This is obviously a critical position at an incredibly important institution for the future of the digital humanities. I hope someone in the audience for this blog—or someone you know—is up to the task and the calling.

The Southern Oral History Program (SOHP) in the Center for the Study of the American South seeks a Coordinator of Oral History Digital Initiatives to oversee the SOHP’s participation in a three-year, cross-university collaboration focused on “the long civil rights movement,” stretching back to the 1940s and continuing with the extension of struggles for social justice into new arenas after the 1960s. Competitive applicants must demonstrate expertise in oral history research and the use of digital technologies in the humanities. Reporting to the SOHP’s Director and working alongside the Associate Director, the Coordinator will help to plan, supervise, and evaluate student fieldwork conducted throughout the project. The Coordinator will assume primary responsibility for the creative use of digital technologies and of new forms of collaborative research, interpretation, and ultimately publication. Tasks will include managing relationships with on-site and virtual scholarly collaborators and the selection, scholarly annotation, and contextualization of oral history materials for use in digital archives and other publishing experiments. In addition, the Coordinator will help to plan and implement a conference on the long civil rights movement in the spring of 2009. The ideal candidate will have both academic and administrative experience and must be able to work independently on long-term projects, while at the same time performing an array of short-term tasks in a collaborative setting. The position requires excellent oral and written, interpersonal, and organizational skills; familiarity with new media; and the ability to build cross- and off-campus partnerships. PhD in U.S. history preferred or MA and two years of relevant experience. Salary Range $50,000-$55,000. To begin fall 2008. Candidates should be aware that this is a time-limited position and funding is not assured for longer than three years. Please submit a letter of application, c.v, and three letters of recommendation to: Search Committee, Coordinator of Oral History Digital Initiatives, Southern Oral History Program, Love House and Hutchins Forum, 410 East Franklin St., CB# 9127, UNC-CH. Chapel Hill, NC 27599-9127. Review of applications will begin March 15 and continue until the position is filled. UNC is an equal opportunity employer.

[Yes, we're hiring again. Come join us if this sounds like you!]

The Center for History and New Media (CHNM) at George Mason University is seeking a postdoctoral fellow to work on a new text-mining initiative supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities. ABD candidates are also strongly encouraged to apply. This is a grant-funded, two-year position that is particularly appropriate for someone with interests in computational linguistics, machine learning, or technology and the humanities and social sciences. Specific background and experience is less important than the ability to learn new technical skills quickly. Knowledge of some combination of the following would be particularly helpful: Java, JavaScript, MySQL, PHP, or object-oriented programming. Ability to work in a team is very important. CHNM (http://chnm.gmu.edu), known for innovative work in digital media, is located in Fairfax, Virginia, 15 miles from Washington, DC, and is accessible by public transportation. Please send a cover letter and resume, including relevant programming projects and experience, to chnm@gmu.edu with subject line “Text Mining.” We will begin considering applications on 5/1/2008 and continue until the position is filled. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered.

The Maryland Institute of Technology in the Humanities (MITH) at the
University of Maryland in College Park is seeking a full time
programmer for at least a year to work on the NEH/JISC funded
Shakespeare’s Quartos project. This exciting digital humanities
initiative, an international collaboration among MITH, the Folger
Shakespeare Library, Oxford University, the British Library, the
Huntington Library, and the Scottish National Library, aims to create
a digital archive of all the extant quartos of Shakespeare’s plays
beginning with Hamlet. The successful candidate will at the minimum
have a bachelor’s degree and be an experienced web programmer familiar
with PHP, JavaScript, MySQL, XML, and XSLT to develop both the user
interface and the database back-end for this interactive archive.
Ideally, the candidate will also have a background in textual
criticism and/or Shakespearean scholarship.

Located in McKeldin Library at the heart of the campus, MITH is the
University of Maryland’s primary intellectual hub for scholars and
practitioners of digital humanities, new media, and cyberculture, as
well as the home of the Electronic Literature Organization, the most
prominent international group devoted to the writing, publishing and
reading of electronic literature. MITH’s house research includes
projects in text mining, tool building, visualization, digital
libraries, electronic publishing, and digital preservation. We
collaborate actively with allied campus units, including the
University Libraries, the College of Information Science, and the
Human Computer Interaction Lab. Situated just outside of Washington
DC, MITH also offers all of the opportunities that come from the
libraries, museums, and cultural institutions of the area.

Salary range, $50,000 - $55,000. To apply, please send a letter of
application, CV, and contact information for three references. Best
consideration by April 9, 2008. Application materials may be sent
electronically to mith@umd.edu or to Neil Fraistat, Director, MITH,
McKeldin Library, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742.
Consideration of applications to begin immediately. Applications from
women and minorities are encouraged.

JSTOR is continuing to work on making its critical archive more helpful and dynamic for scholars and students. They recently posted two research positions that might be of interest to readers of this blog.

In addition to the rising tide of tenure-track and post-doc positions recently mentioned here and over on Mills Kelly’s blog, there are at least three excellent senior positions available this year in the digital humanities:

The Breslauer Chair in Bibliography at UCLA

The NINES directorship at the University of Virginia

Dartmouth’s newly endowed chair in the Digital Humanities

Mills Kelly takes note of a new trend this year: the sprouting up of digital history positions. The numbers aren’t large, but this is how new fields slowly emerge and are integrated into the profession. Congratulations to the departments and universities with the foresight to incorporate digital history into their programs.

A great opportunity for an early career digital historian:

Postdoc Fellowship in Digital  History. The Department of History at the University of Chicago seeks applications and nominations for a two-year residential Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in digital history, beginning fall 2008 . The successful candidate will be expected to research how the proliferation of digital possibilities is changing the culture of historical inquiry and pedagogy. Areas of interest may include, for example, the provision of databases and search techniques (as in Google-type scanning projects), the use of digital media to convey aspects of cultural knowledge beyond the capability of the printed page, or the implications of global networking for the circulation and credibility of  historiographical claims among new audiences.  But the specific theme is open, and these are only three among a very wide range of possibilities.  The appointment will be at the rank of instructor. The fellow will combine research, writing, and half-time teaching, with the opportunity to teach two one-quarter courses per year (one undergraduate and one graduate) about the possibilities and implications of new media for historical knowledge. Open to applicants who will have received the PhD within five academic years previous to the year of the award; persons holding tenure-track appointments are ineligible to apply. Applications include a c.v., a chapter length piece of writing and three letters of recommendation. Applications will be read as soon as they arrive. No electronic applications will be accepted. Please address all materials to: Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship Search Committee, Dept of History, University of Chicago, 1126 East 59th Street, Chicago, IL 60637-1580. The University of Chicago is an AA/EOE.

Our official advertisement for the position:

The Center for History and New Media (CHNM) at George Mason University is hiring a full-time Project Manager to work on the National History Education Clearinghouse. The successful candidate will be an energetic, well-organized person who takes initiative, works well in a team and independently, and is comfortable performing a variety of tasks. Responsibilities include project management, liaison work with schools, presentations and outreach, research, editing, and writing. BA by September 1, 2007. Experience with history, history education, written and oral communication, and online environments preferred and advanced training in history (e.g., MA or ABD) and/or K-12 teacher experience a plus. This is an exciting opportunity that is particularly appropriate for someone with a combined interest in education and history. This is a grant-funded, one-year position at the Center for History and New Media (http://chnm.gmu.edu), which is well known for innovative work in digital media. Located in Fairfax, Virginia, CHNM is 15 miles from Washington, DC, and accessible by public transportation.

Apply online (including resume, two references, and a cover letter describing any interest in history) at http://jobs.gmu.edu for position 10399Z. If you have questions, contact us at chnm@gmu.edu with subject line “Project Manager.” Salary commiserate with education and experience. We will begin considering applications on 11/7/2007 and continue until the position is filled.

The Center for History and New Media at George Mason University continues to expand, and we are currently looking to fill two positions, listed below in their official ads. Of course, readers of this blog should always feel free to email me with any questions about possible employment at CHNM, or simply to send me their CV for future reference since we have new positions frequently and are always looking for talented people who have both academic and technical skills.

Web Designer: CHNM is seeking a web designer and developer. We require an energetic and well-organized individual to work on a variety of innovative, web-based history projects. This position is particularly appropriate for someone with a combined interest in technology and history. The successful applicant will be able to create mockups and wireframes for historical, cultural, and educational websites and bring those ideas to fruition using the latest and highest web development standards. Fluency with current web design technologies (including ability to hand code HTML, CSS, and Javascript), proven experience with Photoshop and Illustrator, and familiarity with web accessibility and web usability standards are essential. Some familiarity with web-database technologies (MySQL, PHP), contemporary trends in web development (e.g., AJAX, DHTML, Rails), and multimedia technologies (Flash, including ActionScript, Final Cut Pro) is a plus, as is prior work in history or the humanities. This is a grant-funded, two-year position. Apply online (including resume, three references, links to prior web work, and a cover letter describing technology background and any interest in history) at http://jobs.gmu.edu for position 10397Z. Applications without a cover letter and resume will not be considered. If you have questions, contact us at chnm@gmu.edu with subject line “Web Designer.” We will begin considering applications immediately and continue until the position is filled.

Web Developer/Programmer: CHNM is seeking an entry-level web developer/programmer to work on two innovative new open source software projects, Zotero and Omeka. This is a grant-funded, one-to-two-year position that is particularly appropriate for someone with a combined interest in technology and the humanities and social sciences. Specific background and experience is less important than the ability to learn new technical skills quickly. Knowledge of some combination of the following would be particularly helpful: PHP, MySQL, Javascript, CSS, XML, object-oriented programming, and database-driven web applications. Ability to work in a team is very important. Apply online at http://jobs.gmu.edu for position 10398z; please include cover letter with a description of relevant programming projects and experience; resume, and three references. Applications without a cover letter and resume will not be considered. If you have questions, contact us at chnm@gmu.edu with subject line “programmer.” We will begin considering applications immediately and continue until the position is filled.

About CHNM: Since 1994, the Center for History and New Media has used digital media and computer technology to change the ways that people–scholars, students, and the general public–learn about and use the past. We do that by bringing together the most exciting and innovative digital media with the latest and best historical scholarship. We believe that serious scholarship and cutting-edge multimedia can be combined to promote an inclusive and democratic understanding of the past as well as a broad historical literacy that fosters deep understanding of the most complex issues about the past and present. CHNM’s work has been internationally recognized for cutting-edge work in history and new media. Located in Fairfax, Virginia, CHNM is 15 miles from Washington, DC, and is accessible by public transportation.