Research Associate in History

Princeton University

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

Apply