The World History Center is offering one Graduate Student Assistantship (GSA) in Public History for the spring 2024 semester. We seek Pitt graduate students in a degree seeking program in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences (this does not include certificates), at any stage of their program, who are eligible for university funding and interested in communicating to a non-academic audience about a topic in the transregional or global past. Your proposed activity must have a significant world-historical component and result in a completed public-facing project.
We take the term public history broadly. We require only that your project’s target audience extend beyond undergraduate majors or scholars in your discipline and field. Your application should explain how your project addresses the interests of a particular audience outside the university and should detail your current connection or a strategy to connect to that audience. For examples of past GSA in Public History projects, visit the WHC GSA page. The time commitment and remuneration for this position are equivalent to those for a TA-ship. The GSA cannot be held concurrently with another fellowship.
To apply please submit to whc@pitt.edu by October 27:
1) a 500-word document that describes a proposed project in terms of its intellectual significance and its relationship to the field of world history. Proposal should demonstrate a familiarity with the research topic, explain how work you have already completed will allow you to complete your proposed project within one semester, and describe the relationships that you have built with the non-academic audience you seek to reach.
2) a 250-word description of a one-semester workplan that will result in a completed project
3) a well-justified budget of up to $750 for project-related costs
4) a C.V
5) an email from an advisor stating the applicant is in good standing and is being recommended for this position
Interested applicants are encouraged to attend an event the World History Center will host on Thursday, September 28, “Humanities and the Public: Global Perspectives for Students and Faculty” during which a panel of Pitt graduate students, staff, and faculty will discuss their experience connecting their work to broader publics.
History students will receive preferential consideration, but we welcome applications from students in any discipline or program in the Dietrich School whose proposal substantially concerns world history. WHC Director Ruth Mostern and Associate Director Raja Adal will offer intellectual supervision and guidance as you complete your project, and WHC Research Associate Alexandra Straub will provide logistical support. This position is an opportunity for you to use materials and themes from your own dissertation research to create a public-facing project that can become a distinctive piece of your professional portfolio.