AFAS Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2020-2021

The AFAS Postdoctoral Fellowship is intended to assist junior scholars whose research focuses on topics related to Africa, African Americans, and/or the African Diaspora in furthering their careers by providing them with opportunities for mentorship, advancing their research, and enhancing their teaching.

The Department of African and African American Studies (AFAS) at Washington University in St. Louis invites applications from recent Ph.D. graduates in the humanities and social sciences for a one-year postdoctoral fellowship, with the option to apply for a second-year renewal. The fellowship is intended to assist junior scholars whose research focuses on topics related to Africa, African Americans, and/or the African Diaspora in furthering their careers by providing them with opportunities for mentorship, advancing their research, and enhancing their teaching.

AFAS postdoctoral fellows are provided a competitive salary, support for research and research-related travel, office space, and computer equipment. They are expected to teach one course per semester based on their scholarly area of expertise and with the approval of the AFAS curriculum committee or the Chair. In addition, fellows will participate in the intellectual life of the unit and the university by giving and attending public lectures, mentoring undergraduate and graduate students, and participating in departmental activities. The fellowship begins in the fall semester of the 2020-2021 academic year.

How to Apply:

Applications are evaluated against a broad set of criteria, with special consideration given to contributions the candidate can make to diversify the University community and to deepen the scholarly inquiries of the department of African and African-American Studies and its curriculum. Applications should include: (1) a letter of interest that briefly explains the applicant’s scholarly interest, with a detailed statement of proposed research that will be pursued during the fellowship period (up to 5 pages); (2) a curriculum vitae; (3) one writing sample (a scholarly publication or dissertation chapter (maximum 30 pages); (4) three letters of recommendation, including one from the dissertation adviser. Washington University in St. Louis especially encourages applications from women, members of racial/ethnic minority groups, and disabled individuals. Applicants must be eligible to work in the United States and must have received a doctorate no earlier than spring 2017 and no later than July 1, 2020. Applications received by December 1, 2019 will be given priority consideration. All applications submitted by December 15, 2019 will be considered. 

Please submit your application materials by navigating to https://jobs.wustl.edu/ and searching for the job number 45523.

Further inquiries regarding the fellowship should be made by e-mail to: afas@ wustl.edu

Washington University is committed to the principles and practices of equal employment opportunity.  It is the University’s policy to recruit, hire, train, and promote persons in all job titles without regard to race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or genetic information.