Job Fare

There are three interesting postdoctoral positions in new media studies that are getting attention on the conference circuit, but may not be disseminated online as much as they should.

I'm a big believer in postdoc positions, when they are structured intelligently for something other than cheap labor, in ways that help recent PhDs think about larger questions about interdisciplinary, the presentation of knowledge, and how to position themselves in current debates. All of these positions come with fair compensation and the opportunity to participate in a vibrant scholarly community.

1) With about a salary of about sixty-eight thousand dollars, the biggest purse goes to the 2 year post-doc position in Software Studies with the University of Bergen and the research group at UC San Diego. The ad, which is excerpted below, for the postdoctoral fellowship is here.

Multimedia technology and visual analysis is one of the strategic research areas for the department. Applicants must have achieved a Norwegian doctorate or equivalent PhD education abroad. The candidate must either have a Ph. D. in information science or a documented strong competence in information technology in combination with a Ph. D. in another field that is relevant for the position. The successful candidate will work in relation to the project "Visualizing Patterns in Databases of Cultural Images and Video", on which the department cooperates with the California Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technology, at the University of California San Diego.

The successful candidate will have Bergen as his or her base and will be a member of one of the department’s research groups, but will also have to spend some of the time in San Diego.

The ideal candidate should have both technical knowledge of computers and digital media and solid understanding of contemporary research issues in one or more disciplines dealing with visual and media cultures (media and new media studies, journalism, game studies, film studies). The candidate will work on using information visualization and data analysis techniques to analyze cultural patterns in large sets of visual media (such as movies, TV programs, web pages, games or other media.) This work will be carried in collaboration with other members of Software Studies Initiative at Calit2/UCSD (softwarestudies.com) using the tools and methodologies developed in the lab.

2) For great roundtable discussions and an exciting Ivy League atmosphere, it is difficult to beat the Academic Fellowship at the Berkman Center, which offers a $48,000 stipend at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society.

The Berkman academic fellowship is designed to support an early-to-mid career academic conducting research expected to yield valuable data and/or new insights related to Internet and society.

The Berkman Center looks forward to facilitating and advancing significant works of scholarship achieved through both traditional and experimental methods. The academic fellowship provides a focused opportunity for the production of such works as articles, books, and other considerable contributions to our understanding of cyberspace.

Beyond executing the plan proposed by the fellow, interaction with, support from, and contributions to the fellows and Berkman Center communities play a vital part of the academic fellowship experience.

3) Last, but certainly not least, the Yale Information Society Project is developing a great track record for selecting interesting young scholars with an interest in public service through their Resident Fellows Program.

The Yale Information Society Project is now accepting applications for 2010-2011 ISP postdoctoral fellowships at Yale Law School.

The Yale ISP resident fellowship is designed for recent graduates of law or Ph.D. programs who are interested in careers in teaching and public service in any of the following areas: law and innovation, media studies, Internet and telecommunications law, intellectual property law, access to knowledge, first amendment law, social software, digital education, privacy, cybersecurity, standards and technology policy, biotechnology, and law, technology, and culture generally.

Fellows receive a salary of approximately 44,000 USD plus Yale benefits. Fellows are expected to work on an independent scholarly project as well as help with administrative and scholarly work for the Information Society Project at Yale Law School. A small number of special ISP visiting fellowships are also available for persons who provide their own sources of funding.