Open Call for Fellowship Applications, Academic Year 2015-2016
About Berkman’s Fellowship Program
“The Berkman Center's mission is to explore and understand
cyberspace; to study its development, dynamics, norms, and
standards; and to assess the need or lack thereof for laws and
sanctions.
We are a research center, premised on the observation that what we
seek to learn is not already recorded. Our method is to build out
into cyberspace, record data as we go, self-study, and share. Our
mode is entrepreneurial nonprofit.”
Inspired by our mission statement, the Berkman Center’s fellowship
program provides the opportunity for some of the world’s most
innovative thinkers and changemakers to hone and share ideas, find
camaraderie, and spawn new initiatives. The program aims to
encourage and support fellows in an inviting and rigorous
intellectual environment, with community activities designed to
foster inquiry and to identify and expose the common threads
across fellows’ individual activities.
Fellows actively participate in exchanges through a weekly fellows
hour, fellows-run working groups, and a wide-range of Berkman
Center events and interactions. While engaging in both substance
and process, much of what makes the fellowship program rewarding
is created each year by the fellows themselves to address their
own interests and priorities. These entrepreneurial, collaborative
ventures – ranging from goal-oriented to experimental, from
rigorous to humorous – are what ensure the dynamism of the
fellows, the fellowship program, and the Berkman community.
Additionally, with Berkman faculty, students, staff, and other
affiliates, fellows help to develop and advance their own work and
Berkman Center projects, and they learn and teach through courses,
skill sharing, hacking and development sessions, cultural
productions, and other gatherings.
Fellows are essential to the Berkman Center as nodes of
intelligence, insight, energy, and knowledge-sharing. From their
diverse backgrounds and wide-ranging physical and virtual travels,
Berkman Center fellows bring fresh ideas, skills, passion, and
connections to the Center and its community, and from their time
spent in Cambridge help build and extend new perspectives and
initiatives out into the world.
Current fellows have shared reflections on their experiences here,
and provide great insights and specifics from an insider’s view.
Sara Watson writes, “Berkman became a supportive community of people I
can count on to a read a draft of something I write before I post it, or to
talk through a difficult decision and urge me to find my own voice. Parts of my
work this year were challenging in unexpected ways, and I'm thankful to have
had the support of this inspiring and encouraging group.” Nathan Matias says,
“As a fellow, you'll be part of an amazing, supportive network of people who
will help you, challenge you, and work with you to make your work more socially
conscious, more visible, more effective, and more awesome.”
About Berkman Fellowships
An appointment that defies one-size-fits-all description, each
Berkman fellowship carries a unique set of opportunities,
responsibilities and expectations. All fellows engage issues
related to the fairly limitless expanse of Internet & society
issues, and are committed to the intellectual life of the Center
and fellowship program activities. Some fellows work as
researchers directly on Berkman Center projects. Other fellowships
consist of independent work, such as the research and writing of a
manuscript or series of papers, the vision and planning of an
action-oriented meeting, or the development and implementation of
an initiative or a study on issues related to the Berkman Center’s
areas of inquiry.
Fellowship terms typically run the course of the academic year,
roughly from the beginning of September through the end of May. In
some instances, fellows are re-appointed for consecutive
fellowship terms.
While we embrace our many virtual connections, spending time
together in person remains essential. In order to maximize their
engagement with the community, during their fellowship terms
fellows are expected to routinely spend time in and conduct much
of their work from Cambridge, in most cases requiring residency.
Tuesdays hold particular importance as it is the day the fellows
community meets for a weekly fellows hour, in addition to it being
the day Berkman hosts our public luncheon series; as such, we ask
that fellows commit to spending as many Tuesdays at the Center as
is possible.
Qualifications
We do not have a defined set of requirements for the fellows we
select through our open call; we welcome applications from a
wildly diverse range of people.
Fellows come from across the disciplinary spectrum and different
life paths, and are at all stages of career development. Some
fellows are academics, whether students, post-docs, or professors.
Others come from outside academia, and include lawyers,
philosophers, activists, technologists, entrepreneurs,
journalists, and other types of practitioners.
The commonality among all Berkman fellows is an interest in the
intersections of the Internet and related emergent technologies,
social change, and policy and regulatory developments, as well as
a commitment to spending their fellowship exploring those dynamics
in concert with others.
To learn more about the work and interests of our current
community of fellows, you can read their biosand find links to their
outstanding work, check out their blogs, and find them on twitter.
Commitment to Diversity
The work and well-being of the Berkman Center for Internet &
Society are strengthened profoundly by the diversity of our
network and our differences in background, culture, experience,
national origin, religion, sexual orientation, and much more. We
actively seek and welcome applications from people of color,
women, the LGBTQIA community, and persons with disabilities, as
well as applications from researchers and practitioners from
across the spectrum of disciplines and methods. The roots of this
deep commitment are many and, appropriately, diverse. We welcome
your inquiries, comments, and ideas on how we may continue to
improve.
Stipends, Benefits, and Access to University Resources
Stipends: Fellowships awarded through the open call for applications are rarely
stipended. Some fellows receive partial stipends –the award of such a stipend
is based on the nature of the responsibilities the applicant would assume while
a fellow, and their relation, relevance, and application to Berkman’s funded
projects. Most fellows receive no direct funding or stipend through the Berkman
Center, but rather have obtained funding through other means, such as an
outside grant or award, a home institution, or other forms of scholarship.
Benefits: Fringe benefits do not routinely accompany Berkman fellowships.
Fellows must make their own housing, insurance, childcare, and transportation
arrangements.
Office Space: Most Berkman fellows work out of the greater-Boston area and
spend a significant amount of time at the Berkman Center. There are many desks
and workspaces available for flexible use at the Berkman Center, though few
fellows are given their own permanent desk or office. We endeavor to provide
comfortable and productive spaces for fellows to work, even if it is not the
same space each day. Fellows are welcome to host small meetings and gatherings
at the Center and on the Harvard campus.
Access to University Resources: Fellows are allowed physical access into
Langdell Library (the Harvard Law School Library), and fellows are able to
acquire a Special Borrower Cardfor privileges with the Harvard College
Libraries. At present, we do not routinely provide remote access to the
University’s e-resources, however access is available within the libraries.
Fellows do not have the ability to purchase University health insurance or get
Harvard housing. Berkman fellows often audit classes at Harvard University,
however must individually ask for permission directly from the professor of the
desired class.
Additional Information about the Berkman Center
The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard
University is a research program founded to explore cyberspace,
share in its study, and help pioneer its development. Founded in
1997, through a generous gift from Jack N. and Lillian R. Berkman,
the Center is home to an ever-growing community of faculty,
fellows, staff, and affiliates working on projects that span the
broad range of intersections between cyberspace, technology, and
society. To learn more about Berkman's current activities and
interests, consider watching a video of a Fall 2014 lunch talk led by
Berkman's Faculty Director Jonathan Zittrain.
Frequently Asked Questions
More information about fellows selection and the application
process can be found on our Fellows Program FAQ.
Required Application Materials
1.) A current resume or C.V.
2.) A personal statement which should a) frame your motivation for
applying for a Berkman Center fellowship and b) outline the work
you propose to conduct during a fellowship. This statement should
be roughly 1,000 – 1,500 words or should be a multi-media
equivalent.
3.) A copy of a recent publication or an example of relevant work.
For a written document, for instance, it should be on the order
of a paper or chapter - not an entire book or dissertation - and
should be in English.
4.) Two letters of recommendation, sent directly from the
reference.
In addition to the above materials, we ask applicants to share
some additional information in a form as part of the application.
1.) Disciplinary background: Up to three disciplines in which you
have been trained and/or have worked.
2.) Tags: Five tags that describe or represent the themes, issues,
or ideas you know about and on which you propose to conduct work
during a fellowship at Berkman; and five tags that represent work,
themes, issues, or ideas that you do not currently know much
about, but would like to explore and learn more about during a
fellowship year. Each tag should be one- to three- words or
terms.
3.) Berkman projects of interest.
To Apply for a 2015-2016 Academic Year Fellowship Through Our
Open Call
Applications will be submitted online through our Application
Tracker tool at: http://brk.mn/1516app
Applications will be accepted through Friday December 12, 2014 at
11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.
Instructions for creating an account and submitting an application
through the Application Tracker may be foundhere.
Note related to recommendation letters: Recommendation letters
will be captured through the Application Tracker, and will require
applicants to submit the names and contact information for
references in advance of the application deadline. References
will receive a link at which they can upload their letters. We
recommend that applicants create their profiles and submit
reference information in the Application Tracker as soon as they
know they are going to apply and have identified their references
- this step will not require other fellowship application
materials to be submitted.
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