Call for Proposals: 2024-25
Apply for the Institute for Advanced Israel Studies Fellowship 2024-25: Digital Humanities in Israel Studies
The Schusterman Center for Israel Studies at Brandeis University invites applicants for the Institute for Advanced Israel Studies 2024-2025. The fellowship will be hybrid, consisting of virtual workshops and seminars, and an in-person conference in Spring 2025.
Theme: Digital Humanities in Israel Studies
The theme of this year’s Institute will be Digital Humanities in Israel Studies. We will focus on scholarship that makes use of digital tools and artificial intelligence to study Zionist, Israeli, or Palestinian history, society and culture from the late 19th century to the present.
We will convene a group of scholars whose work considers what the digital age means for scholarship, and particularly for the study of Israeli and Palestinian material. Methods are shifting in a rapidly growing field, as the recent exponential growth of AI, digital mapping, distant reading, digital visualizations, large language modeling, data scraping, and a myriad of other new technologies are being applied to scholarship in the humanities. The scope of material available for research, with vast archives of online materials, is also changing in profound ways, raising additional questions. How does the availability of new digital materials and archives affect the tasks of writing history, interpreting literature, mapping, and analyzing culture?
Throughout the year, each fellow will present work in progress. Additionally, the cohort will read theoretical texts in digital studies from various disciplines to understand the advantages and the disadvantages (methodological, conceptual, and ethical) of the application of digital tools to Israel Studies.
We welcome applications from scholars in any career stage and in diverse disciplines, including history, geography, literature, sociology, anthropology, law, sociolinguistics, musicology, and architecture. Learn more below.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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Am I eligible to apply?
- We welcome applications from scholars in any career stage and in diverse disciplines, including history, geography, literature, sociology, anthropology, law, sociolinguistics and architecture.
- Applicants should be scholars who make use of digital tools and methods, (inter alia NLP, GIS, Topic Modeling, text analysis, big data, AI,) in any study that pertains to Zionist, Israeli, or Palestinian history, society and culture.
- All applicants must have a PhD in hand by August 2024.
- In recognition of participation in the year’s activities, each fellow will receive an honorarium of $2,000 USD.
- The Institute will cover economy round-trip transportation, transfers to the university and accommodations, in order to attend a two day in-person conference, which will take place in Spring 2025.
- Participate in online workshops approximately once a month to discuss work in progress, build community, and increase opportunities for collaboration.
- Over the course of the academic year, each fellow will participate in one moderated conversation (virtual or in-person at Brandeis, depending on the convenience of each fellow). The conversation will focus on their research and its contemporary relevance.
- The fellowship will conclude with a two day in-person conference, to be held at Brandeis University in Spring 2025. All fellows are expected to attend and participate in the conference.
- All fellows will be required to write a short essay of 500-1000 words, presenting their work for a wider audience. These essays will reflect on methodologies, capturing the working process so that the significance of the project is clear beyond any particular software used. We are open to alternate formats, including video tutorials, workflow charts, etc, with prior permission. What is crucial is ample documentation of methods, so future scholars can understand, replicate, and refine further scholarship. We will publish these essays on our website as a resource for the wider public.
Become a Visiting Fellow at the Schusterman Center
- While the Institute for Advanced Israel Studies (IAIS) fellowship is hybrid, any IAIS fellow is welcome to spend a semester or a full year in residence as a Visiting Fellow at the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies at Brandeis University. Visiting Fellows will be provided with work space and a computer, as well as library privileges and an affiliation with Brandeis, and will be expected to participate in the academic life of Brandeis University. When on campus, Visiting Fellows will also have access to the Digital Scholarship Lab at Brandeis, which includes computational software, matlab, 3D printing, and more. Remote access to these resources may also be available by request.
- Visiting Fellows will be responsible for their own salaries and housing, but some funding may be available to be put towards travel expenses. Precise arrangements will be made on a case by case basis. Please be in touch if you would like to explore this possibility. You can write to us at scis@brandeis.edu.
How to Apply
Please fill out the application form. You will be asked to respond to a number of questions and to upload a single PDF containing the following materials:
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Academic CV
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Project proposal, which should contain data set, methods, expected output, and timeline. Maximum length: two pages.
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A statement explaining your expertise in digital humanities, or how you plan to gain such expertise. You may include links to previous projects, training, etc. Maximum length: one page.
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The name and contact details of one referee.
The above materials should be collated into a single PDF.
Deadline to Apply
Applications must be received by May 31, 2024.
Apply now
Questions?
If you have any questions, please email us at scis@brandeis.edu with the subject line "IAIS 2024-25." We look forward to hearing from you!