Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Religion, Culture, and Mental Health

Position Description

Ethnos-MH, funded by the John Templeton Foundation (Grant #63556), seeks to recruit one Postdoctoral Research Fellow for Ethnos-MH, a novel, global R/S competency program based on ethnographic methods for mental health professionals, which will be piloted in the United States, United Kingdom, and India. This project is led by Bhrigupati Singh (SOAS, CAMHRA) and Swayam Bagaria (Harvard Divinity School).

The postdoctoral fellows at Harvard will work directly under the supervision of Bagaria and help oversee the US segment of the program. This position is intended to support exceptional early-career academics, with existing anthropological training at doctoral and/or postdoctoral level in anthropology, religion and mental health. The fellows will be directly involved in the design, execution, and mentoring segments of the Ethnos-MH training program. As part of the fellowship, they will also be expected to produce their own individual research on R/S competency and mental health while also supervising the field-research project of their respective institutional cohort members. Further, the postdoctoral fellows will work to develop research objectives and future funding proposals for individual and joint research, with the assistance of Ethnos-MH directors. The fellows will also be expected to participate in the organizational and intellectual life at HDS, including attending workshops, events and conferences.

More information about the project is available here: https://www.templeton.org/grant/developing-a-global-training-program-in-ethnographic-methods-to-enhance-r-s-competencies-for-mental-health-professionals-ethnos-mh

Basic Qualifications

• PhD in Anthropology, Religious Studies, or Cultural Psychiatry.
• Strong familiarity with the institutional landscape of mental health delivery in the United States. Demonstrated expertise in the empirical study of mental health, broadly defined.
• Strong research and writing skills with a commitment towards scholarly publication.
• Strong project management skills with some experience supervising research theses at the undergraduate or graduate level.
• Ability to work collaboratively in an interdisciplinary research environment.

Additional Qualifications

• Background in writing for public audiences (blogs, opinion writing, etc.)
• Ability to bridge academic discussions with public engagement and community outreach
• Experience with editorial work or collaborative scholarly projects