A new postdoctoral research fellowship, designed by the University of Oregon’s Department of English in collaboration with the Department of Ethnic Studies, will merge the study of literature and culture with the study of race and ethnicity.
The new pilot program will bring two scholars of ethnic American literatures and cultural productions to the university for two-year stints. Fellows will serve in overlapping terms, with the first fellow beginning in fall 2016 and the second in fall 2017.
The goal of this interdisciplinary fellowship is to make visible the robust research and programming in race and ethnicity at the UO. Program organizers also are hopeful that the program’s prominence will help recruit and retain faculty members, graduate students and undergraduates from underrepresented groups.
“The impetus for this came out of our department diversity committee; our hope is to make concrete efforts to achieve more diversity in our faculty and curriculum,” said David Vázquez, associate professor and head of the UO Department of English.
Throughout their two years in Eugene, fellows will teach three classes cross listed in English and ethnic studies, with other faculty partnering with them in various research capacities. To support their research and professional development, postdocs will be expected to publish academic articles, work on book manuscripts and give public talks based on their scholarly interests.
Following trends in literary, media and cultural scholarship and in critical ethnic studies and American studies, the department encourages applications from a wide range of scholars. Although fellows will be housed in the English department, organizers urge applicants who study media, folklore or other forms of cultural production to apply.
The program also encourages those with expertise in other underrepresented areas of study — such as disability studies or gender and sexuality studies — to apply as well.
“Applicants must have a Ph.D. in hand by spring 2016,” Vázquez said. “We’re hoping to have a pretty sizable pool of applicants that have a demonstrated research agenda and primary research interests in the study of race and ethnicity — although we are very open to a range of methodological and theoretical approaches.”
After receiving half of the program’s funding from the College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of English connected with other units around campus to raise the rest of the necessary funds — totaling around $316,000 for both fellows.
The UO Division of Equity and Inclusion, the Office of Academic Affairs, the Office of Research and Innovation and the Department of Ethnic Studies all made significant contributions to the pilot program, demonstrating an institutional interest essential to achieving the long-term goal of the program, which is to secure an external grant that would sustain the program for years to come.
“The program is going to raise our visibility nationally, raise our overall research productivity and generate a lot of positive energy,” Vázquez said. “I think it’s going to be a great thing for the university.”
Those interested in applying should contact Vázquez for more information at vazquez@uoregon.edu.
— By Nathaniel Brown, Public Affairs Communications