Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships at the University of Warwick

The School of Modern Languages and Cultures at the University of Warwick encourages outstanding postdoctoral scholars to apply to The Leverhulme Trust’s Early Career Fellowships scheme, for Fellowships starting in the 2021/22 academic year.
The three-year Fellowship contributes 100% of the Fellow’s salary in the first year, and thereafter 50% of the salary, with the balance being paid by the University. Appointments at the University of Warwick are dependent on the award of the Fellowship.

About Warwick SMLC

Members of Warwick’s SMLC (covering French Studies, German Studies, Hispanic Studies, Italian Studies, as well as Translation and Transcultural Studies) have recognized research strengths across a wide chronological period, including the late Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Enlightenment. The School strongly promotes innovative research in several interdisciplinary fields such as film history and aesthetics, postcolonial and transnational studies, translation studies, war, trauma and memory studies, and representations of disability, gender, sexuality, and cultural identity. It raises issues of linguistic, cultural, regional, national, and ethnic diversity in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and North, Central and South America, explores the significance and impact of many different types of aesthetic expression and conceptualization, philosophical, political and cultural thinking, and pays particular attention to the reception and reshaping of philosophical, intellectual, or literary traditions, cultural hybridity and transnationalization, encounters and translations between cultures, literal and intellectual mobility, and reconceptualizations of art. In particular, staff working in Translation and Transcultural Studies have expertise in a wide range of research areas, including cultural translation and transculturalism, memory and transcultural studies, literary translation, sociolinguistics, self-translation in multilingual contexts, gender and feminist translation studies, sociology of translation, and history of publishing. For staff profiles and an outline of specific research interests, see our staff research interests page. 

The host institution provides an environment supporting the career development of a research fellow seeking a permanent academic position in the UK. Warwick’s SMLC is in an ideal position to do so, as it has strong expertise and experience in hosting and nurturing research fellows. The SMLC currently hosts around 10 postdoctoral research fellows, funded by bodies such as the Leverhulme Trust, AHRC, ERC, MHRA and Marie Curie schemes. It also includes a community of around 27 doctoral students. 

How to Apply

SMLC will carry out an internal selection stage to identify the candidates that it wishes to put forward. We strongly advise potential candidates to make initial contact with the relevant contact in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures. Suitably qualified candidates should therefore send their initial expressions of interest to the relevant sectional Director of Research as soon as possible:

• French Studies: Prof. Jeremy Ahearne (j.ahearne@warwick.ac.uk)
• German Studies: Prof. Elisabeth Herrmann (Elisabeth.herrmann@warwick.ac.uk)
• Hispanic Studies: Dr Tom Whittaker (T.Whittaker@warwick.ac.uk)
• Italian Studies: Prof. David Lines (d.a.lines@warwick.ac.uk)
• Translation and Transcultural Studies: Dr Mila Milani (M.Milani@warwick.ac.uk) 

For the internal selection round run by the Faculty of Arts, prospective applicants will need to submit a finalised Expression of Interest containing the following information to Jeremy Ahearne (see email above) by 12 noon on Thursday 10 December 2020:  

• A short description of their project (maximum 2 A4 pages)
• A copy of their CV (maximum 2 A4 pages)
• The name of an academic in their proposed host Department whose research is relevant to their project and who would be willing to endorse their application. Although the Leverhulme Trust do not insist upon a formal mentoring arrangement, this is a requirement for the University of Warwick. Candidates should contact this member of staff at the earliest opportunity, and in advance of submitting the Expression of Interest.
• The names of three referees. Please note that referees will not be asked to provide a statement at this stage.

Eligibility

Candidates should consult the guidance on the Leverhulme Trust’s website prior to submitting an Expression of Interest.In particular, they should note that applicants must:

• hold a doctoral degree or equivalent research experience by the time they take up the Fellowship. If currently registered for a doctorate, they must have submitted their thesis by 4pm on 25 February 2021;
• have not yet have held a permanent academic appointment whose duties include research;
• not have existing funding in place for a duration equivalent to or greater than the duration of the Early Career Fellowship;
• be within four years of the award of their doctorate. Those who submitted their thesis for viva voce examination before 25 February 2017 are not eligible to apply, unless they have since had a career break;
• either hold a degree from a UK higher education institution at the time of taking up the Fellowship or at the time of the application deadline hold a non-permanent academic position in the UK (e.g. fixed-term lectureship, fellowship) which commenced no less than 4 months prior to 25 February 2021.

The University will support successful candidates in the development of full applications, the deadline for which is 25 February 2021.  

Please note that in our experience, early contact with the School is key to developing a competitive application.

For more information, click here