Position Description

The Migrations initiative at Cornell University aims to cultivate new collaborations that advance science, scholarship, teaching, outreach, and engagement in ways that generate new insights into critical problems. We wish to provide a stronger evidentiary basis for policy and to place Cornell University at the forefront of migrations studies around the world. The initiative is the recipient of a three-year grant of the Mellon Foundation’s Just Futures Initiative for its program “Cross-Border Movements: Racism, Dispossession, and Migration.”

Leading with a humanistic lens, the Cross-Border Movements program will be used to advance collaborative research, learning, and public engagement spaces around racism, dispossession, and migration. It will develop an antiracist and anticolonial agenda that transforms the university and advances racial justice. Thereby, it will focus on three thematic interdisciplinary themes:

•             Authority, Governance, and Racial Injustice

•             Climate, Dispossession, and Natural and Built Environments

•             Trafficking, Displacement, and the Right to Stay Home

Roles

The Migrations Postdoctoral Fellow will be conferred to an emerging scholar studying racism, dispossession, and migrations. The Fellow may conduct research in a wide range of humanistic disciplines, including but not limited to Anthropology, Art History, History, Migration, and Sociology.  We are particularly interested in someone working historically in any of these or allied fields.

The Fellow will be selected from a global pool of applicants based on their research’s promise for cultivating dialogue, nurturing collaboration across academic disciplines, and integrating, synthesizing, and building upon existing disciplinary contributions to research on racism, dispossession, and migrations. The candidates will also be evaluated based on how their research during the fellowship could benefit from and contribute to efforts by the Migrations initiative to advance Cornell’s position as a global leader in the study of migrations, racism and dispossession.

Scholars will be an affiliate of the Office of the Vice Provost for International Affairs’ Migrations initiative. While in residence at Cornell, the Fellow will work to generate new knowledge that addresses the key themes outlined above. Successful applications will likely identify possible connections across disciplines. In addition to their research, the Postdoctoral Fellow is expected to support the implementation of the Migration initiative particularly a) the public dissemination of research results via seminars, workshops, social media, public broadcasting, academic and public writing; b) the development and implementation of innovative curriculum; and c) the development of sustainable collaborations with regional community organizations and community colleges.

Anticipated Division of Time

The primary responsibilities of the Fellow include research and publication of their work as well as intellectual contributions to the interdisciplinary agenda of the Migrations initiative. Fellows interact with undergraduate and graduate students as well as faculty and teach one undergraduate course during the academic year (to be housed in the Global Development Department). During semesters when they are not teaching, awardees will split their time roughly between their independent research, and the research of the Migrations initiative. These activities including contributing the Migrations Forum (regular manuscript exchange workshop), overseeing our program of undergraduate Migrations Fellows, and contributing to programming activities as part of our Mellon Just Futures Initiative grant. When they are teaching, awardees will spend roughly 50% of their time on their independent research, 25% of their time on Migrations Lab projects, and 25% of their time teaching.

Requirements

Awardees must have earned the doctoral degree within five years of beginning their fellowship. Candidates with more than five years of postdoctoral experience, and those who received their PhD from Cornell are not eligible. Awardees may not simultaneously hold any other paid or unpaid position during the term of the appointment. Prior to the start of their fellowship, candidates will be asked to provide confirmation that their doctoral degree has been conferred.

How to Apply

• The completed application, including three letters of reference, must be received electronically by the application deadline of May 15, 2023 at 11:59 EDT through Academic Jobs Online (AJO https://academicjobsonline.org/).
• Applicants must submit a cover letter, including the expected (or actual) date that they will receive their PhD degree. Eligible applicants must have their PhD conferred prior to beginning the fellowship.
• Full CV in PDF format.
• Description of proposed research (maximum of 2 pages, single spaced, 12-point font, 1-inch margins, PDF format).
• Full name and contact information of three references, one of whom must be the applicant’s doctoral advisor. Recommenders will receive automated messages and can upload their reference letters directly to AJO. Please note that all references must be received by the application deadline on May 15.
• Applicants being seriously considered for the fellowship will be invited to participate in an interview via electronic conference with the selection committee.
• Please note that non-U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents who are offered a Migrations Fellowship will be required to provide additional information in order to obtain and/or valid visa and work authorization. The Migrations Fellowship does not support H1B visa status.
• Candidates will be notified of selection decisions from mid-June to end-June 2023.

Salary and Appointment Details

• Migrations Postdoctoral Fellow is appointed for 12-month term. The salary is a minimum of $62,000 plus Cornell employee benefits, including health insurance. Fellowship start date is negotiable between August 1 and September 1, 2023.
• In addition to the annual salary, Migrations Postdoctoral Fellows are provided with an annual professional development fund of $2,000 per fellowship year.
• The Fellow will have access to Cornell's facilities and be in residence at Cornell University in Ithaca.

Supervision Exercised

The Fellow will receive supervision and mentorship from the co-Directors of the Migrations Initiative, Shannon Gleeson, Edmund Ezra Day Professor of Labor Relations, and Eric Tagliacozzo, John Stambaugh Professor of History. The faculty will meet with the Fellow on a regular basis.