美国康奈尔大学博士后职位招聘–人文学

Postdoc Associate 

The Society for the Humanities at Cornell University invites applications for residential fellowships from scholars and artists whose projects reflect on the 2025-26 theme of Scale. Up to six fellows will be appointed. The fellowships are held for one year (August through July). Each Society Fellow will receive $62,000.

Fellows include scholars and practitioners from other universities and members of the Cornell faculty released from regular duties. Fellows at the Society for the Humanities are “residential,” and will collaborate with one another and the Taylor Family Director of the Society for the Humanities, Durba Ghosh, Professor of History. Fellows spend their time in research and writing during the residential fellowship, and are required to participate in a weekly Fellows Seminar work-shopping each other’s projects and discussing readings based on the yearly theme.

The nature of this fellowship year is social and communal—fellows forge connections outside the classroom and the lecture hall by sharing meals following the weekly seminar and attending post-lecture receptions and other casual events throughout the year. Fellows live and work in Ithaca, NY, and are expected to be in their offices on campus frequently. All applicants for Society Fellowships should share in this commitment to creating a supportive and intellectually stimulating community.

Fellows teach one small seminar during their fellowship year appropriate for graduate students and advanced undergraduates. Though courses are designed to fit the focal theme, there are no additional restrictions on what or how the course should be taught. Fellows are encouraged to experiment with both the content and the method of their seminar particularly as it relates to their current research.

Focal Theme Description: Scale

The Society for the Humanities at Cornell University seeks interdisciplinary research projects for year-long residencies that reflect on the theme of Scale.

Scale (or scales) as a form of measurement that can generate relationships between objects or ideas, forms of embodiment, ideas of justice. From the object (noun) by which we measure to the process of scaling (verb), scale is a question we are constantly confronted with. Thinking about scale through humanistic inquiry raises questions about the cultural, social, moral, aesthetic, political implications of quantification. How big of a story, of a theory, of a history does one need to tell to properly encompass an object or idea? What is too much, too many (maybe excessive)? What is too little, too few (maybe insufficient)? What does it mean to say something is out of scale? What does it mean to propose “scaling up” or “scaling down”? How do scales facilitate or interfere with comparison?

Scale provokes us to consider how concepts of proportionality shape our lives. For example, encouragement to eat a “balanced” diet is related to weight and the shaming, anxieties, gendering, stereotyping accompanying it; weighing the scales of justice shapes how we balance punishments that are proportional against those that are disproportional. Beauty (in art and in life) is often defined by “good” proportions where one element does not overpower another; “bad” proportions unsettle and destabilize, with imbalance a threat to the putative stability of our vision of ideal forms. As we analyze and critique the small and big picture, the detail and the context, the part and the whole, the global and the local, the model and the so-called “real,” scale is central to how we evaluate and assess whether an idea, argument, narrative or artwork is effective. 

The Society for the Humanities invites applications from scholars and artists who are interested in participating in a productive, critical dialogue concerning the topic of Silence from a variety of disciplinary perspectives.

Qualifications

Fellows should be working on topics related to the 2025-26 focal theme of “Scale.” Their approach to the humanities should be broad enough to appeal to students and scholars in several humanistic disciplines. Applicants must have received the Ph.D. degree before January 1, 2024. The Society for the Humanities will not consider applications from scholars who received the Ph.D. after this date. Applicants must also have one or more years of teaching experience, which may include teaching as a graduate student. International scholars are welcome to apply, contingent upon visa eligibility.

Application Procedures

1. A curriculum vitae

2. A one-page abstract describing the research project the applicant would like to pursue during the term of the fellowship (up to 300 words)

3. A detailed statement of the research project (1,000 – 2,000 words). Applicants may also include a one-page bibliography of the most essential materials to the project.

4. A course proposal for a seminar related to the applicant’s research. Seminars meet 2.5 hours per week for one semester and enrollment is limited to a combined audience of advanced undergraduates and graduate students (capped at 15 students). The course proposal should consist of:

a. A brief course description suitable for the University course catalog (50-125 words)

b. A detailed course proposal (up to 300 words)

c. A list of the essential texts for the course

5. One scholarly paper (no more than 35 pages in length)

6. Two letters of recommendation from senior colleagues in your field (from any institution) to whom candidates should send their research proposal and teaching proposal. Letters of recommendation should include an evaluation of the candidate’s proposed research and teaching statements. Please ask referees to submit their letters directly through the application link. Letters must be submitted on or before September 20, 2024. 

The deadline to apply is September 20, 2024. Awards will be announced by the end of December 2024.

Note: Extensions for applications will not be granted. The Society will consider only fully completed applications. It is the responsibility of each applicant to ensure that all documentation is complete and that referees submit their letters of recommendation to the Society before the closing date. 

For further information:
Email: humctr@cornell.edu

About the Society for the Humanities

The Society for the Humanities was established at Cornell University in 1966 to support research and teaching in the humanities. It is intended to be at once a research institute, a stimulus to educational innovation, and a continuing society of scholars. The Society and its Fellows have fostered path-breaking interdisciplinary dialogue and theoretical reflection on the humanities at large.

societyhumanities.as.cornell.edu 

Diversity and Inclusion are a part of Cornell University’s heritage. We are a recognized employer and educator valuing AA/EEO, Protected Veterans, and Individuals with Disabilities. We also recognize a lawful preference in employment practices for Native Americans living on or near Indian reservations. If you need accommodations in order to complete the application, please contact Society for the Humanities staff at humctr@cornell.edu

Pay Range:

$56,484.00 – $80,000.00

Pay Ranges:

The hiring rate of pay for the successful candidate will be determined considering the following criteria:

• Prior relevant work or industry experience.
• Education level to the extent education is relevant to the position.
• Academic Discipline (faculty pay ranges reflects 9-month annual salary)
• Unique applicable skills.

Familiarize yourself with Cornell’s COVID-19 workplace guidance as well as the university’s COVID-19 services and information .

Employment Assistance:

For general questions about the position or the application process, please contact the Recruiter listed in the job posting or email mycareer@cornell.edu .

If you require an accommodation for a disability in order to complete an employment application or to participate in the recruiting process, you are encouraged to contact Cornell University’s Office of Institutional Equity and Title IX at voice (607) 255-2242, or email at equity@cornell.edu .

Applicants that do not have internet access are encouraged to visit your local library, or local Department of Labor. You may also request an appointment to use a dedicated workstation in the Office of Talent Attraction and Recruitment, at the Ithaca campus, by emailing mycareer@cornell.edu .

Notice to Applicants:

Please read the required Notice to Applicants statement by clicking here . This notice contains important information about applying for a position at Cornell as well as some of your rights and responsibilities as an applicant.

EEO Statement:

Diversity and Inclusion are a part of Cornell University’s heritage. We are a recognized employer and educator valuing AA/EEO, and we do not tolerate discrimination based on any protected characteristic, including race, ethnic or national origin, citizenship and immigration status, color, sex/gender, pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions, age, creed, religion, actual or perceived disability (including persons associated with such a person), arrest and/or conviction record, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender expression and/or identity, an individual’s genetic information, domestic violence victim status, familial status, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. We also recognize a lawful preference in employment practices for Native Americans living on or near Indian reservations in accordance with applicable law.