The United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney is pleased to announce the awarding of the 2010/2011 post-doctoral fellowships, bringing six emerging academic leaders in the social sciences and humanities to the Centre for a year of researching and writing about the US.
In the course of their fellowships – valued at more than $100,000 each – the scholars will work on projects across a diverse range of expertise: from the “genetics of politics” exploring the biological bases of political behaviour to “petro-fiction” about literary portrayals of the oil and gas industry.
Director of Research and Research Training at the Centre, Professor Margaret Levi says the research will potentially have far-reaching academic influence. “With this second cohort of postdoctoral fellows, the US Studies Centre is bringing some path-breaking junior scholars to the University of Sydney. Their work promises to have a substantial impact on American studies in history, literature, political science, and sociology,” says Professor Levi.
The winners, listed below, were selected from a field of nearly 200 international applicants:
- Georgiana Banita, Assistant Professor in Literature at the University of Bamburg, Germany. “Petro-fiction – American literary culture and the global oil crisis”
- Peter Hatemi, Assistant Professor in Political Science at the University of Iowa “The neuro-biological foundations of political behavior”
- Robert Gilpin, PhD in History from Yale University “Slavery’s hold on the American imagination”
- Maria Ponomarenko, PhD candidate in History at Stanford University “The impact of federalism on the American legal system”
- Allison Pugh, Assistant Professor in Sociology at the University of Virginia. “Women’s commitment and change in a Turbulent Age”
- Felicity Turner, PhD in History from Duke University. “The gendered political dynamics shaping nineteenth century American national identity”
The new fellows will begin their term at the Centre later this year.
Media inquiries: Nina Fudala M 0409 321 918 E
