Open Opportunities
Postdoctoral Fellowship in American Jewish Economic History
Location
Open Date
Jan 19, 2026
Deadline
Description
About the Grant Center
The Stuart & Suzanne Grant Center for the American Jewish Experience at Tulane University advances innovative scholarship through collaborative research, interdisciplinary inquiry, and public engagement. In its next phase, a major component of the Center’s work will be organized around Collaborative Research Initiatives—multi-year research ecosystems designed to generate sustained, synthetic knowledge and culminate in definitive scholarly works.
Position Summary
We invite applications for a one-year Postdoctoral Fellowship (renewable for a second year) to serve as the academic steward and scholarly collaborator for American Jews: An Economic History, a major Grant Center Collaborative Research Initiative culminating in a major monograph and related scholarly outputs.
Each Collaborative Research Initiative operates as a multi-year research ecosystem, comprising conferences, symposia, working groups, and research exchanges that collectively generate new scholarship feeding into a unified interpretive narrative. American Jews: An Economic History places economic life at the center of the American Jewish experience and advances a new interpretive framework situating American Jewish history within the history of American capitalism.
The Postdoctoral Fellow’s primary responsibility is to ensure intellectual coherence across this ecosystem, so that Grant Center programming produces structured, usable material that supports synthesis and sustained writing by the project’s lead author. The Fellow is not responsible for logistical or administrative coordination. Instead, they assume responsibility for academic alignment, continuity, and synthesis, stewarding the Initiative’s evolving research questions, thematic frameworks, and scholarly outputs across multiple years and convenings. While the Fellowship is centered on supporting the Collaborative Research Initiative, the Fellow will also have opportunities to make substantive intellectual contributions that intersect both the Initiative’s themes and the Fellow’s own research interests, and to participate fully in the Grant Center’s scholarly community.
This role is designed to absorb the Initiative’s academic coordination and integrative work, allowing the Executive Director to focus on intellectual leadership and authorship of the project’s major publications
Responsibilities
Academic Stewardship and Research Architecture
● Steward the Initiative’s intellectual coherence across conferences, symposia, working groups, and research exchanges.
● Translate the evolving scholarly agenda into structured research pathways, thematic maps, and conceptual frameworks that guide programming.
● Maintain intellectual continuity across the Initiative’s multi-year cycle by stewarding research materials, bibliographies, thematic insights, and unresolved questions.
Synthesis and Writing Preparation
● Prepare analytical memos, thematic syntheses, comparative frameworks, and research dossiers distilling insights generated across convenings.
● Develop internal background narratives and preparatory materials that support the transition from collaborative research to sustained writing by the lead author.
● Evaluate and prioritize material generated through the Initiative, identifying what is most relevant for inclusion in the monograph and related scholarly outputs.
The Fellow may contribute limited internal writing in service of synthesis and preparation; primary authorship remains with the Executive Director.
Programmatic Alignment and Collaborative Knowledge-Building
● Shape the academic content of conferences, workshops, and working groups to ensure alignment with the Initiative’s interpretive goals.
● Collaborate with Grant Center staff, who manage logistical execution, to ensure that speakers, session structures, and themes advance the research agenda.
● Integrate participating scholars and students into a shared basis of inquiry that supports collective field-building.
Public Scholarship and Secondary Outputs
● Contribute to select digital and public-facing scholarly materials (e.g., curated document sets, interpretive briefs, or teaching resources).
● Help steward secondary scholarly outputs—such as edited thematic clusters, special journal issues, or public programs—emerging from the Initiative.
Teaching
● Serve as a teaching assistant for one course per semester related to the American Jewish experience.
Appointment Details
This is a full-time, residential fellowship beginning July 1, 2026. The position includes a competitive salary, benefits, and research/professional development funds. Fellows will engage closely with leading scholars across the Initiative’s themes and have meaningful opportunities for professional growth. As appropriate, the Fellow may develop conference papers, articles, or related scholarly work that emerge from and align with the Initiative, drawing on its collaborative research environment.
Documents:
Statement of Scholarly Preparation and Experience (approx. 2-3 pages) describing the applicant’s preparation to steward intellectual coherence within a multi-year collaborative research initiative; experience producing research syntheses or preparatory materials in support of large-scale scholarly work; and preparation to work in American Jewish economic history, including relevant training, adjacent-field expertise, or capacity to attain subject-matter mastery as required by the Initiative.
Qualifications
● PhD in history, Jewish studies, American studies, or a related humanities field (completed by the appointment date).
● Strong analytical, interpretive, and organizational skills.
● Demonstrated ability to synthesize complex scholarly material across collaborative settings.
● Capacity to steward multi-year intellectual projects while working closely with a lead scholar.
● Preferred: Preparation in American Jewish history and/or the history of capitalism.
Review of applications will begin March 1 and continue until the position is filled.
Please direct any questions to Emily Brauninger-Swan, Grant Center Assistant Director, ebraunin@tulane.edu
Postdoctoral Fellowship in the American Jews–Israel Relationship
Location
Open Date
Jan 26, 2026
Deadline
Description
About the Grant Center
The Stuart & Suzanne Grant Center for the American Jewish Experience at Tulane University advances rigorous, non-advocacy scholarship through collaborative research, interdisciplinary inquiry, and public engagement. The Center connects historical depth to contemporary questions, fostering a community that moves fluidly between scholarly, civic, and cultural conversations.
Position Summary
We invite applications for a one-year Postdoctoral Fellowship (renewable for a second year) to support the Grant Center’s Special Topics Commission marking the 75th anniversary of the Ben-Gurion–Blaustein Agreement. This Commission examines how this foundational understanding has shaped the American Jewish–Israel relationship and how it may be reconsidered amid contemporary communal and geopolitical realities.
The Commission will be co-chaired by Jonathan Sarna (University Professor Emeritus, Brandeis University) and Michael Cohen (Executive Director, Grant Center for the American Jewish Experience, Tulane University) and will convene leading scholars, journalists, policy thinkers, and cultural leaders.
Special Topics Commissions are time-bounded, high-impact scholarly projects that pair historical rigor with public engagement. Through targeted convenings, structured deliberation, and research synthesis, the Commission will clarify historical context, illuminate areas of continuity and friction, and offer frameworks that strengthen informed dialogue in civic, communal, and educational settings. Each Commission produces a landmark report, public programming, and educational resources.
The Postdoctoral Fellow serves as the Commission’s research integrator and scholarly coordinator, working under the direction of the Commission Chairs. The Fellow ensures that Chairs and Commission members have the research, synthesis, and well-structured materials needed for effective deliberation and publication, and that Grant Center staff have clear academic guidance for implementing the Chairs’ intellectual and programmatic vision. The Fellow is not responsible for logistical execution (e.g., event planning), but instead supports intellectual alignment, preparation, and continuity across the Commission’s work. The Fellow will receive close intellectual mentorship from the Commission Co-Chairs, Jonathan Sarna and Michael Cohen, gaining sustained exposure to senior scholarly leadership, collaborative research design, and public-facing intellectual work.
The Commission model is grounded in non-advocacy scholarship. It does not advance policy positions, but provides historical depth, conceptual clarity, and grounded analysis that enable healthier, more informed public dialogue.
Responsibilities
Research Integration and Scholarly Preparation
● Conduct literature and archival research related to the Ben-Gurion–Blaustein Agreement and the evolving American Jewish–Israel relationship, following the direction of the Commission Chairs.
● Assemble background research, annotated bibliographies, and briefing materials to support Commission deliberations and report preparation.
● Curate and organize scholarly contributions from Commission members, invited participants, and external experts.
● Prepare thematic syntheses and background documents that reflect and support the Chairs’ intellectual priorities.
Convenings and Scholarly Coordination
● Support Commission convenings, meetings, and public sessions by ensuring academic preparation and alignment with the Chairs’ goals.
● Serve as a liaison among the Commission Chairs, Commission members, and Grant Center staff to translate scholarly priorities into programmatic activity.
● Maintain research repositories, meeting documentation, and shared materials that enable effective collaboration and continuity.
Publications and Public Scholarship
● Assist the Commission Chairs with the preparation and drafting of the Commission’s final report and related public-facing materials.
● Work with Grant Center staff and communications partners to support dissemination and outreach while maintaining scholarly accuracy and coherence.
● Contribute to the broader intellectual life of the Grant Center and Tulane University.
Appointment Details
This is a full-time, residential fellowship beginning July 1, 2026. The position includes a competitive salary, benefits, and standard Tulane postdoctoral support. The Fellow is expected to be in residence during the academic year. The Fellowship offers significant opportunities for mentorship, professional development, and national visibility through sustained engagement with the Commission’s scholarly leadership and participants.
Documents
Statement of Scholarly Preparation and Experience (approx. 2-3 pages) describing the applicant’s preparation to support a chair-led, time-bounded scholarly commission; experience with research integration, synthesis, or preparatory materials for collective deliberation and publication; language fluencies (including Hebrew); and capacity to work within a non-advocacy, public-facing scholarly framework.
Qualifications
● PhD in History, Jewish Studies, Israel Studies, Political Science, or a related field (degree in hand by the start date).
● Demonstrated research experience in modern Jewish history, the American Jewish–Israel relationship, or closely related areas.
● Strong skills in research synthesis, analytical writing, and scholarly organization.
● Ability to support senior scholars and coordinate multi-stakeholder academic projects.
● Familiarity with archival research and digital research-management tools.
● Commitment to rigorous, inclusive, non-advocacy scholarship.
● Demonstrated interest in scholarship that engages public discourse, connects historical analysis to contemporary questions, and crosses disciplinary boundaries.
● Strong communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to participate confidently in group deliberation, present ideas clearly to diverse audiences, and engage scholars and public intellectuals across fields.
Review of applications will begin March 1 and continue until the position is filled.
Please direct any questions to Emily Brauninger-Swan, Grant Center Assistant Director, ebraunin@tulane.edu