to the Fellows’ research interests
- Weekly Fellows’ Lunch to build community
- Collegial work-in-progress seminar series for testing new ideas
- Calendar of engaging events at the Institute and College
- Opportunities to participate in and design funded workshops, colloquia, etc. at the Institute
(*) The bursary may be used to top up an existing postdoctoral Fellowship (e.g. British Academy), or as a contribution towards living expenses. Applicants are asked to indicate other sources of support for which they have applied and the expected date of outcome. No teaching is required, but successful applicants may be able to supplement the bursary by individually arranging their own concurrent teaching, though the Institute expects that a maximum commitment of 0.4 of a full time position will be dedicated to work other than the Anniversary Fellow’s individual research project.
Who can apply?
Applicants must have been awarded a doctorate at the time of application, and normally within the last three years (you must be able to produce a transcript, testamur, or a letter of completion/eligibility to graduate as part of your application). You should not have held a permanent position at a university, or a previous Fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Studies. Those who have held temporary and/or short-term appointments are eligible to apply.
Application procedure
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 by the end of July 2022 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
You can find our application form here. Please note that unsuccessful applicants for the Junior Anniversary Fellowship will automatically be considered for a standard Postdoctoral Fellowship - you do not need to make a separate application for the Postdoctoral Fellowship scheme.
References
- A minimum of two and a maximum of three confidential references are required.
- At least one referee should come from outside the institution of the applicant.
- Referees should comment on the nature and quality of the research proposal, as well as on the qualifications of the applicant.
Applicants should ask their referees to send their references by email to the Institute Director at iash@ed.ac.uk by 29 April 2022.
