Call for Applications
Digital Humanities Research Institutes Coordinator

Digital technologies expand the many ways humanists can choose to do their research, and Graduate Center Digital Initiatives (GCDI) has been on the forefront of providing training in these new skills.  Thanks to a generous Institutes for Advanced Topics in the Digital Humanities award from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), GCDI is taking its expertise to a national audience. We are looking for a Digital Humanities Institutes Coordinator who will help manage this exciting new project.

About GC Digital Initiatives and the Digital Humanities Research Institutes

Graduate Center Digital Initiatives (GCDI) builds and sustains an active community around the shared idea of a “Digital GC,” where scholars and technologists explore new modes of inquiry that thoughtfully integrate digital tools and methods into the research, teaching, and service missions of the institution.

In June 2018, participants from across the United States will apply to come to the GC to explore interdisciplinary digital humanities research and teaching with leading DH scholars, develop core computational research skills through hands-on workshops, and begin developing versions of the DHRI for their own communities. Over the following academic year, each participant will have access to an online network of peers, as well as 20 hours of consultation from our experienced staff. When participants return to New York in June 2019 to report on their experiences, their reflections will inform the publication of a guide to leading digital humanities skill workshops in a variety of institutional contexts. These institutes are based on the GC Digital Research Institute (http://cuny.is/gcdri), which has been offered at the Graduate Center four times between 2016 and 2018.

Description

The Digital Humanities Research Institute Coordinator will be responsible for coordinating the application process for the June institute participants, managing travel and logistical details, communicating with project staff and participants through email, website updates, and social media, and keeping the project on task and on time from planning through execution. The Institutes Coordinator will liaise with the GC Digital Fellows, visiting institute faculty, and the project director to realize the vision of the our NEH Institutes project goals: to create a sustainable, reproducible model for foundational skill training for digital humanities communities by creating a core curriculum and network of institute leaders. The ideal candidate will be passionate about creating opportunities for emerging scholars in digital humanities and be willing to provide support and guidance to applicants and project staff.

The position is a 10-12 hour per week commitment with an hourly salary of $45/hour, beginning immediately and runs through August 2019. The coordinator must be available from June 8-20, 2018 at the Graduate Center. Since the position is funded through the CUNY Research Foundation, students with current GC fellowships are eligible to apply and funds are not considered as part of the GC’s financial aid cap.

In year one, the coordinator will:

• Help develop the Digital Humanities Research Institute site and CBOX installation;
• Assist with the application process by receiving, organizing, and coordinating the application, review, and response process;
• Manage the distribution and collection of paperwork required to dispense participant stipends and honoraria;
• Provide travel information to participants, including outreach to local universities and campuses to secure cost-effective accommodations for participants and communicating those arrangements to participants;
• Create logistical materials about travel to NYC and local resources for our website;
• Send publicity materials to increase diversity of applications to a wide range of listservs, institutional accounts, and postings on disciplinary websites;
• Facilitate communication with instructors, materials, logistics, and technical support;
• Maintain and updating the website with relevant information about the upcoming institute;
• Become familiar with the institute curricula on GitHub and work closely with GC Digital Fellows to manage updates, changes, and publication of the curriculum;
• Coordinate logistics and on-site activities and answer questions from participants during the 10-day institute from June 10-20, 2018.

In year two, the coordinator will continue many of the activities above, as well as:

• Administrate the community forums providing answers;
• Respond to participants’ requests for support by either delegating questions or answering them;
• Liaise with Digital Fellows regarding pull requests to the core institute curricula on GitHub;
• Coordinate logistics for 2-day institute in June 2019;
• Coordinate publication efforts for the final report.

Qualifications:

The ideal candidate will be a doctoral student or master’s student in the humanities or humanistic social sciences with experience teaching workshops in digital technologies. Experience using digital tools and methods–which might include Python, databases, git, HTML/CSS, APIs, mapping technologies such as GIS, machine learning, or natural language processing–is desireable. Candidates should have strong communication skills, enjoy working in a highly-collaborative environment, and be able to keep track of finances using a simple spreadsheet. Familiarity with WordPress is also preferred. 

Applicants may be MA or PhD students at the Graduate Center, but outside applications will also be considered.

To Apply:

Applications will be open until the position is filled. Please sending a cover letter detailing your qualifications and prior related experience and a resume or c.v. to gcdi@gc.cuny.edu with the subject heading: Institutes Coordinator Application.

Questions can be directed to Deputy Director of Digital Initiatives Lisa Rhody at lrhody@gc.cuny.edu.