The Berkeley Center for the Study of Religion (BCSR) announces a postdoctoral fellowship as part of its Public Theology Program. For the academic years 2016-17 and 2017-18, BCSR seeks a top early career scholar to come to Berkeley for one year. The fellowship is dedicated to the furtherance of the very best new scholarship, and in particular the development of modes of inquiry that can chart new directions for the study of religion in the public university.
Fellows are integrated into the activities of BCSR and its Public Theology Program, a critical three-year research initiative funded by the Henry Luce Foundation dedicated to exploring the place of theology in public life, past and present. As participants in the intellectual life of the Center and the Luce initiate, fellows associate with a community of scholars from fields across the humanities and social sciences with specializations in a wide array of religious traditions. Fellows may pursue projects with varied disciplinary approaches to subjects including, but not limited to: theology and the institutions of secular life; theological aspects of politics; theology and law; art, literature, and theological inquiry; and theology and social formations.
Fellows also take part in an annual fall workshop that brings leading international scholars and intellectuals from universities, seminaries, divinity schools, and other institutions to Berkeley for intensive discussion on comparative approaches to theology. The program also supports new approaches to the study of religion through the development of model curricula. Fellows may elect to teach in a relevant UC Berkeley department in the second semester of residence.
The Public Theology Program builds upon Berkeley’s long tradition of challenging traditional categories of knowledge by opening a space for the study of theology in the public university. It also draws on the strengths of BCSR as a model for interdisciplinary work on religion, integrating robust academic research, student engagement, programming, and outreach beyond the university to the public at large. Through this program, BCSR seeks to reshape the landscape of religious studies at Berkeley and pioneer new approaches to the study of religion that can spread beyond Berkeley and reshape the field nationwide.
Recruitment for the 2016-17 fellowship opens November 2, 2015. Applications received by the initial review date of February 1, 2016 receive priority. For more information about the position, including required qualifications and application materials, go to: https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/apply/JPF00893.