Call for Applications: University of Chicago: Postdoctoral Researcher, History of Knowledge

The Institute on the Formation of Knowledge at the University of Chicago invites applications for two-year Postdoctoral Researchers at the Rank of Instructor, to begin on July 1, 2019. Postdocs will join a community of leading scholars from across the university to study the process of knowledge formation and transmittal from antiquity to the present day and to explore how this history and culture shapes our modern world.

Applicants must demonstrate current research interests that straddle multiple fields. We are particularly interested in applicants working at the intersection of areas such as, but not limited to, technology, public policy, and ethics. We also invite applicants working on the Institute’s 2019-21 theme – medical genetics and the history of eugenics. We welcome applicants who come from groups that are historically underrepresented, such as women, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latinx, American Indian or Alaskan Native. We will evaluate applicants on the quality and quantity of publications, recommendations, and undergraduate teaching, and a demonstrated ability to work beyond disciplinary constraints.

The successful candidate must have a PhD before the start of the appointment. Postdocs will conduct individual research and may collaborate on topics including the current research theme.  The position is non-renewable and brings with it two years of salary at $63,000 per year, benefits, office space, pedagogical training, reimbursement of up to $2,500 for moving expenses, and a research allowance of $2,000 per year.

Institute Postdocs are expected, at the minimum, to:

• conduct their own research towards a book or other project;
• teach three 10-week courses per year (UChicago is on the quarter system) designed to appeal to a wide group of students; depending on teaching needs these courses may be graduate, undergraduate, team-taught, or in the Core;
• hone and document their teaching skills through engagement with the Chicago Center for Teaching (CCT);
• hone interview and job skills with UChicagoGRAD, an on-campus resource focused on guiding postdocs and graduate students toward professional satisfaction in academia;
• participate in the year-long Institute workshop series on Comparing Practices of Knowledge and present their work in one of the workshop sessions;
• submit an article based on research conducted during their Institute fellowship to KNOW:  A Journal on the Formation of Knowledge; and
• Write a one-page post for the Institute blog, connecting your research to current affairs.

The Institute will arrange for a faculty mentor and opportunities to forge personal and academic relationships across the University. Successful candidates will be appointed at the Institute and in the College, in addition to being affiliated with a relevant academic department(s). An office space will be provided and there is an expectation that it will be actively utilized and postdocs will participate in the life of the Institute.

Please submit the following application materials online at https://tinyurl.com/y7haw8gh for posting 03878 : (1) a one-page cover letter explaining how your research transcends individual disciplines and listing three examples of undergraduate courses that you would be most interested to teach, (2) an up-to-date c.v., and (3) a writing sample consisting of a chapter, essay, or article. And please arrange to have three letters of recommendation, with at least one attesting to the quality of undergraduate teaching, sent directly to sifk-apps@uchicago.edu. Any questions may be addressed to sifk-apps@uchicago.edu.

All recommendation letters and application materials must be submitted by midnight on Thursday, November 1, 2018. Candidates who make the shortlist will be interviewed via Skype, and candidates can expect to receive notice of the decision in February.