Newberry Mellon Major Projects Fellow
Department: Exhibitions and Major Projects
Term: July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017
Schedule: Full-time, 35 hours/week, Monday through Friday with occasional evenings and weekends for special events. One-year, grant-funded, exempt position.
Benefits: Group life, health, dental, and vision insurance; fifteen vacation days first year and two personal days and paid holidays annually.
Date Posted: March 31, 2016
Date Available: July 1, 2016
The Newberry Mellon Major Projects Fellow will participate in diverse aspects of the planning and preparation for the library’s major scholarly initiative focused on Religious Change in Europe, 1450-1700. The initiative will include gallery and online exhibitions, additional digital resources, as well as programs for scholars, students, and the public. These programs will take the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses as a starting point for a multidisciplinary examination of the Reformation and its immediate aftermath. The majority of the public programs will take place during the 2017-18 academic year. The fellow will report to the Director of Exhibitions and Major Projects.
Responsibilities:
For the gallery and digital exhibitions:
- collaborate with members of the project team (comprising Newberry staff members and outside scholars) in framing and refining exhibition categories;
- identify preliminary selections, research specific items in the collection for inclusion;
- translate titles and short texts into English; assist with label writing, planning, and administration.
For the related digital resources:
- collaborate with the Digital Initiatives Librarian and other members of the project team in conceptualizing, designing and implementing the digital humanities components of the project, which may include blog posts, podcasts, videos, interactive timelines and maps, outreach through social media, and crowd-sourced programs;
- identify preliminary selections, research specific items in the collection for inclusion, assist with translation and writing textual components and scripts, planning, and administration;
- Assist project team in conceptualizing and planning public and scholarly programs;
Carry out other assignments as needed to achieve departmental goals;
- Provide assistance to other Newberry Library departments and initiatives, including but not limited to Collections and Library Services, Research and Academic Programs, Development, and Communications projects.
Qualifications:
- PhD in a humanities field, with a research focus on the history of religion in early modern Europe;
- Reading fluency in modern and early modern German required; reading competency in two other European languages, such as Latin, French, Italian, and Spanish, highly desirable;
- Experience in digital humanities and using primary source materials in research preferred;
- Familiarity with Microsoft Office suite, Omeka, and project management software preferred;
- Demonstrated excellent oral and written communications skills and ability to interact and collaborate with diverse constituencies required.
Application Deadline: Review of applications will begin May 1, 2016 and will continue until the position is filled.
Application materials should be sent to hr@newberry.org and include a cover letter, CV, short (30 pages or less) writing sample, and contact information for three references. Applicants should indicate their start date availability in the cover letter.
