Postdoctoral Fellowships in Indigenous Studies (2)

Located on the ancestral lands of the Osage, Missouri, and Illini people, the Program in American Culture Studies at Washington University in St. Louis invites applications for two Postdoctoral Fellows working in Indigenous Studies. We are especially interested in applicants whose research, teaching, and/or creative practice deploys multidisciplinary perspectives, methods, and approaches to knowledge formation and transfer. As a multidisciplinary program, we welcome candidates from all fields in the humanities and interpretive social sciences; candidates working in Indigenous histories, literatures and languages, popular culture, environmental studies, arts, and other fields are welcome to apply. Candidates whose work engages comparative and/or relational approaches, including candidates whose work intersects with Latinx studies, Asian American studies, and Black studies, are also encouraged to apply. 

American Culture Studies (AMCS) is an endowed program in the College of Arts & Sciences that fosters cross-disciplinary intellectual exchange and transformative scholarship at the intersections of the humanities and social sciences. These fellowships support the Fellows’ intellectual development through productive academic exchange and collaboration. In addition, Fellows teach two courses in the program per year and actively contribute to the intellectual life of AMCS through participation in the program’s interdisciplinary workshops and events. Accordingly, the Fellows are expected to be in residence during the fellowship period, apart from research-related travel. Each Fellow will receive a salary of $58,500 per year, plus benefits; a $3,000 annual research/travel stipend; and the possibility for a workshop to support the peer review of a polished book manuscript.

Both positions begin July 1, 2023, and have the possibility of renewal for a second academic year (2024-2025), contingent upon satisfactory performance. Applicants must defend the dissertation prior to the start date of July 1; please include in your cover letter information about the progress of your dissertation as well as the date of completion (completed or expected). To apply, please upload a cover letter, cv, and contact information for three references to Interfolio by the application deadline of December 1, 2022. Additional materials, including letters of recommendation, may be requested at a later date.

Washington University in St. Louis is committed to the principles and practices of equal employment opportunity and especially encourages applications by those underrepresented in their academic fields. It is the University’s policy to provide equal opportunity and access to persons in all job titles without regard to race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or genetic information.

How to Apply

All applications will be processed via Interfolio. Click here for the relevant page.

Complete the online form and upload your supporting materials (merged into one .pdf file).  See Questions 2 and 3 in the below FAQ for the materials and how to upload them.

All Applications and supporting materials must be submitted/received by 11:59 PM Central Time on Thursday, December 1, 2022.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Because we expect to receive a large volume of applications, please read through the following F.A.Q. before contacting us.

1) What is the deadline for application submission?

All applications must be submitted online through Interfolio by 11:59 PM Central Time on Thursday, December 1, 2022. This includes your Cover Letter and CV.

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

2) What application materials are required in order to have my application be considered complete?

A completed application consists of the online application form and two (2) required supporting documents.

  1. Cover Letter
  2. CV with list of recommenders

All materials must be uploaded as .pdf files.

Please do not upload any other materials than those requested.  They will not be reviewed.

Candidates who advance to our next round will be asked for supplemental materials at that time.

4) Can I submit my Cover Letter and CV via email?

No. The Interfolio page is designed to allow you to upload these materials, and it also serves as the portal through which our Selection Committee reviews these materials.

5) What is the latest date by which I should have conferred my PhD in order to be eligible for this postdoctoral fellowship?

Candidates must have received their PhD since July 1, 2019 or be scheduled to defend before July 1, 2023.

6) Who can I contact to make sure all of my application materials are received?

You should receive a confirmation notification automatically through the Interfolio portal once you’ve submitted your application.

Should you have any issues or concerns about your application process or experience, you may email AMCS.

Given the anticipated volume of applicants, we appreciate your patience if our response time takes a couple days.

7) Should I submit additional documents such as letters of recommendation, course syllabi, and/or transcripts along with my other application materials?

No.  Please do not submit any additional information or materials in your initial application as they will not be reviewed.

Candidates who advance to our next round will be asked to submit a Writing Sample (no more than 25 pages), and to have up to three (3) letters of recommendation submitted on their behalf by mid-January 2023 (exact date TBA).  We encourage all applicants to have a Writing Sample in mind and to alert your letter-writers to this potential deadline.

8) When do you expect to begin the interview process? By when do you anticipate having the final selection made?

We plan on contacting the Candidates who advance to the next round for additional materials in late December with a deadline for receipt of the materials by mid-January.

We hope to conduct Zoom Interviews with our semi-finalists in late January through early February.  The final candidates will have the opportunity to visit the campus sometime in late February or early March.  We anticipate making our final selection by mid-March 2023.

9) Is this position benefits-eligible?

Yes. Please go to Postdoctoral Appointees for further information on benefits offered to Postdoctoral Fellows through Washington University in St. Louis.

10) What is the teaching course load for this fellowship?

The Postdoctoral fellow will teach two courses in our undergraduate program each academic year, and actively contribute to the intellectual life of AMCS.  Specific teaching assignments will be made in consultation with program directors and will be based on AMCS’s needs as well as the fellows’ teaching expertise.

11) Will I have opportunities to travel to conferences and to conduct research outside of the Washington University community?

Yes. Our Postdoctoral Fellows are encouraged to attend conferences critical to their particular research interests.  The annual travel/research stipend of $3,000 is offered for this particular purpose.

 Contact Information

Please direct all inquiries to AMCS.

Please visit  American Culture Studies  for more information about our program.


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