Independent and academically affiliated scholars and artists may apply for Global Arts and Humanities Discovery Theme (GAHDT) Society of Fellows residency in alignment with annual theme of Creativity | Intelligence | Automation.
About the Theme:The technological advances and broad applications of artificial intelligence (AI) have profoundly impacted nearly every aspect of human society. But while AI may offer potential solutions to some of the worlds most intractable problems, it also comes with its own perils. Increasingly, the same tools that promise creative innovations, democratic access and economic growth may also reiterate structural inequities, increase corporate influence and jeopardize lives, careers and the environment.
The Society of Fellows 2025-26 theme, Creativity | Intelligence | Automation foregrounds the challenges and opportunities of automation and alerts us to the ethical obligations arising from the simulation of human intelligence. For example: How might the history of automation inform how we reckon with this new age? How does this moment push us to reimagine the nature of intelligence? How might we hold to account the automation of biases and erasures? Are there intelligences that should not be automated? What happens to artistic life when creative labor is automated? What other intelligences might we turn to beyond doctrines of human uniqueness?
GAHDT welcomes critical humanistic orientations that bring together an interdisciplinary cohort of scholars, artists and practitioners from a range of fields (arts, architecture, design, engineering, humanities, medicine, social sciences, etc.). The theme focuses on how creativity, intelligence and automation operate across different scales in global contexts and within wider assemblages of biomedical, communicative, cultural, educational, environmental, geopolitical, socioeconomic, carceral and technoscientific forces and relations.
GAHDT invites Society of Fellows proposals for projects that grapple with the relationship between creativity, intelligence and automation. We welcome projects that compel new understandings of techno-human interdependencies and histories; automation and the politics of labor; theories of personhood; and forms of performativity, communication, learning and cultural expression.
Position Description
The selected candidate will be appointed as a postdoctoral scholar in the Global Arts + Humanities Discovery Theme and is expected to work on their own scholarly, artistic, advocacy and/or policy-oriented work, as well as to engage Ohio State faculty, students and local Columbus community organizations by participating in a monthly seminar and organizing a culminating public-facing event with other scholars and artists (symposium, exhibition, series of workshops, etc.). The postdoctoral scholar/artist will also be expected to teach one undergraduate course in spring semester 2025 or equivalent labor in developing arts-based deliverable.
Responsibilities: 80% work on their own scholarly, artistic, advocacy and/or policy-oriented work, as well as to engage Ohio State faculty, students and local Columbus community organizations by participating in a monthly seminar and organizing a culminating public-facing event with other Society of Fellows scholars and artists (symposium, exhibition, series of workshops, etc.). 20% Teach one course in Spring Semester 2024 or equivalent labor in developing arts-based outcome. Certifications: Education: Doctoral/Professional
Minimum Education: Required PhD or MFA must be terminal degree to apply
Submit electronic copies of the following materials with your Application
A current curriculum vitae.
A sample related to the fellowship theme (one published article, book, chapter or multimedia video documentation of artistic practice).
A 100-word abstract describing the project (research, creative, public-facing) the applicant will pursue during the term of the fellowship.
A brief statement (1,000-1,500 words) describing how your project engages the annual theme, your interest in participating in a multi-disciplinary research community and the specific contributions you would hope to bring to the cohort. The statement should also describe the cross-disciplinary dimensions of your project.
A course proposal for an undergraduate course. This could be either a version of an existing course or a special topics course related to the applicants research, consisting of a brief course description (50 words), summary of topics/learning outcomes (up to 300 words) and a provisional list of required texts for the course or a syllabus if the course has been previously taught.
The Ohio State University is a dynamic community of diverse resources, where opportunity thrives and where individuals transform themselves and the world. Founded in 1870, Ohio State is a world-class public research university and the leading comprehensive teaching and research institution in the state of Ohio. With more than 63,000 students (including 57,000 in Columbus), the Wexner Medical Center, 14 colleges, 80 centers and 175 majors, the university offers its students tremendous breadth and depth of opportunity in the liberal arts, the sciences and the professions.