Innovation through Migration: New Senior Fellowships at GHI West, UC Berkeley

The German Historical Institute Washington DC is proud to announce a new fellowship program at its Pacific Regional Office in Berkeley, GHI West. The fellowship program offers up to three senior scholars per year the chance to come to Berkeley to help shape the emerging Center for the History of Migration and Knowledge which is being established at GHI West. Senior scholars should have a tenured position (Professor or Associate Professor) or have published their second book (i.e. Habilitation) and be based in North America or Europe. Stays may range from four to twelve weeks. Start date is October 2018 or later.

The central responsibility of GHI West is to foster international and interdisciplinary networks of scholars and to help German researchers take better advantage of the rich research opportunities on the West coast. By creating a Center for the History of Migration and Knowledge, GHI West aims to bring the historical perspective to this extremely timely constellation of issues. 

GHI West will take the lead and invite experts to join us in building an international research network whose ambition is to understand the epistemological foundations, challenges, and pitfalls of past and current migrant experiences and migration regimes. Particular attention will be paid to migrants as political, economic, and cultural actors. 

Senior Fellows will benefit from an interdisciplinary scholarly community on campus focusing on questions of migration, ethnicity, diaspora, border regimes, or citizenship as well as an excellent research infrastructure. They will help give shape to and raise the profile of the Center for the History of Migration and Knowledge. They will act as mentors to our junior fellowship recipients and advisors to the GHI West’s staff. They are expected to produce at least one paper aimed at policy-makers and/or a larger audience. Moreover, they will help conceptualize the Annual Academic and Policy Symposium Innovation through Migration, which is scheduled for the fall of 2019. The symposium will bring together up to 20 experts from academia, NGOs, and the policy sector to exchange experiences, ideas, and best practices. 

At GHI West, Senior Fellows may be joined by Practitioners in Residence, i.e. professionals who work in government as well as in nongovernmental organizations or in relevant media. These experts will provide important stimulus to the work of the other researchers at the Center; they are also given the opportunity to catch up with relevant literature and reflect, from a distance, on their everyday tasks. 

The Senior Fellowship covers roundtrip airfare to Berkeley (economy), funding for conference or archival visits, and a pro-rated stipend ranging from € 3500 to € 6000 per month depending on the academic and employment status of the applicant. Please send an outline of your research project (2 pages), a conceptual outline for the Annual Academic and Policy Symposium (1-2 pages), a brief academic CV and a short statement why you find this fellowship attractive and what you might offer the emerging Center for the History of Migration and Knowledge at GHI West in a single PDF file to Heike Friedman (friedman@ghi-dc.org). Please keep in mind that only one Academic and Policy Symposium will take place each year, so not every conference concept can be executed. If you have questions concerning the fellowship, please contact Andrea Westermann (westermann@ghi-dc.org).