Mellon Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, Asian American Studies

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Although this position will remain open until filled, review of candidates’ materials will begin on April 15, 2024. 

The Asian and Asian American Studies Program (AIS) at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas invites applications for a Mellon Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship in Asian American Studies. The fellowship is part of the new and exciting Neon Pacific Initiative, a three-year project funded by the Mellon Foundation that aims to expand, enhance, and elevate the placemaking and public-facing scholarship activities happening in UNLV’s AIS Program. The fellowship is designed to support a scholar who adopts a humanities place-based approach to research topics in Asian American Studies with expertise in one or more of the following areas: cultural politics, popular culture, race and space, urban and/or suburban placemaking, and social and cultural identity in the built environment. We are especially interested in candidates whose research and teaching center on Pacific Islanders and/or Asian American communities typically underrepresented in academic literature and civic life, and who are committed to digital humanities and/or collaborative public scholarship. 

As a member of the AIS Program, the fellow will be housed in the Department of Interdisciplinary, Gender & Ethnic Studies (IGES) in the College of Liberal Arts (COLA). They will be expected to advance their own research agenda under the guidance of an AIS faculty member. In addition to mentorship, access to university resources, and research funds, the fellow will also be supported with a range of professional development opportunities. The fellow will also be expected to contribute to the intellectual life and development of AIS, which includes 1) serving on the Neon Pacific Podcast advisory board, 2) having the option to teach one upper-division AIS course per year, ideally based on their research, 3) attending symposiums, 4) participating in the AIS mentorship program, and 5) giving a public presentation on their research in the final semester of the fellowship period. The fellowship aims to accelerate the demographic transformation of US academic faculties and institutional leadership through research and career development opportunities for scholars whose work will enhance and elevate the humanities at UNLV and local communities.  This is a temporary Postdoctoral position with a start date of July 01, 2024, and with the potential for renewal for an additional year.

Learn more about this opportunity here.