The Cornell Institute of Archaeology and Material Studies (CIAMS) (https://archaeology.cornell.edu/) invites applications for a two-year Hirsch Postdoctoral Associate in Archaeology position, starting in Fall 2023. We invite applications from scholars who have completed the Ph.D. within the last three years with a specialization in archaeology (broadly defined). We especially seek applicants who offer areas of research and teaching that complement the existing CIAMS faculty (see https://archaeology.cornell.edu/faculty). The area of specialization is open, but we are particularly interested in scholars with research interests in the archaeology of the Western Mediterranean and related regions in Europe and/or North Africa within the past three millennia. We are also interested in candidates who can bring new analytical methods to CIAMS, including but not limited to paleoethnobotanical research. Given the interdisciplinary nature of the faculty, we seek scholars whose work addresses issues of broad intellectual significance.
The Hirsch Postdoctoral Associate will teach two courses per year, and will deliver at least one public lecture each year (one of which may form part of the CIAMS, Finger Lakes AIA, or NYSAA lecture series). Additionally, the position-holder will be responsible for organizing and moderating the CIAMS brown-bag workshop series during the first year, and for organizing and hosting a thematic speaker series during one semester of the second year. The balance of the Hirsch Postdoctoral Associate’s time is to be devoted to her/his own research. A faculty mentor will be appointed to assist the Hirsch Postdoctoral Associate with their professional development. The Hirsch Postdoctoral Associate is required to be in residence at Cornell during the semesters of her/his tenure, but is free to conduct fieldwork in the summer or during the winter break if desired. The salary for the position meets the NIH minimum commensurate with experience. Materials must be received by April 1, 2023 to receive full consideration. Eligibility: Applicants must have received the Ph.D. degree no earlier than January 1, 2020. Applicants who will complete all requirements for the Ph.D. degree (including filing the dissertation) before appointment in August 2023 are eligible to apply. The completion requirement for the Ph.D. degree will in no circumstances be waived or extended. Teaching: The position-holder is expected to teach four classes during the two years at Cornell, as follows: (1) a lower-level undergraduate course on a broadly-construed topic within his/her specialization; (2) a course on the practice of archaeology (on methods, ethics, etc.); (3) an upper-level course for a mix of undergraduate and graduate students on topics in his/her geographical area; and (4) a course of the applicant’s choosing. The timing and content of offerings will be negotiated after the fellow has accepted the position.
Applications: Applications must be submitted through Academic Jobs Online https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/24550. Please submit (1) a letter of application; (2) CV; (3) a statement on the applicant’s contribution to diversity, equity, and inclusion (4) a list of two courses (each with a 100-word description) that you propose to teach at Cornell; (5) a description of a possible theme for a series of 3–4 speakers in the second year; and (6) names and contact information for three references. Letters of reference and additional materials will be solicited for those applicants of the most interest to Cornell. Questions about the position or the application process should be addressed to Search Committee Chair Prof. Caitie Barrett at [email protected].
Fellowship Opportunity at the Wenner-Gren Foundation, Fellowship in Peer Review
The Wenner-Gren Foundation is a private operating foundation dedicated to the advancement of anthropology throughout the world. Located in New York City, it is one of the major international funding sources for anthropological research and is actively engaged with the anthropological community through its grant, fellowship, conference, publication, and capacity building programs. They help anthropologists advance anthropological knowledge, build sustainable careers, and amplify the impact of anthropology within the wider world.
The Fellowship in Peer Review is a two-year paid fellowship. The Fellow will play a pivotal role in helping Wenner-Gren in advancing its mission. The Foundation receives around 1,500 applications per year. To assist with the review process, they maintain a pool of some 60 reviewers from institutions across the world. Most of our applicants are seeking support for individual research projects. As an integral member of a small, hardworking team, the Fellow will assist the Foundation in supporting our applicants and identifying the most exciting, innovative projects to fund. The Fellow will take part in identifying and recruiting reviewers, vetting feedback, and tracking trends in the research Wenner-Gren supports. The ideal candidate will have an advanced degree in anthropology, be intellectually curious, discerning, and strongly committed to inclusion and racial justice, and have an expansive vision of the discipline. This individual will also be exceedingly well-organized and collegial and have experience assessing academic work. The Fellow in Peer Review must be an extraordinary writer, have excellent interpersonal skills, and enjoy serving and collaborating with a diverse community of scholars and professionals.
For more information on how to apply and key responsibilities, follow the link here.
Lecture: “Patchy Anthropocene: The Feral Impacts of Infrastructure”
Global climate change policy is not enough: environmental damage emerges patch by patch. It is up close and personal as well as planetary. Perhaps what we need is a “field guide” to the feral, that is, to nonhuman responses to human building projects that are out of human control: from noxious weeds to plagues to out-of-control carbon-dioxide emissions. This talk shows how we might address the Anthropocene in its granular particularity—while still attending to the global and the planetary.
Currently Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing is an internationally renowned anthropologist. In addition to over forty articles, Prof Tsing is the author of several award-winning books, including In the Realm of the Diamond Queen (1995) and Friction: An Ethnography of Global Connection (2005). In 2010, Prof. Tsing received a Guggenheim Fellowship, during which she wrote her multiple award–winning book, The Mushroom at the End of the World (2015), which considers how the matsutake mushroom is a figure for understanding global dilemmas of capitalism and the environment. Between 2013 and 2018, Prof. Tsing was Niels Bohr Professor at Aarhus University in Denmark, where she established a transdisciplinary program encompassing the humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, and the arts in an exploration of the “Anthropocene,” i.e., the geologic epoch defined by human disturbance of the earth’s ecosystems. From that project, she co-curated Feral Atlas: The More-than-Human Anthropocene (2021), a multi-disciplinary digital exploration of the Anthropocene. She is currently co-authoring a book that draws from that project, entitled Field Guide to the Patchy Anthropocene.
Date: Tuesday, March 28, 2023
Time: 5:30 PM EST
Location: Wolfensohn Hall and via Zoom
The Institute requires that anyone attending an in-person event be fully vaccinated. Please click here for IAS COVID-19 protocol information.
ARCE March 2023 Lecture: “The Astonishing History of a Famous Monument in Alexandra, Egypt.”
This talk will explore how and why Pompey’s Pillar – more properly known as Diocletian’s Column – has inspired storytellers, artists, and adventurers from Roman times to the present day. The enormous column is one of the few standing monuments preserved from ancient Alexandria in Egypt. It has survived numerous regime changes and earthquakes from the time it was set up on a high hill near the Mediterranean coast of Egypt. After the destruction of Alexandria’s famous ancient lighthouse, Pompey’s Pillar endured as a symbol of Alexandria and a celebrated landmark for travelers arriving in the city by land and sea. Presented by Dr. Paul Stanwick.
Date: March 25, 2023
Time: 2:00pm ET
CMRAE Summer Petrography Intensive
CMARE invites applications to their new summer intensive course on ceramic petrography. This course is designed for students and early career researchers with some pre-existing knowledge of ceramic petrography who wish to sharpen their analytical skills and implement this technique in their research. The program is an analog to an archaeological field school, but focuses on expanding participants’ knowledge of post-excavation research activities. The program will take placed July 24-August 18, 2023.
Students will spend one month in Boston honing their petrographic skills while getting hands-on training in micro-structural characterization and the identification of technological features as observed in ancient ceramics. The instructors will guide participants through a wide number of laboratory exercises that will build the necessary foundation for the detailed analysis of archaeological ceramic assemblages. Participants are strongly suggested to bring a set prepared thin sections from their own research to analyze during the course. For more information, please visit: web.mit.edu/cmrae/summer.
Interested students should fill out an initial application by March 31st. More details will be provided to accepted applicants.
For questions, please email Dr. Jennifer Meanwell ([email protected]) and Dr. Will Gilstrap ([email protected])