University of Pennsylvania: Global Innovation Program Postdoctoral Fellowships 2021-2022, USA
Deadline for applications: January 4, 2021
DESCRIPTION
The Global Innovation Program at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perry World House invites applications for its postdoctoral fellowship program during the 2021-2022 academic year. The Global Innovation Program is the research arm of Perry World House, the University of Pennsylvania’s hub for global engagement and interdisciplinary international policy research. Perry World House connects Penn to the international policy world through research, student engagement, and public programming, bringing the university’s intellectual resources to bear on the urgent global challenges of the 21st century.
We hope to bring several postdoctoral fellows to campus for the 2021-2022 academic year. We are seeking excellent scholars who study global affairs and have interests in interdisciplinary outreach and policy relevance. We are particularly interested in applicants in the following areas:
The Future of the Global Order: Power, Technology, and Governance
Global Shifts: Urbanization, Migration, and Demography
The Future of the Global Order
Changes in global economic, military, and technological circumstances are evident in growing concerns around the world about the future of arms control, multilateral economic institutions, technological decoupling, the future of the Islamic State, and more. The post-Cold War global order may be at a tipping point. In addition, systemic trends, such as globalization and climate change, mean that the challenges of today and tomorrow will be global – and require global responses. The role of automated trading algorithms in the 2010 “Flash Crash” in the United States, combined with the specter of drone warfare around the world due and the proliferation of military robotics, highlight how the intersection of technologies, such as cyber and robotics, presents enormous challenges for global business and diplomatic norms. In a time of change, academic research has the potential to shed significant light on these issues and highlight new and important approaches for the global policy community.
In this theme area, Perry World House will focus in part, but not exclusively, on four areas: the impacts of emerging technologies for global politics, shifting global power balances and how they influence both state and non-state actors, the evolution of international legal regimes, and the ability of the international community to sustain effective governing institutions in times of change. We particularly hope to have a postdoctoral fellow as part of our new project on emerging technologies and global politics.
Global Shifts
Crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change-induced extreme weather events, as well as growing urbanization, migration, and demographic changes, are radically transforming the human environment and creating new risks to well-being. New and changing migration patterns, whether propelled by armed conflicts, instability due to environmental changes, or economic hardships have profound consequences for people on the move and for those left behind. Similarly, the true risks of climate change are a function not just of hazards such as rising sea levels, fires, and tropical cyclones, but the physical location of people and the level of community and government support in place.
Explaining these complex societal changes, and the policy responses necessary to address them, requires a multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary approach. Perry World House’s Global Shifts program aims to develop an analytical understanding of these problems and suggest new policy approaches to them. It draws on the University’s expertise in urban studies, sociology, demography, law, philosophy, health sciences, environmental sciences, and political science to do so. We invite postdoctoral fellows working within any of these sub-thematic areas, and especially encourage scholars working at the intersection or across multiple of them—such as climate change’s effects on migration patterns or the impact of city policymaking on migration and refugees.
QUALIFICATIONS
There are no mandatory teaching responsibilities. Postdoctoral fellows in the Global Innovation Program will pursue their own research as well as participate in the intellectual life of Perry World House. Postdoctoral fellows will be expected to give a presentation during the academic year in the Perry World House Seminar Series, publish policy relevant scholarship related to Perry World House themes, and attend regularly scheduled seminars. They will also be expected to spend up to 10% of their time contributing to the intellectual environment at Perry World House, including working with Perry World House’s Undergraduate Student Fellows, as well as designing and planning engagements in relevant theme areas. Perry World House will provide mentorship, professional guidance, and introduce each postdoctoral fellow to related faculty and leaders of centers and institutes at the University of Pennsylvania.
Applications are welcome from scholars who have received their Ph.D. or equivalent degrees (including a J.D. in the case of applicants focused on international legal regimes) since June 2019, or who expect to complete their degree by June 2021. Applications will be reviewed starting Monday, January 4, 2021. To receive full consideration, applications and letters of recommendation should be received by that date.
Upon provision of and contingent upon proof of conferral of the Ph.D. degree, all postdoctoral fellow positions pay a stipend of $54,000 plus relevant fees and health insurance. The position also provides $2,000 in research support.
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
To apply, please go to: http://apply.interfolio.com/80778. Applicants will be asked to complete a short form as well as upload a cover letter, CV/resume, one-page research statement, writing sample, and unofficial Ph.D. transcript (only required for current graduate students). We will also ask for the name and email address of two letter writers who can submit a letter of recommendation.
If you have questions, please email worldhouse@pwh.upenn.edu.