WSIP-DGS Mellon Liaison Fellowship at the International Cival Society Action Network (ICAN)
Deadline for Fall 2024 Fellowship: August 1, 2024
WSIP MELLON PhD LIAISON FELLOWSHIP
Sponsored the World Studies Interdisciplinary Project (WSIP/)
Call for Applications
PhD students from all departments, colleges, and schools at the University of Massachusetts Amherst are invited to apply for a 2023 Mellon Liaison Fellowship, working with the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN). The Fellowship entails weekly online collaboration over three-six months, with a $5000 stipend.
Applications are due by midnight Thursday August 1, 2024. Early submission welcomed. Details of the position and application are below.
About ICAN
ICAN promotes inclusive and sustainable peace in countries affected by violent conflict, extremism, militarism, and closing political space. Recognizing the gendered impact of conflict and the critical role of women peacebuilders, we fulfill our mission through a dual strategy of:
- Shaping and influencing the peace and security policies of governments, multilateral organizations, and the wider international community by providing thought leadership, strategic advice, and gender-responsive analysis and operational guidance; and
- Sustaining and strengthening a global movement of innovative locally rooted women peacebuilders to have voice and influence wherever matters of peace, violent conflict, rights, and human security are determined (the Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership (WASL), a global network of 90 women-led peacebuilding organizations across 40 countries.)
ICAN brings to life the word and spirit of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, recognizing the role of women peacebuilders in advancing global peace and security.
Fellowship Description
The UMass Mellon Liaison Fellow will collaborate with ICAN on specific archival and communications projects over a period of several months. Most of the fellowship work will be conducted online, but it may also include travel to one ICAN meeting. In this case, travel costs would be covered. Begin date is somewhat flexible, as is the distribution of weekly hours and overall Fellowship timeline. Specific arrangements would be decided in consultation with the Fellow, within these parameters: a three-six month consecutive Fellowship period, starting in July at the earliest and October at the latest, with a weekly commitment of between 6 and 13 hours.
Funded by the Mellon Foundation, the Fellowship is conceived as a two-way partnership between ICAN and the UMass-Amherst World Studies Interdisciplinary Project (WSIP/). ICAN offers the UMass Mellon Fellow an opportunity to learn about both local women’s peace-building practices and the workings of a global, coalition-building, peacebuilding organization. Fellows meanwhile put their skills in research, writing, collaborative conceptualization, and relation-building at the service of a social-justice organization. In addition, the Fellowship enables UMass PhD students to build new networks, hone new skills, and explore future work in non-academic social-justice arenas.
The Mellon Liaison Fellow’s projects would include: review and consolidation of ICAN archives; online attendance and notetaking at biweekly WASL community check-in meetings; interviews with peacebuilding partners working on the ground; identification of the key themes, practices, and principles of peacebuilding work, developed in collaboration with the ICAN team; and, on this basis, creation of messaging, media, and other documents. These materials would aim to capture the distinctive power and practices of women peacebuilders and to draw interest in ICAN from a wide range of audiences, including foundations and potential donors.
To apply, please submit a letter of interest, a current CV, a short writing sample, and the name, dept, and email of a faculty advisor at the application form. Please let the faculty member know that we may contact them about your candidacy. The letter of interest should describe your research, your relevant background, your qualifications and skills, and the reasons you are interested in this opportunity. See below for a list of relevant qualifications and skills. Your writing sample may be an abstract of a current research project (1000-3000 words) or a piece of writing (or excerpt) related to your current studies, published or unpublished (maximum 6000 words). The Fellowship is linked to the World Studies Interdisciplinary Project at UMass and its Graduate Certificate in Decolonial Global Studies (see: WSIP/ and WSIP Mellon Liaison Fellowship). Candidates need not be pursuing the DGS Certificate, but preference will be given to students enrolled in DGS core courses.
The Fellow will be jointly selected by the WSIP Co-directors and ICAN.
Desired Qualifications:
- Excellent writing, research, and analytic skills
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
- Strong interpersonal skills and respect for people from diverse cultures and backgrounds
- Previous experience using Microsoft Office, WordPress, and social-media platforms
- Language proficiency valued (e.g. Arabic, Farsi, Spanish, and/or others)
- Knowledge of and interest in one or more of the following is particularly desirable: contemporary gender issues; the geopolitics affecting regional or local violent conflicts; practices of peacebuilding, activism, and/or conflict mediation; and interest/experience in a particular region, including but not limited to the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.