Career & Tools

The ​Interdisciplinary Humanities Center seeks 5-10 graduate student teaching fellows for Foundations in the Humanities, a prison correspondence program in literary studies active in twelve California state prisons. Fellows will be paid for participation in the program. Read on for more info!

By Daina Tagavi, Professional Development Peer
Monday, May 20th, 2019 - 10:00am


The Interdisciplinary Humanities Center seeks 5-10 graduate student teaching fellows for Foundations in the Humanities, a prison correspondence program in literary studies active in twelve California state prisons.

Over the course of the 2019-20 year, each Fellow will be responsible for responding to the work of 10-15 incarcerated students, who will read six short literary texts and answer analytic and interpretative questions about each in short-essay form.

Fellows will enroll in a three-unit seminar in Fall quarter introducing them to the California penal system; they will also study innovative pedagogies in the context of social justice and be trained to work with incarcerated students through the correspondence format. In Winter and Spring quarter, Fellows will enroll in a one-unit course to continue their training.

Compensation: In addition to receiving five graduate course units, Fellows will be paid $1,250 for participation in the program.

Program Prerequisites: Graduate Teaching Fellows must have prior teaching experience in humanities courses in which they provided written feedback on student essays devoted to close reading.

To apply: Submit a CV and letter of application indicating reasons for your interest in Foundations in the Humanities and relevant prior experience. Submit your materials to ihcucsb@gmail.com by June 7, 2019. Please also have a faculty member submit a letter of reference indicating your qualifications for participation in the program. Letters should be sent directly to ihcucsb@gmail.com by June 7, 2019.

Applicants will also be interviewed by IHC Director Susan Derwin.

Please feel free to contact Susan Derwin (derwin@ihc.ucsb.edu) with any questions about this program.

More information about the program can be found here.