KWI International Fellowships

Fellowships for the duration of 6 months from 1 October 2022 until 31 March 2023.

KWI:
The Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities (KWI) Essen is an interdisciplinary research institute for the humanities and social sciences in the tradition of institutes for advanced study. Located in the Ruhr area, KWI offers a space for independent and innovative research in the humanities as well as various opportunities to engage and include the public. Currently, research at KWI focusses on the following areas: literary and cultural sociology, cultural science studies, science communication and public humanities. Further projects are concerned with cultures of communication and political participation. KWI aims to foster innovative research questions, concepts and methods in connection with theories of philology, cultural studies and the social sciences. We are dedicated to pursuing our interdisciplinary agenda through international collaboration. An important contribution to our scholarly and political work comes from the Academy in Exile, offering research space to colleagues whose academic freedom is threatened.

Fellowship:
The KWI International Fellowship Programme addresses excellent researchers from the humanities, cultural studies and the social sciences. The institute provides fellows with modern infrastructure, office space and technical support, also offering library service, event and research management as well as support in all matters of administration and communication.
Candidates for fellowships will have a completed PhD plus up to six years of post-doctoral experience. Fellowships can be offered to applicants in all disciplines represented in the current KWI research agenda. The KWI International Fellowship Programme addresses international researchers. Researchers of German nationality are eligible to apply if currently employed at an international institute.
Fellows will receive a fellowship contract (not a full-employment contract) and a monthly allowance of 4,000 € (pre-tax) meant to cover rent, insurances and living expenses. We cannot provide additional allowances to cover school fees or related expenses. Travel expenses for arrival at KWI and for departure after the fellowship can be partially reimbursed.

Expectations:
• The fellowship should be dedicated to research linked to one or more of KWI’s focus areas and consistent with its interdisciplinary agenda. Various project formats are possible: You might devote your time in Essen to finishing a book or a special issue, finalizing a research proposal or setting up a research group. We also welcome plans to establish or substantiate collaborations with the universities of the Ruhr Alliance.
• We expect the fellows to be present at the institute at least 4 days a week. Fellows will be expected to participate in entry and exit interviews.
• Fellows are requested to actively take part in the ColloKWIum, lectures, conferences, reading groups and other academic events at KWI. Moreover, we expect fellows to contribute to the KWI Blog.
• Fellows are not required to teach. We anticipate that fellows will participate in lecture series and seminars at the surrounding universities.
• Publications written during the fellowship should mention KWI.
• Knowledge of German is not required since the International Fellowship Programme relies on a strong command of English.
• We expect successful applicants to begin their fellowship on the announced starting date (1 October). Apart from changes resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, we cannot accommodate any postponements.

Academic landscape:
Located at KWI, fellows will have the opportunity to liaise with researchers in a rich and diversified academic landscape: The University Alliance Ruhr (UA Ruhr), the KWI’s umbrella structure, strategically links the universities of Duisburg-Essen, Bochum and Dortmund. Nearby, the universities of Duesseldorf, Cologne, Muenster and Bielefeld as well as the renowned Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen offer further possibilities for collaboration and exchange. Fellows might also profit from cross-border programmes and initiatives engendered by the close proximity of Belgium and the Netherlands to North Rhine-Westphalia. For details on 14 collaborative research centres and 13 graduate training groups within the UA Ruhr, see here: www.uaruhr.de/index.html.en.

The Ruhr area:
The cities of Duisburg and Essen are situated right in the middle of the Ruhr area. With more than five million inhabitants and an area of about 4,435 square kilometres, the Ruhr area is one of the largest metropolitan areas in Germany and the fifth largest in Europe. The region's cultural appeal and diverse urban landscape were recognised by the European Union in 2010, when the Ruhr metropolitan area, spearheaded by Essen, was honoured as “European Capital of Culture”. After the transformation of traditional industries, great effort has gone into making the Ruhr area greener again. By now, this region in the West of Germany has developed into a cultural hub with manifold outdoor possibilities. The cities of Cologne and Duesseldorf can be reached easily, and the Netherlands and Belgium offer day-trip destinations.

Application:
We kindly ask you to apply in the form of one single PDF file (max. 20 MB) which must be submitted electronically to international.fellowshipuni-due.de
[Due to IT safety regulations, we cannot accept applications via links to external platforms.]

• The application must be written in English and must contain a CV, list of publications and proposal sketching your KWI project (up to max. 5,000 characters for the proposal).
• The application deadline is 28 February 2022, 24:00 (midnight, CET). We will not consider applications that are incomplete or submitted after this date.
• Fellows will be selected by a committee assembling members of the KWI governing board and the institute’s director.
• Further information about the application process can be found in the FAQs.