JHI NEW MEDIA PUBLIC HUMANITIES FELLOWSHIP

The Jackman Humanities Institute (JHI) is pleased to invite applications for a postdoctoral fellowship in New Media and Public Humanities (NMPH), designed to support recent Ph.D. graduates from humanities disciplines who are engaged in new media and/or other journalism initiatives to bring humanities research out of the classroom or academic monograph and into discussion in public fora and across multiple media platforms.

Deadline for Applications: November 30, 2023 at 4:00pm EST

2024 - 2025: Undergrounds/Underworlds

Undergrounds have figured powerfully in human histories and imaginations as places of alterity, concealment, exploration, and discovery; of fear, transition, transportation, and transmutation. They have also figured as spaces of hope, refuge, and fugitivity that weave them into radical traditions and visions of the future. From the Epic of Gilgamesh, through the Greek katabasis and Dante, to crime rings and chthonic gods, infrastructures and escape routes, DJs and the Dark Web: our languages are fascinated with depth. But our surface worlds depend crucially on subterranean networks of extraction, exploitation, and disposal. Now more than ever, we need to understand the place of underworlds in human pasts, presents, and futures. This JHI theme encourages proposals that examine what a descent into the underworlds might reveal.

One NMPH postdoctoral fellow will be selected for a twelve-month residency at the Jackman Humanities Institute. The NMPH postdoctoral fellow is expected to conduct active research on the theme of “Undergrounds/Underworlds” and to propose, write, and publish innovative media projects that take humanities research into the public domain.
The postdoctoral fellowship is an award of $66,275 CAD plus benefits. The NMPH postdoctoral fellowship is tenable for one academic year (July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025), and the holder is expected to be in residence September 2024 to May 2025. As a residential fellow, the New Media and Public Humanities postdoctoral fellow will be provided with an office at the JHI on the 10th floor of the Jackman Humanities Building. The NMPH postdoctoral fellow will be expected to participate in activities with faculty, postdoctoral, graduate, and undergraduate fellows, including weekly lunch seminars and occasional other workshops and lectures.
Moving expenses are not provided. The JHI will provide an office, University of Toronto Library access, faculty mentoring, and administrative support. Teaching is not a component of this fellowship, but incumbents may apply for sessional positions in their home disciplines as available.

Eligibility

• Doctoral degree in humanities, writing, media studies, or journalism completed between July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2024. If you graduated before July 1, 2014, you are not eligible to apply. If you will be enrolled as a full or part-time student during the period of the fellowship, you are not eligible to apply. If you hold a tenured or tenure-track position already, you are not eligible to apply
• A public media record going back to at least July 1, 2022
• The JHI-NMPH Postdoctoral Fellowship is open to citizens of all countries. The University of Toronto is strongly committed to diversity within its community and especially welcomes applications from racialized persons/persons of colour, women, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ+ persons, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas. Engagement as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Toronto is covered by the terms of the CUPE 3902 Unit 5 Collective Agreement
• Doctoral candidates and Ph.D. recipients from the University of Toronto are eligible to apply
• The Jackman Humanities Institute interprets “Humanities” as a broad category, including political theory, interpretive social science, music, and the arts

Selection Criteria

We are seeking individuals whose intellectual scope moves between formal academic research and professional journalism. The JHI is a site for interdisciplinary humanities research conversations, and we are therefore interested in candidates who have a record of publication in non-academic venues as well as an academic background in the humanities or qualitative social sciences. Selection will be based upon accomplishment according to career stage, evidence of public media engagement, and the relevance of the applicant’s interests and media record to the annual theme of “Undergrounds/Underworlds”.

Procedure

Complete the online application for this fellowship

1. Apply online
2. You will be asked to upload the following documents in your application, formatted as a single pdf file (check our FAQs below for directions on length and formatting):
   1. A project proposal that outlines a media project or series of projects centered on the 2024-2025 annual theme, Undergrounds/Underworlds, to be undertaken at the Jackman Humanities Institute (4-6 pages, maximum 6,000 words)
   2. A full resumé with demonstrated background in the Humanities that includes a full listing of both academic and non-academic publications and media endeavours
   3. A writing sample (published, non-academic preferred; an academic article or dissertation chapter may be provided if necessary)
   4. (Optional) For online samples of your work such as audio or video files, please include URL links and a brief description for each
   5. 100-word research description
   6. 100-word biographical statement
3. You will be asked to provide the names and email addresses of two referees who can provide confidential letters of reference. Your referees will receive an automated request for their letters, which will be due on December 7, 2023.  Please ask your referees to watch for our request email.

If you SAVE your file without clicking SUBMIT, you will be able to edit your application and replace your application document until you click SUBMIT. Please submit your application before the deadline. If you SAVE, you will receive a secret number that will enable you to re-enter your application. Please record this number; JHI staff will not have access to this information.

Deadline

All applications must be submitted by 30 November 2022 at 4:00 p.m. (EST). Faxed, emailed, and paper applications will not be considered.

Questions?

• Questions about the scope and expectations of this fellowship? Email JHI Director, Professor Alison Keith
• Questions about the JHI and the application process? Email JHI Associate Director, Dr. Kimberley Yates
• Technical questions about the application form? Email JHI Communications Officer, Sonja Johnston

FAQs About the New Media and Public Humanities (NMPH) Postdoctoral Fellowship

What are JHI’s expectations in terms of length, format and content for my submitted documents?

Can I save a partial application and then go back into it, or swap my application document for an updated version later?

I will be finishing up my thesis in the spring, and I am not sure if my defense will take place before or after May 1.  How will this affect my eligibility?

I graduated from my doctoral program in June 2014. Am I eligible to apply? Does a month matter?

When will I be required to be in Toronto? Can I do research off-site at certain times during the year?

Is any funding beyond the award for this position available for travel, moving expenses, or research?

Who can I contact if I have other questions?