Mellon Post-Doctoral Fellow

Haverford College invites applications for a two-year, full-time Postdoctoral Fellowship to begin Fall 2027.

The John

B. Hurford '60 Center for the Arts and Humanities at Haverford College invites applications for a two-year, full-time Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship to begin Fall 2027.
We seek ahumanistic scholar of sound studies whose work focuses on the cultural history of listening practices.

Topics of particular interest include: modes of attention; culturalmemory; post-secularity; disability; (un) disciplining the ear;listening as ethical and/or activist practice; professional (e.g.psychoanalytic, medical, juridical) practices of listening. Candidates' work should be fundamentally grounded in sound studiesbut may also draw from a range of fields in the humanities,including history, literary studies, religious studies, performancestudies, gender and sexuality studies, disability studies,Indigenous studies, and area studies (Asian, African, Latin American, and/or American Studies).

During the first year of the program, the Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow will participate in the faculty seminar "Acts of Listening"led by Professor Gustavus Stadler (English), which will bring together faculty from a variety of fields. Drawing from over acentury of writing in various modalities and disciplines, itexplores practices of audition in diverse cultural and historicalcontexts, across diverse aural phenomena (music, speech, noise,sounds of bodies, sounds of ritual, and more) in diverse spaces(aesthetic, political, therapeutic, pedagogical, and more).

Theseminar will explore such questions as:
How does listening shapecultural and individual memory? What institutions impact the wayswe listen? Is aural attention different from other forms of attention? Is it productive to think in terms of an ethics of listening? What is the relationship between listening and divinity?

Listening and intimacy/confession? Is there a post–secular way tolisten?

During each of their four semesters at Haverford College, the Fellow will teach one course at the intermediate/advanced level andengage a diverse student body.

The postdoctoral fellow will deliver a lecture in the spring semester of the first year and will pursue mentorship opportunities in the second year to support their professional growth. While the Fellow is under no obligation to organize any additional activities– they are to focus on their own writing and protect their time –we encourage the Fellow to make use of our proximity to Philadelphia and engage with artists, activists, and intellectualsin the Greater Philadelphia area.

The fellow will have an office in the interdisciplinary VCAM(Visual Culture Arts and Media) building, the College's 24/7creative hub for students, faculty, staff, and the wider community.

Home to Haverford's Visual Studies Program, the Haverford Innovations Program, and the John

B. Hurford '60 Center for theArts and Humanities, VCAM features a host of flexible spaces for teaching and making, including a Film/Media Edit Studio, Maker Arts Space, two Create Spaces, Artist Residency Studio, Object Study/Media Production Classroom, and exhibitions spaces.

Questions about the position can be directed to Kelly Jung, at hjung1 . For technical questions about

Interfolio, please contact Interfolio directly at or

Haverford College is a leading liberal arts college located 9 milesfrom the center of Philadelphia. The idyllic residential campus ishome to over 1,400 exceptional undergraduate students who are motivated by their deep intellectual curiosity, respectfullycollaborative spirit, and commitment to improving the world around them. The diverse neighborhoods comprising the greater Philadelphia area are home to many cultural icons and recreational spaces,…