The Willard McCarty Fellowship was set up in 2018 by the Department of Digital Humanities at King’s College London in honour of Professor Willard McCarty’s ceaseless contribution to the advances and growth of the field of Digital Humanities and the Department. The Fellowship is intended to support outstanding early career scholars whose work interrogates the value of a human-machine dialogue for greater understanding of the human mind, condition, culture, and society. It seeks to foster intellectual collaboration across borders and disciplines as well as between academia and industry. Candidates are expected to have a strong academic presence and/or significant engagement with the intellectual life of society as a whole.
We offer Fellows the opportunity to exchange experiences with colleagues and students in the dynamic environment of the largest academic digital humanities department in the world.
“Digital Humanities at KCL is a welcoming and rigorous environment filled with colleagues who have become friends. I can’t speak highly enough of my time there on the McCarty Fellowship, during which the Digital Theory Lab from NYU visited KCL and our public event, “Monopolies of Intelligence,” began wonderful conversations that continue into the present.”
Leif Weatherby, NYU, 2018-19 WM Fellow
“The Fellowship was an amazing opportunity to share my research and connect with other scholars whose expertise is related to my study. The discussions inspired me to explore new research questions and gave me new ideas for the next project. These intensive two weeks, filled with meetings and King’s events, led to the completion of my scholarly article and the submission of my grant proposal. It was a pleasure to be part of the friendly community of the DDH and enjoy London in sunny May. I came away from the Fellowship with ideas, contacts, and a KDL mug!”
Urszula Pawlicka-Deger, Aalto University, Finland, 2018-19 WM Fellow
More information about previous and current fellows can be found here.
CALL FOR FELLOWSHIP 2019-2020
Access to Fellowship
Access to the Willard McCarty Fellowship is given to interdisciplinary-minded academic and non-academic researchers who must have a PhD either awarded or in hand; or equivalent experience. The route to the scheme is to apply as outlined in the Section ‘How and When to Apply?’. Candidates will be selected based on the evaluation made by the committee formed from internal and external experts.
The Fellowship must be undertaken at the Department of Digital Humanities for a period from one to two weeks.
Grants of up to £2,500 to successful candidates will cover the following:
- Round trip standard class fares
- Accommodation and subsistence
We can provide advice, but appointees must make their own travel and living arrangements. They will need to seek additional funding elsewhere to cover any expenses that exceed the grant.
The Role of Fellows
Fellows will be affiliated with the interdisciplinary programme and international staff of the Department, and provided with office space. Fellows will be welcome to attend classes and seminars, to work with the staff of the Department, meet affiliated partners, such as staff of King’s Digital Lab, and access Strand campus and all facilities of the Maughan Library. During their stay, holders of the Fellowship will be required to give one lecture to staff of the Department. In addition, they may give one seminar to graduate and postgraduate students. The Department will appoint Mentors during the period of their stay to advise Fellows on writing and publishing, so that if they wish, they may submit a revised version of their lecture for publication in a suitable high-impact journal.
How and When to Apply?
Applications for the WM Fellowship 2019-20 open on Monday 28th October 2019, and close on Tuesday 7th January 2020.
To be considered for the Fellowship, please submit the following materials:
- Cover Letter (up to 500 words) indicating reason for interest in this appointment
- Curriculum Vitae (up to 2 pages, with emphasis on the last ten years)
- Statement of research interests (up to 1,000 words), outlining the topics and content of the lecture and seminar the Fellow will give during the period of the fellowship
- Two letters of recommendation
For the 2019-20 Fellowship competition, please submit all materials in one email to both Paul Spence (paul.spence@kcl.ac.uk) and Gabriele Salciute Civiliene (gabriele.salciute-civiliene@kcl.ac.uk) by January 7, 2020. Please put ‘WM Fellowship’ in the subject area.
Submissions that are incomplete or sent later than the deadline will not be considered. The successful candidate(s) will be notified of the results in early February 2020. The Fellowship will have to take place between March and end of May 2020.
Eligibility
Academic and post-doctoral staff already at King’s College London are not eligible for this scheme.
The scheme is open to applicants without regard to nationality, race, religious beliefs or gender.
Applicants must be fluent in English.
If an applicant needs a visa for entry and stay in the UK, it is his or her responsibility to arrange one before arrival.