BDRC FELLOWSHIP IN SOUTHEAST ASIAN MANUSCRIPTS

The Buddhist Digital Resource Center invites applications for a fellowship in Southeast Asian manuscripts, to begin 1 January 2021, with the possibility of an earlier start date if desired.

With generous support from the Khyentse Foundation, the position seeks to appoint a fellow to assist BDRC with the cataloging of approximately 12,000 Burmese and Pali manuscripts in the Fragile Palm Leaves library. The fellow’s primary responsibilities will entail validating, refining, and expanding upon existing metadata linked to digital images of manuscript bundles in the FPL collection. In addition, the fellow will collaborate with BDRC developers and the community of scholars engaged in codicological research to build an interoperable metadata framework and digital toolkit to be integrated into the Buddhist Digital Archive and employed in BDRC’s ongoing work to preserve, catalogue, and provide access to Buddhist manuscript material across Southeast Asia.

The fellowship will provide an annual salary of USD $40,000, with no additional benefits. The initial term of appointment is for one year, with the possibility of renewal for an additional 17 months contingent upon meeting certain performance benchmarks. There is also the possibility of a further extension depending on the availability of funding.

The position is fully online/remote, and we invite applications from qualified scholars based in any location worldwide.

Applicants must demonstrate advanced competency in the Burmese and Pali languages as well as an understanding of the diversity of the Buddhist literary and manuscript traditions in Burma and across Southeast Asia. Ideally, applicants will also have experience with Southeast Asian codicology and manuscript cataloging.

To apply, please submit a C.V. along with a one-page statement of interest to jann@bdrc.io no later than 1 November 2020.

Questions about the fellowship may be addressed to Jann Ronis, Executive Director of BDRC (jann@bdrc.io), and D.C. Lammerts (DCL96@rutgers.edu).