Spring 2026 Research Fellowships
Literary and Historical Research Fellow
Priority Application Deadline EXTENDED: January 6, 2025
Openings: 1
The research assistant will help with a multidisciplinary project on the cultural history of trees in Japan, working with both textual and visual materials. The role involves gathering sources, preparing notes, and supporting analysis of texts and sites connected to Japanese arboreal culture. The assistant will work closely with Professor Robert Goree to organize materials and contribute to the development of new research insights.
Cold War Beauty and Politics Research Fellow
Priority Application Deadline: December 12, 2025
Openings: 1
Professor Genevieve Culatario is looking for a research assistant who can help with her second book project on the history of beauty, politics, and the Cold War in the Philippines. Undergraduate researchers will gain practical experience in qualitative research, writing, and public presentations. Prof. Clutario welcomes students from all disciplines who are also interested in interdisciplinary work, new ways of telling global history, politics of fashion and beauty, and critical analysis from a humanities perspective.
Historical Research in French Fellow
Priority Application Deadline: December 12, 2025
Openings: 1
To search through seventeenth and eighteenth-century French memoirs and biographies (available online via the Bibliothèque nationale de France’s digital archive, Gallica) for descriptions of and commentary on the career of Pierre Corneille, the leading French early modern playwright. The student researcher will receive a list of memoirs to consult, and then they will widen their search as they becomes more familiar with Gallica, to focus especially on depictions of Corneille’s old age and his decline, especially in comparison to the rise of his younger rival, Jean Racine. Students interested in historical research, memoir writing, ageist rhetoric, archival searches, and French early modern studies will benefit most from this work. The research fellow will work with Professor Hélène Bilis.
Monstrous Feminine Research Fellow
Priority Application Deadline: December 12, 2025
Openings: 1
The research fellow will support an ongoing research project on the monstrous feminine by aiding in locating, investigating, and researching examples of monstrous depictions of women and female-bodied creatures that intersect with themes of horror, abjection, and the grotesque. The position provides hands-on research experience, opportunities for skill development, and potential for longer-term involvement in the project. The research fellow will work with Professor Eric Jarrard.
Narrative Lab Research Fellow
Priority Application Deadline: December 12, 2025
Openings: 3
Narrative Lab Fellows will participate in a semester-long research experience in the humanities. They will meet weekly with the faculty directors of the Narrative Lab, develop relevant background knowledge and research skills, and design and pursue research projects either individually or in faculty-student teams. The Spring 2026 Narrative Lab will be overseen by Professors Josh Lambert and Nikhil Rao.
Women Filmmakers from SWANA Research Fellow
Priority Application Deadline: December 12, 2025
Openings: 1
This project aims to start a long term research and documentation track that will engage Wellesley students in creating an opensource public resource dedicated to women filmmakers from the vast SWANA region. Each term will introduce a new research theme/focal point in order to limit the scope and enable students to complete meaningful modules that fit in a larger whole. The inaugural topic will be “Women behind the Camera: The Trailblazers.” The research fellow will work with Professor Rachid Aadnani.