Mellon Sawyer Graduate Student Fellowship

With the support of the Mellon Foundation’s Sawyer Seminar program, the Afro-Latin American Research Institute at the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research, Harvard University, seeks applications for a one-year Mellon Sawyer Graduate Student (Pre-Doctoral) Fellowship in Afro-Latin American Studies. The Graduate Student fellow will play a role in organizing, administering and participating in the Mellon Sawyer seminar entitled “Changing Contours of Afrodescendant Citizenship in Latin America: Contestation, Consolidation, and Contradictions.” We seek students whose research focuses on citizenship and belonging of Afrodescendant population in Latin America, particularly relating to nation building, racial stratification, and political mobilizations, broadly understood. Scholars in any discipline and working on any time period are welcome to apply.

The Fellowship carries a nine-month appointment beginning August 2023 and a stipend of $25,000. To apply, candidates must be in the writing stage of their dissertation. Applicants may come from any discipline in the humanities or social sciences.

The fellow is expected to be an active participant in all aspects of the seminar. Primary responsibilities will be to conduct original research on a topic related to the seminar theme; to attend and participate in the seminar meetings and other activities; to participate in a monthly working group for graduate students and interested faculty members; and to assist as needed with the coordination of events.

To apply please provide the selection committee with the following information by filling in the application here and provide the requested documentation: 

  • Application
  • CV
  • Cover Letter where you explain your contribution to the seminar
  • 2 letters of recommendation sent to alari@fas.harvard.edu with subject line: Sawyer Postdoctoral Fellowship.

The application deadline is February 1, 2023, 9:00 a.m. (EST)