Florida International University’s Commons for Justice project, generously funded by the Mellon Foundation, invites applications for a two-year postdoctoral fellowship for 2021–2022 & 2022–2023. This FIU Commons for Justice postdoc is for underrepresented students. The fellowship is open to scholars whose work is based in the humanities and focuses on issues of race, risk, and resilience, broadly conceived.
Preference will be given to scholars whose experience includes community-based participatory research, work in community partnerships, and/or work in the public humanities. Expectations for this fellow are that they will
- Advance their research
- Give at least one presentation or workshop per academic year focused on their scholarship and/or public engagement practice
- Contribute to Commons for Justice initiatives centered on oral history and storytelling
- Teach one course per academic year on the theme of Race, Risk and Resiliency.
The position offers a salary of $65,000 plus benefits for a postdoctoral associate to be appointed in the School of International and Public Affairs beginning August 15, 2021 for a twelve-month appointment. The position is funded by the Mellon Foundation and spans two years.
The Commons for Justice brings together a cross-disciplinary team of FIU faculty, led by FIU’s Extreme Events Institute and the Wolfsonian Public Humanities Lab. It also includes the Jorge M. Pérez Metropolitan Center, the Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center, and the Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs. Team members have longstanding and extensive experience with community organizations and stakeholders, who will be key partners in the project’s design and implementation. Research for this program will document the most pressing disaster risk and resilience problems in predominantly vulnerable neighborhoods—from the perspective of the neighborhoods themselves—and how these problems are layered on top of other racial and ethnic injustices. Throughout the project, there will be “solution sessions” where FIU faculty and local community leaders will come together to discuss measures that can reduce disaster risk and improve resilience and advocacy for the vulnerable communities.
Applicants should submit a letter of application, CV, writing sample (no more than 8,000 words total) and list of three references with full contact information to:
Rebecca Friedman, Director of the Wolfsonian Public Humanities Lab (WPHL)
Email: friedmar@fiu.edu
Please notify references that they may be contacted for a letter of support. Applications received before June 15, 2021 will receive priority consideration.
Qualifications
- Doctorate, preferably in History or Related Field, received within the past five years.
- Excellent writing and analytical skills; experience in writing for different purposes and a diversity of audiences, including, but not limited to scholarly audiences.
- Strong interdisciplinary interests, skills, and experience.
- Evidence of a research agenda concerned with race, risk, and resilience.
- Flexibility, nimbleness, and creativity, with the ability to work both collaboratively and independently.
- Organizational skills that can be applied to a project with both academic and practical components.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with community-based participatory research, work in community partnerships, and/or work in the public humanities.
- Demonstrated commitment to and experience with working with communities of color.