Stanford University Postdoctoral Fellowship: Cultures of Nature in the American West

February 24, 2010

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STANFORD UNIVERSITY POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP: CULTURES OF NATURE IN THE AMERICAN WEST
Application Deadline: April 1, 2010

The Environmental Humanities Project, in collaboration with the Woods Institute for the Environment
and the Bill Lane Center for the American West at Stanford University, seeks applicants for a postdoctoral
fellowship focusing on cultures of nature in the American West. Applicants’ research should focus on how
cultures shape conceptions of nature, the natural, species boundaries, uses of plants and animals and natural
resources, the human body in its environmental dimensions, or environmental health and illness; how cultures of
nature form and dissolve; how cultures map nature, literally and metaphorically; how cultures of nature rooted
in particular places develop dimensions beyond that place (e.g. in the virtual realm); and what practical
differences such cultures make for human uses of the environment and in shaping nature.

The postdoctoral fellow will be a leader in the Environmental Humanities Project, a new initiative at Stanford
designed to develop an interdisciplinary community across departments, programs and research areas in the
Humanities involving environmental issues.

This community will also seek to build bridges to the social and natural sciences.
Fellows should be committed to this goal and will be expected to participate actively in building such a
community. In addition, they will teach one class and participate in workshops and seminars. The appointment
is for one year but may be renewed for an additional year. Applicants must have their doctoral
degree in hand 30 days prior to the appointment start date.

The concept of “cultures of nature” is conceived broadly to include indigenous, ethnic, class-based, local,
professional formations and subcultures. The American West is understood as the United States west of the
Mississippi, western Canada, Mexico, and their interfaces with the Pacific region. We welcome applicants from
anthropology, history, literary and cultural studies, political science, sociology and urban studies, as well
as candidates from the natural sciences with a strong interest in multidisciplinary methods and the
humanities. We particularly encourage applicants who are interested in working with a variety of sources,
including data, maps, images, and multimedia visualization techniques. Applicants should be comfortable
working in a collaborative research setting. The fellowship research project will be developed by the candidate in
collaboration with scholars from a variety of related disciplines, and will have an associated public outreach
dimension.

For further information please contact Ursula K. Heise uheise-at-stanford.edu, Professor of English, Director of
the Program in Modern Thought and Literature and faculty coordinator of the Environmental Humanities Project,
or Jon Christensen jonchristensen-at-stanford.edu, Executive Director, Bill Lane
Center for the American West, Stanford University
http://west.stanford.edu/fellowships/postdoc.html

Applicants should submit the following materials by April 1, 2010:
- Cover letter,
- CV,
- 1000-word project proposal,
- dissertation abstract,
- 25-page writing sample,
- three letters of recommendation.
Send application materials to: Prof. Ursula K. Heise,
Department of English, 450 Serra Mall Bldg. 460, Stanford University,
Stanford, CA 94305-2087.