NEH Postdoctoral Fellowship in Poetics 2027-2028

We invite applications from scholars who are eager to be part of a community engaged in interdisciplinary conversations around our theme of Humanities Plural. (See below.) Research projects do not need to address the theme directly, but applicants should briefly address how the project relates to significant methodological, theoretical, or conceptual issues in the humanities. (For example, a project in an established scholarly tradition could make a case for the importance of carrying that tradition forward within the current humanities landscape; a project in an emerging area of scholarship could share some thoughts about interdisciplinarity or new methods.)

The Fox Center will appoint one NEH Postdoctoral Fellow in Poetics for the academic year 2027-28. The appointment will be for one year (August 1, 2027-July 31, 2028), with the possibility of renewal for one additional year. The fellowship includes a stipend of $62,000, a research budget of $2,000, and a one-time additional payment of $2,000 to defray the costs associated with moving to Atlanta. Fellows are eligible for a wide range of competitive benefits, including dental and vision care, and are required to be in residence for the term of the fellowship.

All postdoctoral fellows participate in a weekly interdisciplinary seminar, presenting their research at one of these meetings, and teach one undergraduate class in their area of expertise in the College of Arts and Sciences. If invited to continue for a second year, fellows will have additional teaching responsibilities and will receive teaching mentorship from Emory faculty in a relevant discipline.

The application deadline for applicants to submit their materials is December 7, 2026, at 11:59 PM ET. The deadline for receipt of letters of recommendation is December 11, 2026, at 11.59 PM ET.

Humanities Plural

At a moment when fields such as "history of the humanities" and "humanities theory" are coming into view, and as hybrid formations such as digital humanities, health humanities, and public humanities are taking humanities scholarship into new academic and extra-academic spaces, we seek to expand our horizons for thinking about the humanities as they have existed or are unfolding in our current moment. The questions we hope to address in our shared discussions and programming include: What are the contexts, across time and space, where humanistic learning occurs and matters (e.g., formal or informal academic settings, places of worship, prisons, online spaces, museums)? Where is humanistic scholarship enlisted into serving other systems of knowledge and value (e.g., medical schools, think tanks, revolutionary movements, corporate boardrooms), and what sorts of work is it asked to do there? Which communities have forged programs or practices of humanistic learning without having access to formal or elite institutional structures? What are the distinct methods, epistemologies, aesthetics, and/or values that take shape in these sites? What gave rise to "theory," where and why has it taken root, and what is its future? And how do or should "the humanities" function in hybrid formations, for example in digital humanities, environmental humanities, or health humanities?

Qualifications:

All postdoctoral fellows must hold a PhD (or its international equivalent, such as the DPhil). Applicants may not have received their doctorate before January 1, 2024. Preference will be given to applicants who have not held prior postdoctoral fellowships. Applicants applying without a degree in hand must have successfully completed all degree requirements by June 30, 2027. Scholars from outside the United States are appointed under either the J-1 visa (Research Scholar status) or F-1 OPT (Optional Practical Training), depending on their circumstances. The Fox Center reserves the right to cancel awards if the recipient is unable to meet these conditions of completion and visa status.

Application Instructions:

To complete the online application, you will need to provide the following:

• Cover letter (2 pages maximum)
• Project description (1000 words maximum)
• Writing sample (20-25 pages)
• Syllabi for two undergraduate courses
• Curriculum vitae
• E-mail information for three recommenders

Please note that as part of the University's Interfolio system, each applicant is required to complete the Equal Employment Opportunity form. The Fox Center will not have access to the completed form.

Specific Instructions

Project description: Applicants should give an overview of their research and their goals for the period of the fellowship. They should describe their engagement with the fellowship theme and how they would benefit from the interdisciplinary environment.

Syllabi: Each syllabus should include a course description, the presumed level of the course, readings, and representative assignments, but need not include a class schedule. One course should be close to the applicant's area of research, and the other should be conceived more broadly. Courses may either be offered within an established discipline at Emory or may be conceived as interdisciplinary. [Note: Actual teaching assignments will likely differ from the proposed courses; the fellowship selection committee will use these sample syllabi to get a sense of the applicants' primary teaching interests.]

Recommendation letters: Recommenders are automatically notified by Interfolio to upload their letters to your application file. Be sure to leave enough time so that your letters of recommendation are submitted by the deadline.

It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that all required documents are uploaded to Interfolio and submitted. Incomplete applications cannot be considered after the deadline.

Acceptance Procedures

Upon notification of an FCHI Postdoctoral Fellowship Award, recipients must agree to:

1. conduct writing and research in residence full-time at the FCHI for the academic year;
2. take full responsibility for contributing to and maintaining an environment conducive to academic research while at the Center;
3. submit a report of progress to the Director at the end of the Fellowship;
4. acknowledge the FCHI in all work resulting from research and writing done during the Fellowship;
5. teach an undergraduate course in the spring term of the Fellowship year;
6. attend all Fellows' seminars and thematic programming sponsored by the FCHI during their term of residence;
7. immediately notify the FCHI of any other support or of any conflicts with the restrictions and conditions of this Fellowship Program.

Please note: The Postdoctoral Fellowships aim to create a diverse community of scholars-in-residence at the FCHI and to introduce the University to exciting humanistic work by emerging scholars nationally and internationally. As such, applicants who received (or will receive) their PhD from Emory University will not be considered. If for any reason a Fellow's circumstances change and the grantee is unable to use the Fellowship during the academic year for which it was granted, the Fellowship will be forfeited. If the project involves human subjects, approval from the proper Emory Institutional Review Board Committee (IRB) is requiredbefore Fellowship funding can be released. For more information, please refer to this website: https://www.irb.emory.edu. If you have any questions, please contact the Fox Center at foxcenter@emory.edu. The FCHI regrets that it is unable to provide feedback on unsuccessful applications.