Research Associate in History

The Princeton University Shelby Cullom Davis Center for Historical Studies is pleased to announce openings for a year-long residential Postdoctoral Research Associate (or more senior research position), with the expectation of renewal for a second year, contingent upon satisfactory performance and continued funding. Those hired at more senior ranks may have multi-year appointments.

Research Theme (2026–2028)

During the academic years 2026–2027 and 2027–2028, the Davis Center will focus on:

“Property and Poverty”

The Center invites recent Ph.D.’s to apply for a postdoctoral position related to this theme.

Applications are welcome from scholars researching:

• The history of property and dispossession
• Wealth and poverty
• Practices of owning and disowning things, people, bodies, and ideas

Research Areas of Interest

Scholars working in the following areas are encouraged to apply:

• Intellectual, legal, religious, cultural, and economic histories of property and poverty
• Social histories of impoverishment, poor relief, and dispossession
• Intellectual property and copyright history
• History of the commons
• Lived experience of poverty
• Forms of individual and collective ownership and resistance
• Administrative and informational technologies of property
• Religious and moral aspects of poverty and ownership
• Environmental, economic, intellectual history
• History of art, gender, race, and sexuality

Time period and geography: No restrictions (antiquity to modern period; global scope welcome)

Appointment Details

• Full-time residential postdoctoral research position
• Expected initial term: July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027
• Expected renewal: second year (subject to performance and funding)
• Senior appointments may have multi-year terms
• Appointed through the Department of History
• Work location: in-person, on campus at Princeton University
• No teaching or administrative duties (postdoctoral level)

Selected senior appointees may be asked to teach, subject to approval and enrollment conditions.

Responsibilities

• Full-time research on proposed historical project
• Participation in weekly Davis Center activities alongside faculty-level fellows

Compensation and Benefits

• Competitive salary
• University benefits
• Annual research fund: $5,000

Application Requirements

Applicants must apply online:

Princeton Academic Hiring Portal

Required materials:

• Letter of application
• Curriculum vitae (CV)
• Writing sample (max 10,000 words)
• Contact information for three referees

Additional requirement (if Ph.D. not yet completed):

• Letter from dissertation advisor confirming expected completion before start date

Deadlines

• Application deadline: April 1, 2026 (11:59 pm EST)
• Reference letters due: April 8, 2026

Additional Information

• Participation in weekly Davis Center activities is required
• Appointment is subject to Princeton University background check policy
• Work is fully in-person on campus

More information about the center:

Davis Center for Historical Studies

In your application, please refer to Professorpositions.com