Visiting Member Awards for 2012-2013

The School of Social Science each year invites as Members up to twenty scholars from a large applicant pool. Visiting Members are expected to pursue their own research, but the School organizes a seminar on the year’s focus and a weekly lunch at which Members as well as invited guests present their on-going work. The School is not wedded to any particular intellectual or disciplinary approach. It welcomes applications in economics, political science, law, psychology, sociology, and anthropology. It encourages social scientific work with an historical and humanistic bent and also entertains applications in history, philosophy, literary criticism, literature, and linguistics.

Memberships are for the full academic year; we regret that we cannot consider applications for a single term. The group is interdisciplinary and international, with memberships awarded at both the junior and senior level. Applicants must possess a Ph.D. or equivalent (for example, in some fields the terminal degree may be an M.F.A., or the applicant may possess a foreign degree, or have achieved a level of professional reputation that would merit consideration) by the deadline of November 1, 2010. Former Members in the School of Social Science should note that one can only be a Member once.

The theme for 2012-13 is Economics and Politics.  Economic and political matters are obviously closely connected. Indeed, the disciplines of economics and political science have their common origin in the field of political economy, which was premised on this interrelationship. For many decades, however, each discipline took rather little notice of the other; the subjects evolved in more-or-less parallel universes. That has changed  in recent years, which have seen a renaissance in the study of economics and politics together. Thus, for example, scholars have been investigating how political alignments induce and constrain economic policy—and, conversely, how economic conditions shape the growth of political movements and coalitions. We anticipate assembling a diverse group of eight to twelve scholars to examine positive issues like these, as well as normative questions, such as which political systems best promote economic welfare.  We are also interested in research on the history of political economy and political economists, the theories advanced in that field and their pertinence to what counts as political economy today.

Please note that applications which do not fall within the parameters of the theme for 2012-2013 will also receive full consideration.

Each year our Membership stipends vary, depending on available funds, the needs of individual Members, and the support they can get from outside agencies. Stipend support will not exceed $65,000, and since our funds are always limited, we are rarely able to meet current salary levels. We therefore strongly encourage you to apply for outside support as part of this application process, and to find out in advance about your institution’s policies on matching fellowship awards. The success of your application, however, in no way depends upon securing such support. Memberships are funded by the Institute for Advanced Study, as well as other sources. If you are a recently-tenured faculty member, you may also wish to consider applying to the ACLS for the Frederick Burkhardt Fellowship.

Applications must be submitted through the Institute's online application system (https://applications.ias.edu) by November 1, 2011.

The Institute for Advanced Study was founded in 1930 as a community of postdoctoral scholars where intellectual inquiry could be carried out in the most favorable circumstances. It provides libraries, offices, personal computers, seminar and lecture rooms, subsidized restaurant and housing facilities, and some secretarial services.