The University of Montana, History Department, invites applications for a two-year Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in the History and Cultures of U.S. Democracy and Civic Knowledge to begin August 2025.

Chronological and thematic areas of research and teaching expertise are open, but we are especially interested in applicants whose scholarship and/or teaching addresses the circumstantial conditions that have animated American democracy over the past 250 years and who have an interest in developing curriculum related to civic education, broadly construed. The postdoc will be expected to offer courses on topics related to the history and cultures of U.S. democracy 1776-present and play an active role in developing a Democracy Studies Program at the University of Montana. The postdoc will help develop and pilot a first-year seminar on “The Challenge of Citizenship,” which will serve as a gateway course for the new Democracy Studies curriculum and a planned First-Year Civics Initiative.

The postdoc will be expected to teach three courses (including one section of “The Challenge of Citizenship”) in the first year and four courses (including one section of the “The Challenge of Citizenship”) in the second year. They will also be expected to maintain an active research agenda and give a public lecture based on their research.

For questions or further information, please contact Professor Kyle G. Volk at kyle.volk@umontana.edu.

Qualifications:

• Applicants must hold a PhD, or be ABD, in United States History or a related field. To be eligible for the fellowship, applicants must have their degree conferred by June 30, 2025. Applicants who do not have a PhD in hand at the time of application must include a letter from their committee chair or department stating that their degree will be conferred before the term of the fellowship begins.

Preferred:

• Research and/or teaching interests that address the circumstantial conditions that have animated American democracy over the past 250 years; interest in developing curriculum related to civic education, broadly construed.

About University of Montana - Department of History

The Department of History at the University of Montana offers undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to learn about key areas of American, European, and world history from award-winning professors active in research who love to teach! We help students ask and answer critical historical questions about the local, national, and global worlds of which we are all a part. In our dynamic courses and through our Public History Program, we encourage students to make the past relevant to the present and accessible to the wider public. Understanding the forces of change that shape society's institutions, values, and culture provides a vital---perhaps the most vital---foundation for engaged citizenship and global leadership. Our students also gain valuable job skills through their training in critical thinking, deep historical research, and persuasive oral and written communication. In addition, students may obtain on-the-job experience and relevant credentials through our internship program and by pursuing a Certificate in Public History. Graduate students in our masters and doctoral programs engage with classic and cutting-edge scholarship and develop thesis and dissertation... projects that make original contributions to historical knowledge. They also can receive advanced professional training in university-level teaching and the robust field of public history.

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