Mellon Gateway Post-Doctoral Fellowship/Assistant Professor, Native American and Indigenous Studies

The Department of American Studies at Brown University invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track position as Assistant Professor of American Studies, with a focus on Native American and Indigenous Studies. The successful candidate will hold a 2-year Andrew W. Mellon Gateway Post-Doctoral Fellowship (appointment effective July 1, 2024) to be followed by a tenure-track Assistant Professorship (appointment effective July 1, 2026). We seek a scholar with expertise in Native American expressive culture, conceived broadly to include literature, visual and material culture, and/or performing arts, in any historical period. We particularly encourage applications from scholars with research and teaching expertise in publicly engaged scholarship and/or digital humanities methods, as well as an interest in developing introductory courses that contribute to the American Studies undergraduate curriculum.

  As affiliated faculty with Brown’s Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative (NAISI), the successful candidate will be part of an interdisciplinary network of NAIS scholars on campus and will be expected to offer courses that contribute to the undergraduate concentration in Critical Native American and Indigenous Studies (CNAIS, launched in 2023). As a post-doctoral fellow, the candidate will teach one course per semester in American Studies; these courses should also contribute to the CNAIS concentration. Upon appointment as Assistant Professor of American Studies, the candidate will teach the normal tenure-track course load of three courses per academic year (of which at least one course per year must contribute to the CNAIS concentration), as well as taking on departmental service commitments in American Studies.

  Faculty in tenure-track positions in American Studies are expected to maintain an active research profile and ultimately to publish “an impressive body of distinguished work that has importance for the candidate’s field” by the time of tenure review. As the home of Brown’s undergraduate concentrations in American Studies and Ethnic Studies, as well as a highly competitive Ph.D. program in American Studies, our department also places a high value on excellent teaching, advising, and mentorship.

   The goal of Brown’s Andrew W. Mellon Gateway Fellowship is to support the early career development of scholars and artists with a demonstrated commitment to eradicating racial disparities in higher education. As such, the Department of American Studies is especially interested in qualified candidates who can contribute, through their research, teaching, and/or service, to the diversity and excellence of the academic community. Candidates must hold a Ph.D. in American Studies or the discipline of their research specialization, conferred between 2019 and 2024 (or dissertation must be filed by August 1, 2024). Recipients of a Ph.D. from Brown University are not eligible to apply.