MII Application
Washington University in St. Louis announces the 24th year of Modeling Interdisciplinary Inquiry, a postdoctoral fellowship program endowed by the Mellon Foundation, designed to support postdoctoral research that bridges disciplines across the humanities and humanistic social sciences in novel ways. Postdoctoral fellows are appointed for a term of two years and participate in campus life at WashU through their residence in the Center for the Humanities, their teaching in the undergraduate program, and their participation in workshops and reading groups. Since the aim of the fellowship is to facilitate and enrich research in the humanities that straddles fields, postdoctoral fellows are supported by mentors that help navigate disciplines of interest. Applications are due December 19.
Do I need to identify and contact a mentor before I apply?
Applicants are not expected to find their own mentor before application. We will take care of this aspect once the fellows have been hired.
To whom should I address my cover letter?
Cover letters may be addressed to either the Selection Committee or to Professor Stephanie Kirk, director of the Center for the Humanities and the Modeling Interdisciplinary Inquiry Fellowship.
Is this postdoc for humanities PhDs only? May fellows in other disciplines apply?
This postdoc is for humanists or humanistic social scientists only.
Who’s on the Selection Committee?
The Selection Committee changes from year to year but will always feature faculty from an array of humanistic disciplines. You should not expect that your file will be reviewed by faculty from your home discipline, although they may be consulted.
When will I hear back about my application?
Each year the timeline is slightly different. The Selection Committee will aim to inform applicants about the current timeline by mid February.
Do I have to report to someone regularly?
This is a residential fellowship, and fellows are expected to meet regularly with their mentors, to participate in campus intellectual life and to log plenty of office and library time. The Center for the Humanities hosts a regular postdoc workshop that fellows will attend along with other postdocs in the humanities.
Where is MII housed, administratively?
The MII Fellowship is housed in the Center for the Humanities, which hosts five types of fellowships for members of the WashU humanities community, from undergraduate to senior faculty, and three fellowships for external humanities scholars along with a wide variety of reading and writing groups. The center organizes two to three signature events annually and several additional workshops and smaller events.
What sorts of courses do postdocs teach? Do I get to teach courses in my home discipline?
Fellows will teach in their home discipline or in interdisciplinary programs. We encourage our fellows to design transdisciplinary courses. Assigned courses may be for undergraduate or graduate students.
8. What should go into the proposal for an interdisciplinary advanced undergraduate seminar?
In the description, please explain how the class is interdisciplinary, identify some of the key readings and explain what the requirements and learning outcomes for students would be.