The application is now closed. check back in spring 2024 for future fellowship opportunities.
The Program on Law and Political Economy, the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, and the Center for Labor and a Just Economy invite applications for a jointly sponsored Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Political Economy of Law, Technology, and Labor based at Harvard Law School.
The fellowship is a one-year, residential postdoctoral position designed to support a promising early-career scholar whose work examines the interrelationships between legal institutions, technological development, and class relations. Their research agenda should seek to understand how law and technology interact to transform the nature of work, shape dimensions of status-subordination and economic power in market societies, and impact terrains for collective struggle, conflict, and powerbuilding.
The fellowship term is from August 1, 2024 to July 31, 2025. The postdoctoral fellow will receive an annual stipend of $75,000.
Fellows are expected to be in residence at Harvard Law School during the academic year, consistent with public health restrictions as they stand at that time. They are expected to devote their full time to scholarly activities in furtherance of their own research agenda, and to contribute to the intellectual life of the sponsoring institutions by participating in workshops and events, mentoring students, and attending and presenting their research at conferences and seminars. The fellowship is designed to offer the fellow maximal flexibility in pursuing their research projects and structuring their time, rather than executing on research developed and supervised by the sponsoring institutions.
The fellow will also be considered part of the Berkman Klein Center’s annual fellowship cohort along with others who are selected through the Center’s Open Call for Applications, and will participate in the Berkman Klein Center’s fellowship program. The Berkman Klein Center is an interdisciplinary, intersectoral university-wide Center, and the fellow will be expected to seek to learn and grow in areas outside of a purely legal capacity during the course of their fellowship.
Eligibility and Qualifications
We invite applications from graduates of JD programs, or an equivalent terminal degree in law, as well as PhD graduates from a relevant social science discipline.
Access to University Resources
- Office and Meeting Space: The fellow will be provided shared office space. We endeavor to provide comfortable and productive spaces for coworking and flexible use. Fellows are supported in their efforts to host small meetings and gatherings in the space of the home institutions and in space on the Harvard campus. The Harvard Law School campus is wheelchair accessible, and there are gender-neutral bathrooms.
- Library Access: Fellows will be provided with access to Harvard’s extensive libraries and research facilities.
- Courses: Fellows may audit classes across Harvard University; however, they must individually ask for permission directly from the professor of the desired class.
- Campus Resources: Fellows are welcome and encouraged to connect with Harvard University’s countless research centers, initiatives, resource groups, associations, organizations, and specialized offices.
To Apply
Each interested applicant should submit:
- a curriculum vitae,
- a statement of the applicant’s interest in teaching and scholarship, including a description of the fields in which the applicant expects to teach and pursue scholarship (1,500-word maximum),
- a detailed description of the research and writing projects that will be undertaken during the fellowship (1,500-word maximum),
- law and/or graduate program transcripts, and
- two letters of reference addressing the applicant’s potential for success as a scholar and teacher (either included with the applicant’s other materials or sent directly from the recommenders).
The final deadline to submit your application is September 1, 2023. Please direct any questions to Sanjay Jolly ([email protected]).
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Further Information
- Commitment to Diversity: The work and well-being of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, the Program on Law and Political Economy, and the Center for Labor and a Just Economy, are profoundly strengthened by our differences in background, culture, experience, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, age, ability, and more. We actively seek and welcome applications from people of diverse backgrounds, including Black, Indigenous, Asian, Hispanic, and Latino/Latina/Latinx people; LGBTQIA+ people; non-binary people; women; people with disabilities; people at intersections of these identities; and people from and working across the spectrum of disciplines.
- International applicants: We work with the Harvard International Office (HIO) to sponsor immigration paperwork for our eligible international fellows. An outline of the visa application process and requirements may be found on the HIO website at http://hio.harvard.edu/scholar-visa-process.
- Community Principles, Policies, and Resources: The Harvard Law School Community Principles, found in the Handbook of Academic Policies, read as follows:
The Law School’s commitments to fairness, respect for the rule of law, and free inquiry require an environment of trust and mutual respect, free expression and inquiry, and a commitment to truth, excellence, and lifelong learning. Students, program participants, faculty, staff, and alumni accept these principles when they join the Harvard Law School community and thereby agree to respect the rights, dignity, and differences of others, pursue honesty and integrity in dealing with all members of the community in person and online, and accept personal responsibility in these efforts.
Note that the Handbook has other sections applicable to activities across our Centers, notably the policies on Academic Honesty and Protest and Dissent. The Berkman Klein Center maintains a page to highlight these policies, as well as other applicable policies and resources for accessing additional University support.
About the Host Centers
The Program on Law and Political Economy at Harvard Law School is part of broader efforts to develop a discipline of law and political economy. LPE@HLS is designed to foster a vibrant intellectual community of students and faculty, and to train students and entry-level academics to think about political economy as an integral part of law. More information at https://lpe.law.harvard.edu
The Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University is dedicated to exploring, understanding, and shaping the development of the digitally-networked environment. A diverse, interdisciplinary community of scholars, practitioners, technologists, policy experts, and advocates, we seek to tackle the most important challenges of the digital age while keeping a focus on tangible real-world impact in the public interest. Our faculty, fellows, staff and affiliates conduct research, build tools and platforms, educate others, form bridges and facilitate dialogue across and among diverse communities. More information at https://cyber.harvard.edu
The Center for Labor and a Just Economy (CLJE) at Harvard Law School is a hub of collaborative research, policy, and strategies to empower working people to build an equitable economy and democracy. Acknowledging the systemic failures and extreme concentration of power in our society, we are committed to reimagining the law and developing paradigm-shifting policy. More information at https://clje.law.harvard.edu
