The Jack and Doris Shadbolt Fellowship in the Humanities

Increasing visibility of the humanities

Jack Shadbolt, Winter Birds (detail), 1990, silkscreen print on paper. Bau-Xi Gallery.

Jack and Doris Shadbolt exemplified a vision of the humanities and arts whereby the work of the artist was seen as integrated into the natural and social worlds the artist inhabited.

Application

The Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences at Simon Fraser University invites applications for the Jack and Doris Shadbolt Fellows in the Humanities for the 2024-25 academic year.

Applications should include a fully completed application form, a current CV and a cover letter outlining the following:

  • the project the applicant intends to take up during the fellowship;
  • the desired primary unit affiliation in the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, as well as secondary unit affiliation, as applicable (secondary units may be any unit within SFU, and are not restricted to FASS);
  • length of fellowship desired and why.

Please email your complete application package to shadbolt_fellows@sfu.ca. A single PDF is preferred. Please include the applicant's name on the filename.

Download the Application Form

* Shadbolt Fellowship Application Form_2024-25.pdf
Application form for the 2024-2025 academic year

Candidates are strongly encouraged to reach out to the FASS department/unit with which they wish to work.

FASS departments and programs list

Tips for Applicants

* Shadbolt_Tips for Applicants.pdf
Updated August 2023

The Jack and Doris Shadbolt Fellowship Program in the Humanities, supported by the Jack and Doris Shadbolt Endowment for the Humanities, exists to promote the humanities and arts—broadly conceived—as important sites of creative practice and critical engagement with the major concerns of our times. The program is dedicated to supporting the work of decolonization and Indigenization, and to that end especially welcomes Indigenous applicants. 

Resident Jack and Doris Shadbolt Fellows in the Humanities will be emerging or established engaged academic scholars, artists, knowledge keepers, practitioners or writers in the humanities and arts who will help us imagine how we can make the world we live in better through acts of world-making in the creative arts and/or publicly engaged scholarship in the humanities.

Jack and Doris Shadbolt Fellows in the Humanities will engage in activities while in residence that may include, but are not limited to, teaching, research, and community and public outreach. Through their performance, creation, research, and other interactions with faculty and students in these activities, they will enhance not only their own intellectual and creative horizons but that of the university and wider community as well.

SFU operates year-round, with Fall, Spring, and Summer terms, of four months each; normally, fellowships will be held for one academic year (September to August), but can be held for one or two terms (September to December and/or January to April and/or May to August). The stipend associated with the fellowship is CAD 20,000 per semester (up to CAD 60,000 for a year).

Over the course of their fellowship, as part of the set of activities undertaken while in residence, Jack and Doris Shadbolt Fellows in the Humanities will be expected to deliver at least one public lecture, performance, or other form of community or public outreach based on their projects. They will also be expected to be available for informal, occasional consultations with students and faculty.

Note: Individuals who hold a continuing appointment or are students at SFU are ineligible. In addition, the project proposed in application for a fellowship normally will not bear a relation to work being done in conjunction with fulfilling requirements for a degree program in which the applicant is enrolled.

The appointment of all resident Jack and Doris Shadbolt Fellows in the Humanities will be guided by considerations of equity, inclusion and diversity, and with regard to ensuring that as a group, resident fellow appointees are appointed across a range of humanities and arts areas within the Faculty, and include Indigenous, emerging and established academic scholars, artists, knowledge keepers, practitioners or writers.

SFU is an institution whose strength is based on our shared commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Diversity is an underlying principle of our Strategic Vision, which pledges SFU to “foster a culture of inclusion and mutual respect, celebrating the diversity reflected among its students, faculty, staff, and our community.” SFU is committed to ensuring that no individual is denied access to employment opportunities for reasons unrelated to ability or qualifications. Consistent with this principle, SFU will advance the interests of underrepresented members of the work force, specifically Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, racialized persons, and women; embrace gender and sexual diversity; ensure that equal opportunity is afforded to all who seek employment at the University; and treat all employees equitably. Candidates that belong to underrepresented groups are particularly encouraged to apply.

We acknowledge the Squamish, Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh, Katzie and Kwikwetlem peoples, on whose traditional territories Simon Fraser University’s three campuses stand. By recognizing the Unceded Traditional Coast Salish territories, we aspire to create a space for reconciliation through dialogue and decolonizing practices.

Under the authority of the University Act personal information that is required by the University for appointment competitions will be collected. For further details see the Collection Notice.

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Applications for 2024-2025 fellowships are now closed 

The application period for the 2025-2026 fellowships will be announced in Summer 2024. 

Questions? Email clint_burnham@sfu.ca.