The American University of Beirut (AUB) invites applications for two Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships in the Arts and Humanities for the academic year 2016–17.

Post-doctoral fellowships are designed to support new PhDs as they transition into the professoriate and establish their own paths as educators and researchers. The dynamic integration of the fellowships with the programmatic activities of the Center for Arts and Humanities will sustain a transformational and independent forum for collaborative and interdisciplinary curricular experimentation, research, intellectual dialogue, and production.

During the academic year, each fellow will pursue his or her pre-defined research agendas as well as design and teach one course each semester which experiments with innovative approaches in course delivery or explores new lines of inquiry. Fellows will be active as organizers and participants in the Center’s regular programmatic activities which give equal emphasis to research, teaching, and curricular renewal (including structured discussions, “crash courses”, workshops, annual conference, etc.).

Each new postdoctoral fellow will be matched with an established faculty member in the same department who will serve as a mentor throughout the fellowship. Additional input and support for teaching and research will be provided by the program of activities established by and for the core group of fellows; and by interactions with AUB Faculty Fellows. Postdoctoral fellows will also gain valuable international experience through possible participation in CAH’s collaborative and exchange projects with other universities in the region.

An important part of the core group program will involve familiarizing fellows with new research and teaching methodologies, such as the digital humanities, high-impact educational practices, and scholarship on student learning. Other forms of professional development ranging from the pedagogical to the technological will be provided by specialized University units, such as the Center for Teaching and Learning (student learning assessment; faculty portfolios); the Office of Grants and Contracts (grant proposals); the University Writing Center (developing writing-intensive courses); and Academic Core Processes and Systems (scholarly technologies).

Eligibility Requirements

• Applicants’ research and teaching interests must involve one or more of the following disciplines: Anthropology, Arabic Language, Arabic Literature, Archaeology, Art History; English Language, Fine Arts (visual arts, theatre, and music), History, Islamic Studies, Literature, Philosophy, Sociology, and other closely related disciplines.
• Applicants must have received their doctoral degrees within five years prior to the appointment start date.
• Individuals who have held other postdoctoral fellowships are not barred from applying.