University of Maine, History
PhD Research Assistant
Institution Type: | College / University |
Location: | Maine, United States |
Position: | Research Professional |
PhD Research Assistantship with Holocaust Ghettos Project
The University of Maine invites applications from students who wish to pursue a PhD in History while working as a graduate Research Assistant (RA) with the Holocaust Ghettos Project. The successful candidate will be fully funded for the first 2 years as a graduate RA (which provides an annual stipend of approximately $20,000, tuition coverage for up to 18 credits per year, and half the cost of student health insurance). Funding to extend support beyond the first two years is anticipated. Continued support is contingent upon satisfactory performance in the PhD program and project duties. The two-year Research Assistantship will start September 1, 2021. Expectations include completion of necessary course work for the PhD within two years (typically five courses per year). The RA will devote approximately 20 hours per week to project responsibilities.
We seek a highly motivated researcher who will bring key skills to the Holocaust Ghettos Project while pursuing their own doctoral training and research on the Holocaust or a related historical-geographical topic. The RA will be joining a mature research project whose digital assets include historical GIS databases of over 1,100 SS camps and a similar number of Jewish ghettos, a digital gazetteer of ghettos, and other layers of historical geographical information. The project is also developing methods for extracting and analyzing Holocaust victims’ geographically grounded experiences from hundreds of survivor testimonies, with the goal of integrating victims’ stories with the GIS of German-controlled space and the material environment. The RA will be expected to help further development and analysis of these geographical and textual resources.
The RA will work closely with the project team, including PI Anne Kelly Knowles (UMaine) and Co-PIs Paul B. Jaskot (Duke University) and Anika Walke (Washington University at St. Louis), other research assistants, members of the larger Holocaust Geographies Collaborative (see https://holocaustgeographies.org), and the project’s institutional partners, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Washington, DC) and the USC Shoah Foundation (Los Angeles). PI Knowles is an international leader in historical GIS and geographical approaches to the Holocaust. Additional UMaine faculty strengths relevant to this position include environmental and international history, graduate programs in spatial informatics and computer science, and advanced training opportunities in GIS and remote sensing.
Requirements: A Master’s degree in History, Geography, or another discipline closely related to the project (such as Anthropology, Computer/Data Science, Digital Humanities, Linguistics, Oral History, or Spatial Informatics). Preference will be given to applicants with skills in GIS, cartography, or other modes of data visualization; knowledge of early 20th-century European history; and/or facility in one or more European language (e.g., German, Polish, Russian, Yiddish, or Hebrew).
For further information, contact Anne Kelly Knowles at anne.knowles@maine.edu.
To apply, send (PDF): Letter of application that explains the applicant’s interest in and qualifications for the position; a statement of possible research topics for the PhD; GRE scores from within the past five years if available; CV, including technical skills and language(s); a short writing sample, and official transcripts to umhist@maine.edu. Three letters of recommendation should be sent separately. The candidate must complete an application to the University of Maine Graduate Program at https://umaine.edu/graduate/apply/. Review of applications begins February 15, 2021.
Contact: |
Anne Kelly Knowles at anne.knowles@maine.edu |
Website: | None |
Primary Category: | Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies |
Secondary Categories: | None |
Posting Date: | 01/26/2021 |
Closing Date | 04/01/2021 |