This monthly publication highlights news and events — upcoming conferences, CFPs, and job postings — relevant to the history of science.

This month, we have announcements of some upcoming GECC events, information about the HSS annual meeting, and other items. If you have an event, opportunity, or news item you would like featured in future newsletters, please send the details to [email protected] or use this form.

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Upcoming GECC Events

Getting Your Docs in a Row: Reviewing Job Market Materials for the 2023-2024 Cycle

September 8, 2023 - 9 am PST/12pm EST (Virtual)

This workshop will explore what makes a compelling job application portfolio for tenure-track jobs in the history of science, environmental history, and/or allied fields. It will focus on five job application components: the CV, cover letter, research statement, teaching statement, and diversity, equity, and inclusion statement. It will feature early career scholars who have recently been successful on the job market and established faculty who have lately served on search committees in history and allied fields. The invited speakers will each talk about one document for 10-12 minutes, and the remaining time will be used for questions from the audience. This workshop is the first in a new series of virtual events co-hosted by the Graduate and Early Career Caucus of the History of Science Society (HSS) and the American Society for Environmental History. Please register at one of the links below. Co-Organizers: Kristin Brig-Ortiz (Johns Hopkins, ASEH) and Taylor Elizabeth Dysart (Penn, HSS).

(NEW!) GECC Virtual Meet and Greet and HSS Meeting Q&A

November 1, 2023 - 9 am PST/12pm EST (Virtual)

Attending or presenting at a major conference for the first time can be daunting. That’s why GECC is planning a virtual meet and greet ahead of this year’s annual meeting. Whether you’re looking for advice about presenting, navigating your travel and lodging plans, or just hoping to see some friendly faces when you arrive in Portland, this event will be an opportunity to meet peers and discuss all aspects of the HSS annual meeting.

Building a Cohesive Career Narrative: From the Job Market to Reappointment

HSS 2023

Your job documents can help you stand out from other applicants, tell a story about yourself as a scholar, and frame your growth in ways that emphasize your priorities, values, and achievements. In this interactive workshop at the annual meeting, participants will hear from a panel of speakers, experienced in a variety of stages of hiring and career evaluation, about how you can build a strong and cohesive career narrative in your job market and/or professional documents. Participants will then be able to share their own experiences and/or job documents in mentored small groups and receive advice and specific feedback to develop and refine their own documents. The session will end with a facilitated discussion/Q&A period about strategies for writing strong documents. Participants interested in receiving specific feedback should bring a printout of their job document(s) or a device to access those document(s). This workshop will focus on application documents (CVs; cover letters; teaching, research, and/or diversity statements) and annual review and/or promotion narrative documents.

GECC is recruiting panelists for this workshop. We are particularly interested in panelists with experience hiring and/or evaluating candidates for annual review and/or promotion in either academic institutions or other settings. Please contact Ellie Louson, GECC Mentorship Officer ([email protected]).

Registration Open for HSS 2023

You can now register for the HSS 2023 annual meeting. Click here for more on registration and to see the program and other info for this year’s meeting.

Several grants and funds are available to assist graduate students and early-career scholars who plan to attend:

• National Science Foundation Travel Grants for graduate students, independent scholars, and early career scholars (PhDs from the past five years), who are US Residents and or study at US Institutions.

• HSS Travel Grants for graduate students, independent scholars, and early career scholars who are ineligible for NSF grants.

• Dependent Care Grants of up to $250 USD to defray the costs of care at home or at the meeting site.

The deadline for all grant applications is September 5, 2023.

In addition, graduate students are eligible to book their stay at the conference hotel at a reduced rate using this link. There are a limited number of rooms at this rate, so book soon!

Jobs, Fellowships, and Other Opportunities

Below find a selection of recent job postings.

New Postings

Harvard University, Professor in the History of Modern Technology (tenure track). Deadline October 1, 2023.

Santa Clara University, Assistant Professor in the History of Technology and the American West (tenure track). Deadline October 13, 2023.

Wahington University, Assistant Professor in the History of Science (tenure track). Deadline October 15, 2023.

Swansea University, Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Educational, Historical, and Philosophical Foundations of Computer Science (open-ended). Deadline September 3, 2023.

University of Pennsylvania, Part-Time Lecturer for Engineering Ethics course (Spring 2024 only)

Washington University in St. Louis, Assistant Professor in History of Science

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Postdoc in the Laboratory for the History of Science and Technology (four years). Deadline September 10, 2023.

Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Research Fellow (up to three years). Deadline October 15, 2023.

Max Planck Institute for Art History in Rome, Predoctoral Fellow in “Visualizing Science in Media Revolutions” research group (six or twelve months). Deadline September 30, 2023.

University of Maryland College Park, President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (PPFP) in the History of Technology outside of North America and Europe (one year). Deadline November 1, 2023.

British Society for the History of Science, Outreach and Engagement Grants. Deadline September 22, 2023.

Open Postings from Earlier Newsletters

Johns Hopkins University, Assistant or Associate Professor in History of Medicine (tenure-track). Deadline August 31, 2023.

MIT, Assistant Professor in Program in Science, Technology, and Society (open field - 2 positions; tenure-track). Deadline September 1, 2023.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Lecturer in History of Computing (1-year fixed term)

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Lecturer in Science, Technology, Sustainability, and Society (1-year fixed term)

Get in touch

We want this newsletter to become a space for community discussion and reflection, so we’re eager to hear from you about issues that could serve as topics for the newsletter. We also want to hear about your own news, large or small: Are you graduating and starting a new position? Spending a month or year researching somewhere? Have a paper or chapter coming out? We want to hear about it! You can send any contributions, ideas, or suggestions to [email protected] with “NEWSLETTER” in the subject line or fill out this form.