Michigan postdoc

The Department of Comparative Literature at the University of Michigan announces a two-year Postdoctoral Fellowship in Critical Translation Studies. The fellowship is funded by the College of Literature, Science and the Arts to provide a candidate with the opportunity to pursue independent scholarship related to translation, gain teaching experience, and engage with interdisciplinary translation initiatives across the university.

We welcome applications from scholars undertaking comparative research in histories, theories, and practices of translation, and engaging critically with current debates in the field. Projects may focus on any language or historical period, including analyses that work across different cultures and regions of the world. We encourage interdisciplinary projects in translation studies that develop innovative methods in dialogue with other fields, such as world literature; digital and visual cultures; film and media studies; postcolonial studies; critical race studies; gender studies; religious studies; philosophy; political theory; law; other core and emerging fields in the humanities (such as public humanities, medical humanities, environmental humanities).

The recipient will be appointed as a postdoctoral fellow for a two-year term beginning August 1, 2018, and is expected to be in residence during the academic year. Over two years, the postdoctoral fellow will teach a total of three courses related to the Minor in Translation Studies and the Graduate Certificate in Critical Translation Studies, and coordinate translation activities initiated by the Department of Comparative Literature. Mentoring and professional development training will also be an integral component of the position. The remainder of the fellow’s time will be devoted to pursuing research. Starting salary will be $50,000 plus benefits, and $3,000 for conference travel and research expenses.

Applications must be submitted via email to complit-positions@umich.edu no later than January 1, 2018. Applications must include the following as separate pdf attachments: cover letter with c.v. and dissertation abstract, research statement, teaching statement, writing sample related to critical translation studies (20-30 pages), three reference letters. The University of Michigan and the Department of Comparative Literature are committed to the core values of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Applicants are welcome to comment, either in the cover letter or in a separate statement, on how their research, teaching, and/or service experience will enhance our efforts to support these values and the needs of an increasingly diverse student population.

Eligibility

• Fellows must hold a PhD in a humanities discipline or in the humanistic social sciences.
• Applicants must be scholars who are not yet tenured and who are within 3 years of having received their PhD at an institution other than the University of Michigan.
• To be eligible for this competition, the degree must be received between August 2015 and August 2018.
• Applicants who do not yet hold a PhD but expect to file their final thesis prior to the starting date of the fellowship must provide a letter from their home institution (department chair, head of graduate studies, or advisor) confirming the degree award schedule.
• Selected recipients may not hold another fellowship simultaneous with this one.

For more information please see our Positions Available page.