Mellon Postdoctoral Associate

Job Description

The Department of Religion and Culture at Virginia Tech invites applications for a three-year postdoctoral associate position that will begin Fall 2023. The successful applicant will benefit from professional mentoring and the opportunity to gain experience teaching as well as planning and participating in scholarly public engagement activities. Members of groups historically underrepresented in the professoriate are especially encouraged to apply. Successful applicants will be distinguished by their scholarly excellence and commitment to social justice research and work.

The successful candidate will teach three undergraduate Appalachian Studies courses per year. The Department of Religion and Culture’s Appalachian Studies program supports the Pathways minor in Appalachian Cultures and Environments in addition to Appalachia-focused students in our two majors, Religion and Culture along with Humanities for Public Service. The postdoc will be part of a vibrant departmental community and may engage in departmental activities and service.

We seek candidates who demonstrate a commitment to a program of research and/or engagement in Appalachian Studies and a record of successful teaching. We invite applications that attest to the candidate’s ability to teach “Introduction to Appalachian Studies” (40 students per class) as an interdisciplinary humanities course to students from across all colleges of Virginia Tech. The successful candidate may be invited to teach one Appalachian Studies course per year in the instructor’s particular area of expertise.

The successful candidate will assist with intellectual leadership and coordination for Virginia Tech’s Mellon Foundation-funded Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia project, a joint effort between the Appalachian Studies Program and the Center for Refugee, Migrant, and Displacement Studies. The Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia project works collaboratively with community members, local organizations, artists, scholars, and educators to document and display histories and experiences that have been silenced, denied, or excluded by existing monuments that dominate public spaces. New monuments in Appalachian Virginia and in Eastern Siouan lands more broadly will seek to highlight stories that illuminate: the diversity of communities with regard to race, ethnicity, indigeneity, national origin, sexuality, and more; movement across the landscape via migration and population displacement; regional ecologies, resource extraction, and environmental change; and struggles for social justice including feminist, anti-racist, environmental justice, and pro-labor movements.

Required Qualifications

- PhD or terminal degree in a humanities or social sciences field or related discipline, with Appalachian Studies as an area of specialization in the dissertation project. PhD must be awarded no more than two years prior to the effective date of appointment with a minimum of three years eligibility remaining.
- Record demonstrating potential for excellence in research.
- Record demonstrating potential for excellence in teaching.
- Demonstrated interest or experience in justice-centered community engagement.
- Ability and willingness to work collaboratively with faculty, students, and members of the public from diverse populations.

Preferred Qualifications

- Demonstrated commitment to discussion and engagement in the undergraduate classroom as well as to scholarly and pedagogical engagement with: the social construction of Appalachia; regional history, including questions of race, whiteness, racialization, displacement, and the region’s role in global economies; cultural productions from or about the region (e.g. literature, film); and current issues (e.g. health, resource extraction, climate justice).
- Experience working for and/or with community or grassroots organizations that represent a diverse range of Appalachian people and communities, including Indigenous, Black, Latinx, migrant, rural, urban, working-class, poor, and LGBTQ+ individuals and collectivities.
- Willingness/ability to travel throughout Appalachian Virginia for community engagement work 3-4 times per year.

Salary Information

Salary information: $65,000 salary plus benefits, to include health and retirement available to faculty positions, as well as a contribution toward moving expenses. The successful applicant will also be eligible to apply for research and conference travel funds from the Department of Religion and Culture.

Review Date

March 15, 2023

Application Materials

• A cover letter explaining your interest in the position (to include teaching Appalachian Studies and contributing to the goals of the Monuments project) and how you meet the required and preferred qualifications.
  
  
• A curriculum vitae.
  
  
• Contact information for two references, who will be invited to submit their letters of recommendation for shortlisted candidates.
  
  

Additional Information

The successful candidate will be required to have a criminal conviction check.

About Virginia Tech

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech pushes the boundaries of knowledge by taking a hands-on, transdisciplinary approach to preparing scholars to be leaders and problem-solvers. A comprehensive land-grant institution that enhances the quality of life in Virginia and throughout the world, Virginia Tech is an inclusive community dedicated to knowledge, discovery, and creativity. The university offers more than 280 majors to a diverse enrollment of more than 36,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students in eight undergraduate colleges , a school of medicine , a veterinary medicine college, Graduate School , and Honors College . The university has a significant presence across Virginia, including the Innovation Campus in Northern Virginia; the Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke; sites in Newport News and Richmond; and numerous Extension offices and research centers . A leading global research institution, Virginia Tech conducts more than $500 million in research annually.

Virginia Tech does not discriminate against employees, students, or applicants on the basis of age, color, disability, sex (including pregnancy), gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, or military status, or otherwise discriminate against employees or applicants who inquire about, discuss, or disclose their compensation or the compensation of other employees or applicants, or on any other basis protected by law.

If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Katrina Powell at kmpowell@vt.edu during regular business hours at least 10 business days prior to the event.

Advertised: February 14, 2023
Applications close: