The Fox Center for Humanistic Inquiry is pleased to open applications for our Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships. At a moment when fields such as "history of the humanities" and "humanities theory" are coming into view, and as hybrid formations such as digital humanities, health humanities, and public humanities are taking humanities scholarship into new academic and extra-academic spaces, we seek scholars whose research expands our horizons for thinking about the humanities as they have existed or are unfolding in our current moment. Applications are open to scholars in any field, area, or historical period.
Projects need not explicitly foreground "the humanities" (or related formations such as "liberal arts") as an object of inquiry, but they should clearly address any core issue of humanities scholarship or learning, including its methods, its objects, its histories, its values and social valuation, its contradictions, its publics, or its institutional or social locations.
Potential lines of inquiry include:
The Fox Center will appoint two Mellon Postdoctoral Fellows for one year (August 1, 2027-July 31, 2028), with the possibility of renewal for one additional year. Fellowships include a stipend of $62,000, a research budget of $2,000, and a one-time additional payment of $2,000 to defray the costs associated with moving to Atlanta, and competitive benefits including medical, dental, and vision care. Fellows are required to be in residence during the academic year for the term of the fellowship.
All postdoctoral fellows participate in a weekly interdisciplinary seminar, presenting their research at one of these meetings, and teach one undergraduate class in their area of expertise in the College of Arts and Sciences. If invited to continue for a second year, fellows will have additional teaching responsibilities and will receive teaching mentorship from Emory faculty in a relevant discipline.
The application deadline for applicants to submit their materials is December 7, 2026, at 11:59 PM ET. The deadline for receipt of letters of recommendation is December 11, 2026, at 11.59 PM ET.
All postdoctoral fellows must hold a PhD (or its international equivalent, such as the DPhil). Applicants may not have received their doctorate before January 1, 2024. Preference will be given to applicants who have not held prior postdoctoral fellowships. Applicants applying without a degree in hand must have successfully completed all degree requirements by June 30, 2027. Scholars from outside the United States are appointed under either the J-1 visa (Research Scholar status) or F-1 OPT (Optional Practical Training), depending on their circumstances. The Fox Center reserves the right to cancel awards if the recipient is unable to meet these conditions of completion and visa status.
To complete the online application, you will need to provide the following:
Please note that as part of the University’s Interfolio system, each applicant is required to complete the Equal Employment Opportunity form. The Fox Center will not have access to the completed form.
Specific Instructions
Project description: Applicants should give an overview of their research and their goals for the period of the fellowship. They should describe their engagement with the fellowship theme and how they would benefit from the interdisciplinary environment.
Syllabi: Each syllabus should include a course description, the presumed level of the course, readings, and representative assignments, but need not include a class schedule. One course should be close to the applicant’s area of research, and the other should be conceived more broadly. Courses may either be offered within an established discipline at Emory or may be conceived as interdisciplinary. [ Note: Actual teaching assignments will likely differ from the proposed courses; the fellowship selection committee will use these sample syllabi to get a sense of the applicants’ primary teaching interests.]
Recommendation letters: Recommenders are automatically notified by Interfolio to upload their letters to your application file. Be sure to leave enough time so that your letters of recommendation are submitted by the deadline.
It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that all required documents are uploaded to Interfolio and submitted. Incomplete applications cannot be considered after the deadline.
Acceptance Procedures
Upon notification of an FCHI Postdoctoral Fellowship Award, recipients must agree to:
Please note: The Postdoctoral Fellowships aim to create a diverse community of scholars-in-residence at the FCHI and to introduce the University to exciting humanistic work by emerging scholars nationally and internationally. As such, applicants who received (or will receive) their PhD from Emory University will not be considered. If for any reason a Fellow’s circumstances change and the grantee is unable to use the Fellowship during the academic year for which it was granted, the Fellowship will be forfeited. If the project involves human subjects, approval from the proper Emory Institutional Review Board Committee (IRB) is requiredbefore Fellowship funding can be released. For more information, please refer to this website: https://www.irb.emory.edu. If you have any questions, please contact the Fox Center at foxcenter@emory.edu. The FCHI regrets that it is unable to provide feedback on unsuccessful applications.
Emory is an equal opportunity employer, and qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by state or federal law. Emory University does not discriminate in admissions, educational programs, or employment, including recruitment, hiring, promotions, transfers, discipline, terminations, wage and salary administration, benefits, and training. Students, faculty, and staff are assured of participation in university programs and in the use of facilities without such discrimination. Emory University complies with Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Vietnam Era Veteran's Readjustment Assistance Act, and applicable executive orders, federal and state regulations regarding nondiscrimination, equal opportunity, and affirmative action (for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities). Inquiries regarding this policy should be directed to the Emory University Department of Equity and Civil Rights Compliance, 201 Dowman Drive, Administration Building, Atlanta, GA 30322. Telephone: 404-727-9867 (V) | 404-712-2049 (TDD).
Emory University is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. To request this document in an alternate format or to request a reasonable accommodation, please contact the Department of Accessibility Services at 404-727-9877 (V) | 404-712-2049 (TDD). Please note that one week's advance notice is preferred.
