Who is Saint Louis University? Founded in 1818, Saint Louis University is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious Catholic universities. SLU, which also has a campus in Madrid, Spain, is recognized for world-class academics, life-changing research, compassionate health care, and a strong commitment to faith and service.

All About You

Saint Louis University’s College of Arts and Science invites applications for a three-year Post-Doctoral Fellow. The successful applicant will work with a faculty-led team in the University-CORE at SLU for a new initiative, Confluence: Where the Sciences Meets the Humanities. This initiative is supported by a Cornerstone: Learning for Living grant, funded by the Teagle Foundation, under the auspices of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Our goal is to create a program of general education based in “transformative texts.” Such texts—similar to “great books”—are, in the words of the “Teagle Foundation,” primary source “works of literature, art, and philosophy” that raise questions that students are “otherwise unlikely to encounter in their undergraduate career, and at a moment in their lives when they are open to confronting humanistic questions as part of their education.” Such texts can come from across the disciplines and frequently highlight the interconnected nature of academic knowledge. This program, while available to all SLU undergraduates, will be specifically targeted at students in STEM fields.

The goals of our initiative are: to reinvigorate the role of the humanities in SLU’s general education; foster a sense of intellectual community among students and faculty; connect STEM and healthcare students to the rich traditions of the humanities; make general education more coherent and attentive to students’ concerns.

The ideal candidate holds a Ph.D. in any field of the Humanities; has demonstrated ability to engage undergraduate students in rich conversations that connect the humanities to the wider world; has experience developing innovative and successful courses that incorporate--or could potentially be made to incorporate—“transformative texts”; has demonstrated ability to engage STEM and healthcare students in complex questions through textual analysis; and is open to working on a team of faculty and university Core directors.

Duties include helping the principal investigators in the following: promoting the program within the university; participating in workshops to recruit and support faculty who develop and design courses with our list of transformative texts; and assisting with assessment for the grant. The Post-Doctoral Fellow will typically teach two sections of a Freshmen Seminar (also known as an “Ignite” seminar) per semester. They will be able to choose the theme and design the
syllabus of this course. During the first semester of the fellowship, fall 2023, no teaching will be required.

Saint Louis University is a Catholic, Jesuit institution dedicated to student learning, research, health care, and service.

For more information on the Cornerstone program, see
https://www.teaglefoundation.org/Call-for-Proposals/RFPs/Cornerstone-Learning-for-Living or contact either of the principal investigators, Harold Braswell or Pascale Perraudin. For more information on Saint Louis University’s University-CORE and the Freshman Seminars (Ignite Seminars), see https://www.slu.edu/core/core-classes/index.php

Required Documents:

• Curriculum Vitae with names and contact information for 3 references (to be contacted
• should the candidate reach the interview stage)
• Cover Letter
• Statement of teaching philosophy
• Sample syllabi
• Transcript of graduate record
• Submitting your materials on Workday

The system limits uploads to five documents. You may need to save multiple documents into one file. See below for suggestions on how to upload the documents:

• On the “My Information” page, upload cover letter and CV as a single .pdf file.
• On the “My Experience” page, you may upload all other required documents using the upload
• box labeled “Resume/CV”.

Your application must be completed in one sitting; you will not be able to revise it once it is submitted. At the time of completing the application, have the following documents ready to upload listed under required documents above, and feel free to combine them all into a single document.

Function

Research Support

Scheduled Weekly Hours:

Saint Louis University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for the position applied for without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military/veteran status, gender identity, or other non-merit factors. We welcome and encourage applications from minorities, women, protected veterans, and individuals with disabilities (including disabled veterans). If accommodations are needed for completing the application and/or with the interviewing process, please contact Human Resources at 314-977-5847.