Open call for 2023–24 Human Rights & the Arts Fellowships at Bard College

The posts are headquartered at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, and will require residency for the academic semester. Fellowships offer a full-time salary of $65,000 USD, health insurance, and a research budget. Fellows are required to participate in Bard’s and the Open Society University Network’s academic life, conduct their own research, and contribute to the CHRA’s public programming.

Fellows will conduct their own research or creative work within the Center’s interdisciplinary and critical framework, as well as contribute to the curriculum of the Center’s M.A. Program in Human Rights and the Arts by teaching one course every semester.

The MA Program in Human Rights and the Arts provides a two-year graduate-level interdisciplinary curricular experience that examines the expanding intersection of human rights and the arts as realms of academic study and professional work. The curriculum is built on adaptable and difficult graduate-level coursework that includes theory, case studies, and studio classes. Furthermore, as their capstone project, all students are expected to effectively deliver a research-based academic thesis or an artistic performance/film/installation.

The OSUN Center for Human Rights and the Arts (CHRA) at Bard College in the Hudson Valley of New York (occupied homelands of the Munsee and Muhheaconneok people). CHRA seeks to encourage new ways of thinking about the confluence of human rights and the arts; to produce new research, practice, and engagement initiatives; and to foster new ties among activists, scholars, and artists. The Center offers a variety of annual public programming geared toward the MA student, Bard College, OSUN partner institutions, and the general public: a talk series, digital commissions, collaborations with activist groups, workshops, and a biennial festival that takes place at Bard College and across the OSUN network. Featured artists and activists have included Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Kenyon Adams, Cooking Sections, Mohammed El-Kurd, Forensic Architecture, Coco Fusco, Suzanne Kite, Zayaan Khan, Faustin Linyekula, Layli Long Soldier, Ernesto Pujol, Benji Rha, Vivien Sansour, Hamed Sinno, Juliana Steiner, Jordan Weber, and Eyal Weizman, among others.

The fellowship program’s purpose is to assist exceptional thinkers and practitioners, therefore strengthening research, creativity, and teaching at the interface of human rights and the arts. Each year, the Center will give one Fellowship to a practitioner (artist or activist/advocate) and one to a researcher or scholar. We acknowledge that these groups are frequently ambiguous and urge applicants who cannot clarify to which group they belong in advance.

Compensation and benefits
Fellows will receive a full-time salary and health insurance. Fellows will also be provided with a research budget, office space, and library access.

Expectations
The Fellows will focus their study or practice on the nexus of human rights and the arts during the 2023-24 academic year, and will work as part of a team of faculty and students at the Center. Furthermore, the Fellows are expected to: Deliver a public discussion on a relevant issue based on their work during their appointment year. Design and teach one graduate course each semester in the MA Program in Human Rights & the Arts, with the understanding that such courses will be open to the broader Bard College and OSUN communities. Participate actively in the OSUN Center for Human Rights & the Arts’ public life, including taking part in or organizing public events, productions or exhibitions, workshops or conferences. Be a resident of Bard College or the surrounding area, or demonstrate to the program’s satisfaction the ability to provide significant campus presence in order to fulfill obligations involving in-person involvement (e.g., teaching, office hours, attendance at events, etc.)

Please keep in mind that fellows may not hold additional fellowships or visiting posts at the same time, and that appointments cannot be deferred to a subsequent term.

Qualifications
Applicants must have a terminal degree or equivalent training and professional accomplishment in their field, teaching or lecturing experience at the university level, and a track record of effective research and scholarship, artistic practice, or civic participation and advocacy.

Application instructions
Candidates should apply online by submitting the following documents to Interfolio here.  A cover letter outlining your professional objectives, qualifications, current research, and proposed work for the appointment duration. The statement should not be more than 1,500 words. Curriculum vitae and a list of publications, performances, exhibits, or projects are required. A teaching statement of no more than 500 words, including a comment on diversity, inclusion, and equality in the context of this Fellowship, as well as brief summaries of two suggested courses, is required. A recent example of scholarly, creative, or professional effort. Three professional references’ contact information is provided. Name, title, institutional affiliation, email address, and phone number are required.

Deadline
All materials must be received by Thursday, January 5, 2023, 11:59pm EST. The position begins on July 1, and Fellows are expected to be in residence at the College during the teaching semesters.