Tag: AIS at Illinois

Making a run for the desert

On By Matthew Sakiestewa GilbertIn AIS at Illinois, AIS at University of Arizona, American Indian Studies13 Comments
IMG_0067
Seated at the UofI AIS Director’s Desk

I am excited to announce that I will be leaving the University of Illinois soon to begin a new appointment as Professor and Head of the Department of American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona!

After 13 years at the UofI, I am finally making my way back to the Southwest and closer to family and the larger Hopi community.

I will be leaving wonderful colleagues and friends in the American Indian Studies Program and the Department of History, terrific students, and a very supportive College and campus administration.

But I will be joining a highly respected and established AIS department, a community of outstanding faculty and students, and a university (and program) that I have always wanted to work at.

Needless to say, I am thrilled to be making this run for the desert and taking part (once again) in the second wave of Hopi migration.

To the fence and back!

Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowships in American Indian Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2014-2015

On By Matthew Sakiestewa GilbertIn AIS at Illinois, American Indian Studies, AnnouncementsLeave a comment

CHANCELLOR’S POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS IN
AMERICAN INDIAN STUDIES, 2014-2015

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

American Indian Studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign seeks two Postdoctoral Fellows for the 2014-2015 academic year. This fellowship program provides a stipend, a close working association with AIS faculty, and assistance in furthering the fellow’s development as a productive scholar. Applicants should have an ongoing research project that promises to make a notable contribution to American Indian and Indigenous Studies. While fellows will concentrate on their research, they may choose to teach one course in American Indian Studies. Furthermore, fellows are expected to participate in the intellectual community of the American Indian Studies Program. One of the positions may be renewable for a second year.

Stipend and Benefits: The Fellowship stipend for the 2014-2015 academic year is $42,000, including health benefits. An additional $5,000 will be provided for the fellow’s research, travel, and related expenses.

Minimum Qualifications: Ph.D. or equivalent terminal degree is required. Candidates must have completed all degree requirements by August 15, 2014. Preference will be given to those applicants who have finished their degrees in the past five years. The one-year fellowship appointment period is from August 16, 2014, to August 15, 2015.

To Apply: Create your candidate profile through the University of Illinois application login page at http://go.illinois.edu/AISPostDocFellowshipRegistration and upload your application materials:

Candidates should submit a letter of application to Jodi A. Byrd, Acting Director of American Indian Studies, providing a thorough description of the research project to be undertaken during the fellowship year, a curriculum vitae, two samples of their scholarly writing, and two letters of recommendation.

Applications received by January 24, 2014 will receive full consideration. The review process will continue until the fellowships are filled. For further information, contact Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert, Chair, Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Committee, American Indian Studies: Email: tewa@illinois.edu, Phone: (217) 265-9870, or visit the Program’s website at http://www.ais.illinois.edu.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is an Equal Opportunity Employer

University of Illinois seeks Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor of American Indian Studies

On By Matthew Sakiestewa GilbertIn AIS at Illinois, American Indian Studies, AnnouncementsLeave a comment

University of Illinois — Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor of American Indian Studies

The American Indian Studies Program at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (http://www.ais.illinois.edu) invites applications for an assistant, associate, or full professor position (full time tenure-track or tenured position).

American Indian Studies is searching for a scholar in interdisciplinary American Indian or Indigenous Studies with an emphasis on Native peoples from regions of North America where our campus is located, including the Lower Great Lakes, the Upper Mississippi, and the Mississippi cultural regions. The successful candidate will have a record of research excellence and publication in American Indian or Indigenous studies (tenured) or demonstrate potential to develop such a record (tenure-track). Along with research and publication, the position requires significant contributions to undergraduate teaching, graduate mentoring, in addition to program, university, and other forms of professional service. Current faculty in our unit conduct interdisciplinary research in a range of fields including comparative indigenous studies, media studies, expressive culture, intellectual history, literary history, educational history, sports, social and political theory, language revitalization, museum studies, governance, health, militarization, and performance. Candidates from all disciplinary backgrounds will be considered; however, the search committee is interested in candidates who complement the expertise of our current faculty, and we are particularly interested in candidates whose research focuses on design and fine arts, linguistics, language revitalization, environmental studies, landscape architecture, critical geographies, and disability studies. A joint appointment or teaching arrangement with another academic unit on campus is also likely.

Minimum qualifications include the PhD or equivalent by the start of appointment, clear knowledge and experience in American Indian and Indigenous Studies, scholarly achievement and promise, and evidence of teaching excellence. Experience working with American Indian or other Indigenous communities is a plus.

To ensure full consideration, create your candidate profile through http://go.illinois.edu/AISfaculty13 and submit your letter of application detailing current research plans, curriculum vitae, and contact information for three professional references by December 15, 2013.  The search committee may contact the applicant about soliciting letters of reference at a later point, after a first review of the files.  For inquiries regarding the position, contact search committee chair, Jodi Byrd (jabyrd@illinois.edu).  Target start date of August 16, 2014.  Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience.

Illinois is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer and welcomes individuals with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and ideas who embrace and value diversity and inclusivity. (www.inclusiveillinois.illinois.edu)

Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowships in American Indian Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2013-2014

On By Matthew Sakiestewa GilbertIn AIS at Illinois, AnnouncementsLeave a comment

American Indian Studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign seeks two Postdoctoral Fellows for the 2013-2014 academic year. This fellowship program provides a stipend, a close working association with AIS faculty, and assistance in furthering the fellow’s development as a productive scholar. Applicants should have an ongoing research project that promises to make a notable contribution to American Indian and Indigenous Studies. While fellows will concentrate on their research, they may choose to teach one course in American Indian Studies. Furthermore, fellows are expected to participate in the intellectual community of the American Indian Studies Program. One of the positions may be renewable for a second year.

Stipend and Benefits: The Fellowship stipend for the 2013-2014 academic year is $42,000, including health benefits. An additional $5,000 will be provided for the fellow’s research, travel, and related expenses.

Minimum Qualifications: Ph.D. or equivalent terminal degree is required. Candidates must have completed all degree requirements by August 15, 2013. Preference will be given to those applicants who have finished their degrees in the past five years. The one-year fellowship appointment period is from August 16, 2013, to August 15, 2014.

To Apply: Create your candidate profile through the University of Illinois application login page at https://my.atlas.illinois.edu/submit/go.asp?id=538 and upload your application materials:

Candidates should submit a letter of application providing a thorough description of the research project to be undertaken during the fellowship year, a curriculum vitae, two samples of their scholarly writing, and two letters of recommendation.

Applications received by January 18, 2013 will receive full consideration. The review process will continue until the fellowships are filled. For further information, contact Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert, Chair, Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Committee, American Indian Studies: Phone: (217) 265-9870, Email: tewa@illinois.edu, or visit the Program’s website at http://www.ais.illinois.edu.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is an Equal Opportunity Employer (www.inclusiveillinois.illinois.edu).

Filming “Maize”

On By Matthew Sakiestewa GilbertIn AIS at Illinois, Hopi films, Victor Masayesva Jr.5 Comments

Last week we began filming the University of Illinois portion of Maize, a film by Hopi filmmaker Victor Masayesva, Jr. of Hotevilla. In the first photo, taken by my colleague John McKinn, I am filming a group of UofI graduate students from the Department of Crop Sciences planting four rows of Hopi sweet corn.

The second photo is of Professor Stephen Moose as he explains the different varieties of corn that his students planted in the plot, including Tzeltal Maya (southern Mexico), Nahua (central Mexico), Hopi, and genetically modified corn.

The corn should be up by the end of the week. We’ll continue filming throughout the summer.

Image
Photograph by John McKinn
Image
Photograph by John McKinn

Talking about corn

On By Matthew Sakiestewa GilbertIn AIS at Illinois, Hopi artists, Hopi films1 Comment
Matt Sakiestewa Gilbert and Victor Masayesva, Jr., March 28, 2012, Photograph by Robert Warrior

This week Victor Masayesva, Jr., from Hotevilla spent time at the University of Illinois. He is in the process of making a hemispheric film on indigenous corn. On Wednesday I went with Masayesva and my colleagues in American Indian Studies Robert Warrior and John McKinn to look at a university field (see below) that we are using for the film. In the photo above, Masayesva is talking to me about where to place different varieties of corn, including Hopi and “modern” corn, which will be planted in the plot. Planting will begin soon. Masayesva’s visit also coincided with a workshop on campus titled “Corn and Indigenous Communities in the Americas.” I’ll write more about the film as the project unfolds.

Photograph by Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert

AIS at Illinois to host book reception

On By Matthew Sakiestewa GilbertIn AIS at Illinois, Announcements, Hopi scholarshipLeave a comment
Click image to download complete flyer

On Friday October 28 at 4PM, the American Indian Studies Program at the University of Illinois will host a book reception in the Author’s Corner (2nd floor) of the Illini Union Bookstore. I am scheduled to talk about Education beyond the Mesas. My AIS colleagues, Jodi A. Byrd, Vicente M. Diaz, and Robert Dale Parker, will also present on their publications. The gathering is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. For those who live in the Champaign-Urbana area, it would be great to see you at this event!