Postdoc Job Posting: Digital and Computational Studies Fellow in the Social Sciences at Bowdoin College
Jen Jack Gieseking
Bowdoin College, in support of its Digital and Computational Studies (DCS) Initiative,
invites applications for a Digital and Computational Studies Fellow in
the Social Sciences starting Fall 2015. For more experienced candidates,
appointment at the Visiting Assistant or Visiting Associate Professor
level is also possible. The appointment will be for up to two years with
the possibility of renewal for one additional year. The ideal candidate
may come from any social science discipline and will have a
demonstrated commitment to integrating digital and/or computational
methodologies in their scholarship and instruction. Expertise in one or
more of the following areas is particularly welcomed: automated
information extraction, geospatial analysis, social network analysis,
computational modeling and data analysis. An interest in social media or consumers and consumption would have particular synergy with courses under development.
The rising importance of digital and computational methods is transforming higher education and, in particular, the traditional view of the liberal arts. The liberal arts, broadly speaking, also have the power—perhaps the responsibility—to participate in and shape the development, use, and interpretative capabilities of these tools. Bowdoin has a vibrant DCS community working together to integrate new technologies and forms of creative expression and knowledge production into our curriculum and our scholarship. The DCS steering committee includes faculty from Art History, Chemistry, Computer Science, Digital Humanities, Earth and Oceanographic Sciences, English, Government, Mathematics, and Romance Languages. We have established a thriving Digital Humanities course cluster, and staff from the library, academic technology and IT support courses and projects in collections management and film studies, digital mapping and literary analysis, social media analysis, text analysis with high performance computing, and scientific computation, to name a few. More information on Bowdoin’s Digital and Computational Studies Initiative can be found at our website: http://www.bowdoin.edu/digital-computational-studies
The Digital and Computational Studies Fellow will be both a resource and a catalyst for broadening these efforts into the social sciences. Responsibilities and opportunities of the position include:
- · Join the DCS steering committee to help craft the growing DCS program and co-mentor the DCS student community.
- · Teach one course per semester; typically one introductory level course, which may include team teaching, and one more specialized course in an area of the Fellow’s interest each year.
- · Support Bowdoin social science faculty in developing DCS courses; typically leading to one new course per semester. Faculty already interested in developing DCS courses come from departments including (but not limited to) Anthropology, Economics, Environmental Studies, Government, Psychology and Sociology.
- · Conduct faculty outreach, including presentations of DCS methods and ideas, and co-organization of visiting speakers and hands-on workshops to facilitate development of DCS teaching and research activities.
Bowdoin College accepts only electronic submissions. Applications should consist of a completed application profile, a cover letter discussing the candidate’s experience and plans for incorporating computation into their scholarship and teaching, short course descriptions of one or two DCS courses the candidate would like to teach or help develop, a curriculum vitae, and three letters of recommendation. Please visit https://careers.bowdoin.edu to apply. Review of applications is ongoing and will continue until the position is filled. Applications received by March 26 will receive first consideration.
Founded in 1794 on the Maine coast, Bowdoin is one of the oldest and most selective coeducational, residential liberal arts colleges in the country. Bowdoin’s reputation rests on the excellence of its faculty and students, its intimate size, strong sense of community, commitment to diversity (31% students of color, 5% international students and approximately 15% first generation college students), and treasured links with the people, history, and natural beauty of Maine. Bowdoin College is committed to equality and diversity and is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage inquiries from candidates who will enrich and contribute to the cultural, socio-economic, and ethnic diversity of our college. Bowdoin College does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital status, religion, creed, ancestry, national and ethnic origin, physical or mental disability, or veteran status in employment, or in our education programs.
For further information about the College and Midcoast Maine please see our website at http://www.bowdoin.edu/.