Mellon Postdoctoral Researcher, History of Art and Architecture, University of Massachusetts

Sawyer Seminar Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Massachusetts Amherst

 

UMass Amherst’s College of Humanities and Fine Arts invites applications for a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in association with its 2022-2023 Sawyer Seminar “Race and Visual Culture in the Americas, 20th to 21st Centuries.” The project investigates the ways that artistic practices and discourses intersect with other forms of visual representation, with direct consideration of how the politics of race and intersectional identity shape the parameters of cultural knowledge. The Seminar will bring together scholars from different fields in order to examine the historic and contemporary significance of race in shaping cultural identity and to break down the colonial framework of humanistic knowledge in thediscipline of art history. It also relates to a public art commission for the large Puerto Rican diaspora community inHolyoke, MA, in partnership with the community organization El Corazón/The Heart of Holyoke. The Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow will be an active organizer and participant in the Sawyer Seminar, attending all events and giving one scholarly presentation as part of the seminar.

 

About UMass Amherst

 

UMass Amherst, the Commonwealth's flagship campus, is a nationally ranked public research university offering a full range of undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University sits on nearly 1,450-acres in the scenicPioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, and offers a rich cultural environment in a bucolic setting close to major urban centers. In addition, the University is part of the Five Colleges (including Amherst College, Hampshire College, MountHolyoke College, and Smith College), which adds to the intellectual energy of the region.

 

Job Summary

 

The Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow will play a vital role in organizing and coordinating the Sawyer Seminar, while also developing relationships with the Department of the History of Art and Architecture and the interdisciplinary scholarly and artistic community at UMass and the Five Colleges. In conjunction with the seminar, the Fellow will also convene related discussions of research methods with a select group of graduate students from across campus, with the goal ofparticipating in “mutual mentoring” relationships among faculty and graduate students and supporting interdisciplinary dialogue among a range of departments. The successful candidate will contribute to our goals of broadening the scope of art history as a discipline in dialogue with a wide range of humanities fields, and critique the historical exclusions perpetuated by the discourse of “art” as well as disciplinary boundaries that have been shaped by histories and legaciesof slavery and colonialism.

 

Essential Functions

 

The Fellow will play a key role in planning, implementing, and running the seminar in 2022–23 and coordinating with El Corazón/The Heart of Holyoke. The Fellow will organize a satellite seminar for the seminar’s graduate student participants, which will include de-briefing after the seminar meetings, and allow students to present on their own research, workshop papers and proposals, and discuss research methods. The Fellow will present their work at the finalconference in April, and offer a public lecture at UMass during the academic year. They will also have the opportunity toteach a seminar in History of Art and Architecture or another appropriate department in the Spring 2023 term.

 

Other Functions

 

The fellow will be expected to take active part in the intellectual culture of the department of the History of Art and Architecture, engaging with the department’s M.A. students as well as other departments at UMass and the FiveColleges.

 

Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience, Certifications, Licensure)

 

PhD in History of Art and Architecture or a related field (ABDs who will finish by Aug. 30, 2022 are also eligible to apply). We are seeking candidates with a background in any field of the humanities or fine arts, with expertise in modern and contemporary visual culture in the Americas, as well as histories of race and colonialism.

 

Preferred Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience, Certifications, Licensure)

 

Applicants for the position should be within 5 years of completing a PhD in the History of Art and Architecture or related discipline.

 

Work Schedule

The one-year position begins Sep. 1, 2022 and ends Aug. 30, 2023.

 

Salary Information

 

The twelve-month fellowship provides a salary of $54,158.94 plus benefits. The Fellow will be provided with office spacewithin the Department of the History of Art and Architecture.

 

Documents required for the application:

Cover letter, CV, research statement, three letters of recommendation, and a writing sample of no more than 25 pages.

 

https://careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-us/job/511231/postdoctoral-research-associate-u-of-m

 

Application Deadline: January 15, 2022

Please direct questions to Seminar conveners Ximena Gómez and Karen Kurczynski at sawyerseminar2022@umass.edu.

 

UMass Amherst is committed to a policy of equal opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, age, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, disability, military status, or genetic information in employment, admission to and participation in academic programs, activities, and services, and the selection of vendors who provide services or products to the University. To fulfill that policy, UMass Amherst is further committed to a program of affirmative action to eliminate or mitigate artificial barriers and to increase opportunities for the recruitment and advancement of qualified minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and covered veterans. It is the policy of the UMass Amherst to comply with the   applicable federal and state statutes, rules, and regulations concerning equal opportunity and affirmative action.