In partnership with Penn State’s Africana Research Center, the Richards Center established a competitive, one-year postdoctoral fellowship in 2012. The fellowship rewards recently graduated Ph.D.s studying aspects of the African American experience from slavery to Civil Rights.
Since 2020, Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts, Department of History, and the Richards Center have hosted a second Center-sponsored postdoctoral fellowship (in addition to our joint RCWEC/ARC fellowship). The fellowship rewards recently graduated Ph.D.s studying aspects of the Civil War Era, particularly focusing on slavery and emancipation.
Both fellowships are one year with the possibility of renewal for a second year. While in residence, the fellows have access to the Center’s professional resources, receive guidance from a mentor, and participate in a series of professional development workshops. The fellows will present their research to the graduate community and will invite senior scholars in their field to the university to review and comment on their work.
https://richardscenter.la.psu.edu/fellowships/past-postdoctoral-fellows/
Application and Submission Process
Successful applicants must have completed all requirements for the Ph.D. within the previous four academic years. Salary/benefit package is competitive.
To be considered for this position, submit a complete application packet including a cover letter describing your research and goals for the scholarship year, a curriculum vita, and a list of three references. We will request writing samples and letters of recommendation from candidates who advance in the search process. Successful candidates must either have demonstrated a commitment to building an inclusive, equitable, and diverse campus community, or describe one or more ways they would envision doing so, given the opportunity.
Review of materials will begin November 1, 2024, and continue until the position has been filled. Please direct questions about the process via e-mail to richardscenter@psu.edu.
Postdoctoral Scholar, African American History
The Richards Center and the Africana Research Center invite applications for a postdoctoral scholar in African American history, beginning July 1, 2025. This is a one-year position, with a high possibility of renewal for a second year. All research interests spanning the origins of slavery through the civil rights movement will receive favorable consideration. Proposals that align with the Richards Center’s interests in slavery, abolition, and emancipation are especially welcome. During their residency, the scholar will have no teaching or administrative responsibilities. In addition, they will attend workshops, professional development sessions and other relevant events, and will be expected to take an active part in Penn State’s community of researchers.
For more information and how to apply, see here.
Postdoctoral Scholar, Civil War Era
The Richards Civil War Era Center, in conjunction with the Department of History and the College of the Liberal Arts, invites applications for a postdoctoral scholar in the history of the Civil War Era, beginning July 1, 2025. This is a one-year position, with a high possibility of renewal for a second year. All research interests spanning the pre-war period through Reconstruction will receive favorable consideration. Proposals that align with the Richards Center’s interests in slavery, abolition, and emancipation are especially welcome. During their residency, the scholar will have no teaching or administrative responsibilities. They will attend workshops, professional development sessions and other relevant events, and will be expected to take an active part in Penn State’s community of researchers.
For more information and how to apply, see here.
Hannah Katherine Hicks, 2024–2025 Richards Center Postdoctoral Scholar in the Civil War Era
Hannah Katherine Hicks received her PhD in History from Vanderbilt University and specializes in nineteenth-century U.S. history, focusing on women and law and the intersections of gender, medicine, and law. Her dissertation, “Troubling Justice: Women and the Criminal Courts in the Post-Civil War South” draws on county-level court records to examine criminal courts in postbellum South Carolina and the primarily working-class Black and White women who frequently appeared in them as defendants, complainants, and witnesses. At the Richards Center, Hannah will work on turning this dissertation into a book manuscript. Hannah was most recently an Assistant Teaching Professor of History at UNC Charlotte, which is also her undergraduate alma mater. In Winter 2022, the Bulletin of the History of Medicine published her article entitled “A Conjure Woman in Court: African American Conjurers as Health Practitioners and Performative Poisoners in the Post-Emancipation South.” Hannah’s research has been supported by the American Historical Association, the South Caroliniana Library, the Wilson Library at UNC Chapel Hill, and the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities at Vanderbilt University.
