"2026-27 Frankel Institute Fellowship: Rethinking Antisemitism"

The Frankel Institute for Advanced Judaic Studies invites applications from scholars, artists, and other professionals investigating historical and contemporary antisemitism around the globe to participate in an academic-year residential fellowship at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. We welcome those exploring how anti-Jewish policies and attitudes manifest themselves in varied regions and eras; how they shape the realities and social position of Jews and Jewish communities; and how Jewish communities are responding today and have responded historically.

The urgency of convening scholars to consider these issues and questions emerges from the heightened political and social stakes of current global affairs. Many Jews around the world are considering whether the social contracts that seemed to secure their safety and place in civic, campus, and general societal spaces are illusory. In the face of these changing public realities and shifting discourses, scholars have also been reexamining prevailing views on antisemitism; testing methods to better measure its impact and prevalence; and searching for effective means to identify, combat, and limit its influence.

Approaches might include scholarship that deepens historical, cultural, and/or literary understandings of antisemitism; investigates how classic antisemitic tropes emerge in contemporary discourses; examines the effectiveness of anti-bias trainings and inclusivity efforts in relationship to antisemitism; collects and analyzes data on antisemitic incidents and sentiments around the globe; or places antisemitism within the context of other forms of bigotry, bias, and hatred.

We invite scholars, experts, and practitioners from an array of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences to join us in this multidisciplinary exploration. We encourage applicants to consider questions of diversity, inclusion, and the voices that are amplified or marginalized in different media contexts.

Qualifications

Fellowship applications are accepted from both tenured and untenured faculty as well as from recent Ph.D.’s without a tenure-track position and professors emeriti. Where appropriate, applications are accepted from independent artists, documentary filmmakers, and writers. For these non-academic applicants, a B.A. degree is required and a graduate degree is encouraged.

We encourage all applicants to apply for a full academic year, September - April. We also offer a limited number of single-term fellowships under special circumstances (please explain). Fall term runs September-December and Winter Term runs January-April. Fellows can serve no more than two terms within a period of four years.

The Frankel Institute is structured as a full-year residential fellowship; however, alternative arrangements may be available. If you are unable to reside in Ann Arbor and would like to request alternative arrangements, please explain.

Application Instructions

The Frankel Institute is structured as a full-year residential fellowship; alternative arrangements may be available. If you are unable to reside in Ann Arbor and requesting alternative arrangements, please explain.

Applications are due by November 2, 2025.

Applications are reviewed by the Institute’s Steering Committee and at least two external evaluators drawn from the Institute’s Academic Advisory Board. Notifications will be made no later than March 2026.

Document Checklist

To complete your application, you must upload the following documents in PDF format.

• Abstract of your proposed fellowship project (100 words) Submit under Research Plan in Interfolio
• Description of your proposed fellowship project (1,000 words) Submit under Proposal in Interfolio
• Current CV with a list of your publications
• 1 sample of completed work and/or work in progress (not more than 40 pages each)

All documents and other materials must be in English.

Letters of reference are not required. However, the committee requests reference contact information so that it is available if it wants more insight. Please be prepared to provide contact information for two references.

Eligibility

Fellowship applications are accepted from both tenured and untenured faculty and from recent Ph.D.’s without a tenure-track position and professors emeriti. Where appropriate, applications are accepted from independent artists, documentary filmmakers, and writers. For these non-academic applicants, a B.A. degree is required and a graduate degree is encouraged.

All offers of employment with the Frankel Institute for Advanced Judaic Studies are contingent on meeting all employment authorization requirements and applicable immigration regulations. All non-US citizens will need to obtain the proper visa/immigration status to work within the United States.

We encourage all applicants to apply for a full academic year (September-April). We also offer a limited number of single-term fellowships under special circumstances. Should you be interested in a single-term fellowship, the application will require that you explain the special circumstances. Please note that the Fall term runs September-December, and the Winter Term runs January-April. Fellows can serve no more than two terms within a period of four years.

The Frankel Institute is structured as a full-year residential fellowship. We have very limited slots for one-semester fellowships. If you are interested in only one semester, please submit an explanation for this request on the application form. We cannot accept remote participants. However, other alternative arrangements may be available in case of exceptional circumstances. You will have the opportunity to explain on the application form.

University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, & the Arts Faculty Eligibility:

All LSA faculty eligible to apply must be tenure–track, full–time faculty members engaged in major scholarly and/or creative projects in the humanities and/or interpretive sciences. They must have completed two consecutive terms of full–time teaching since their last leave of any kind. As this is a scholarly activity leave, terms on this award do not count toward sabbatical. Further, LSA faculty may apply to only one of the following in a given year: (1) Frankel Institute for Advanced Judaic Studies, (2) Institute for the Humanities, or (3) Michigan Humanities awards.

University of Michigan Emeritus faculty members are not eligible for the fellowship.

Compensation

All fellows receive compensation of $62,000 for a full academic year fellowship, or $31,000 for a single term. Additionally, University of Michigan health benefits are available for fellows who carry a 50% or greater appointment for four consecutive months.

Contact

Please contact js-frankel-institute-applications@umich.edu with any questions regarding the application or program requirements.