Author: aimihamraie

The Critical Design Lab at Vanderbilt University, directed by Dr. Aimi Hamraie, is seeking two Community Fellows to work on a collaborative project, Labs for Liberation. Qualified candidates are activists, artists, designers, cultural workers, access workers, and community scholars who do not necessarily have a formal academic affiliation. We are specifically looking for candidates whose work addresses (or seeks to incorporate) disability justice in relation to design justice, Black liberation and racial justice, gender and sexuality liberation, and related areas. Applicants should demonstrate established skills in an area such as creative practice, community organizing, or community archiving. They should be able to work individually, as well as collaboratively. Fellows with disabilities and experience with disability justice frameworks are encouraged to apply. This is a remote position. 

Community Fellows will be members of the Critical Design Lab, a multidisciplinary collaborative of disabled artists, designers, and design researchers. They will work with the Labs for Liberation team of researchers, postdoctoral fellows, community fellows, and students. Labs for Liberation is a collaborative project with Northwestern University’s Digital Apothecary, directed by Dr. Moya Bailey. This project explores the “laboratory” form and structure as a space for integrating justice-centered frameworks into research and design. It is informed by methods from disability culture and community organizing. 

Compensation is $50,000 for a period between June 2024-August 2025. There is an additional project budget. The position is funded by the Mellon Foundation. Successful candidates must be able to be paid as independent contractors in the United States.

Applications are due December 1, 2023. Interested candidates should note that there are also two positions in the Digital Apothecary. Please make sure that you are applying to the lab that you feel would be the best fit for you. 

Responsibilities 

Each community fellow will work on a collaborative project (“Labs for Liberation”) with the Digital Apothecary and Critical Design Lab. Over the school year, they will also:

• Complete an independent project of their own design related to Labs for Liberation, with a personal project budget. They will receive mentorship from Hamraie, Bailey, and other team members.
• Help organize and teach at two summer schools (June 2024 and June 2025). Summer school responsibilities include helping with logistics, providing reading recommendations, helping to plan the syllabus, teaching daily sessions for the duration of the workshop, giving students feedback in small groups, and evaluating completed student work. 
• Attend regular (remote) meetings with a collaborative cohort of postdoctoral fellows, student researchers, and other community fellows. 
• Produce website content, such as blog posts, zines, and social media, to document their project. 
• Present their project at an end-of-year event. 

How to apply 

Applications will be open on October 2, 2023 and will be considered until December 1, 2023. Interested candidates should email the complete application materials listed below to aimi.hamraie@vanderbilt.edu with the subject line “L4L COMMUNITY FELLOW APPLICATION.” Incomplete applications will not be considered, unfortunately. 

1. A current CV or resume outlining your relevant background and experience
2. A cover letter addressed to Dr. Aimi Hamraie, which describes: 

• Why you want to work with the Critical Design Lab, including showing familiarity with the Lab’s work and stating why you think you would be a good fit; 
• Your qualifications for this position, including the skills and areas of expertise you would contribute;
• The values that inform your work or that you hope to learn to integrate through this fellowship;
• How this position fits into your professional, activist, or community goals; 
• A brief statement of the specific project you hope to complete during the fellowship year

3. A work/art/project sample showing documentation of something you have completed in the past and that you feel showcases your approach to disability justice. This could be a mini-portfolio of art/design work, a short narrative, a set of facilitation tools, a social media campaign, a gallery of images or videos, or something else. 
4. A project proposal (3-5 pages), which outlines the specific project goals, methods, timeline, and expected outcomes. Click for example project proposal template.
5. A proposed budget for this project (see template). Imagine that you have $20,000 to carry out your project. How would you spend this money? Click for example budget template.
6. A list of three references that will be contacted should candidates progress through the application process. Please include names, email addresses, and a description of your relationship (such as “former collaborator,” “employer,” etc.)

The Critical Design Lab seeks applications for a postdoctoral scholar position in the areas of critical disability studies of design and technology, critical access studies, and/or critical design studies. This position begins in June 2024 and continues until July 2025. The ideal candidate is an interdisciplinary scholar who uses critical disability theory to study design at any scale, including media, technology, products, architecture, and public spaces. They will have strong skills in collaborative work, written communication, and project management. Experience with research-creation, design practice, media production, and related methods is preferred but not required. Interdisciplinary candidates completing PhDs (and/or PhD specializations) in fields such as Disability Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Science and Technology Studies, Digital Humanities, Design Studies, Architecture, Computer Science, Engineering, and related fields are encouraged to apply. Candidates identifying with disability and disability communities are encouraged to apply.

This postdoctoral position is part of a collaborative project, Labs for Liberation, funded by the Mellon Foundation. Labs for Liberation brings together the Critical Design Lab with Northwestern University’s Digital Apothecary, directed by Dr. Moya Bailey. Labs for Liberation explores the laboratory form and structure as a space for integrating value-explicit research and research-creation, drawing from methods from disability culture and community organizing. Postdoctoral fellows will work collaboratively with members of both labs, including undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and community fellows (including artists and community organizers).

Responsibilities include:

1. Carrying out a full-time active research program focusing primarily on critical disability studies, critical access, design, technology, research-creation, and related practices, including working on book and article manuscripts, solo publications, and/or collaborative publications with members of the Critical Design Lab.
2. Attending regular meetings of the Critical Design Lab and Labs for Liberation project teams.
3. Working collaboratively with Community Fellows to mentor graduate and undergraduate research on Labs for Liberation projects, including curriculum, podcasts, zines, and social media content.
4. Helping to coordinate two summer institutes on disability and design (July 2024 and July 2025)
5. Guest lecturing in courses related to disability studies and design

The Critical Design Lab, directed by Dr. Aimi Hamraie, uses methods from critical design and disability culture to study and practice accessibility. Members of the lab include researchers, designers, and artists whose work contributes to disability culture and community. Our work pivots around the concept of access: access is our ethic, our creative content, and our methodology. Lab projects have included participatory accessibility mapping, podcasting, art curation, collective access events, community archiving, and digital media design. Our projects have been funded by the Mellon Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the United States Artists Fellowship, the Social Science Research Council, the National Humanities Alliance, and others.

The postdoctoral fellow will be supervised by Dr. Aimi Hamraie (Associate Professor of Medicine, Health, & Society and American Studies at Vanderbilt University, United States Artist Fellow, and public member of the U.S. Access Board). They will also work with Dr. Moya Bailey and the Labs for Liberation team at Northwestern University, which will also include a postdoctoral scholar and two community fellows.

The one-year postdoctoral fellowship will begin on 6/1/2024 with an end date of 8/31/2025. The position carries a salary of $66,748, office space, health insurance, and eligibility for other benefits (https://www.vanderbilt.edu/postdoc/faqs/). This is a full-time position that requires a physical presence in Nashville for the term of the fellowship. The postdoctoral fellow will also have access to an additional $30,000 project budget, which reimburses allowable research expenses (https://as.vanderbilt.edu/internal/policies/research-funding-guidelines.php).

Applicants should provide a cover letter, a CV, a writing sample and three references at: http://apply.interfolio.com/125959. Cover letters should include information about candidate qualifications and research interests, interest in working with the Critical Design Lab and Labs for Liberation project, future research plans, and experiences with disability culture (if any). For full consideration, applications are due December 1, 2024.

Vanderbilt University is committed to recruiting and retaining an academically and culturally diverse community of exceptional scholars. Women, minorities, and members of other underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply. Vanderbilt University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer.Qualifications

Ph.D. in fields specified above in hand no later than May 31, 2024.

Application Instructions

Applicants should provide a cover letter, a CV, and three references at: http://apply.interfolio.com/125959. Cover letters should include information about candidate qualifications and research interests, interest in working with the Critical Design Lab and Labs for Liberation project, future research plans, and experiences with disability culture (if any). For full consideration, applications are due December 1, 2024.