Visiting Research Faculty - CCSE/PolSci

Center for C-SPAN Scholarship & Engagement
Research Focused Visiting Faculty
2024 Summer Session
(June 1, 2024 – July 31, 2024)
 

The Center for C-SPAN Scholarship & Engagement (CCSE) is seeking a Visiting Research Faculty candidate whose research addresses the CCSE’s mission to increase the knowledge and use of the C-SPAN Video Library and related public resources for scholarly activities.  This appointment will be full time for a period of two months, beginning on June 1, 2024, and ending July 31, 2024.  This will be an on-campus position and the primary duty station is the Purdue University West Lafayette IN campus.  Salary and research support will be commensurate with the candidate’s qualifications and experience.
 

Although the CCSE is especially interested in candidates who would like to work with data housed at the C-SPAN Archives, we are also interested in scholars whose substantive and methodological expertise could be a benefit to the CCSE’s research mission. Faculty and Post-Docs from a wide range of academic disciplines are encouraged to apply, including political science, communication studies, computer science, sociology, history, and philosophy.

The Visiting Research Faculty candidate must have completed a Ph.D. (or equivalent terminal) degree before the start date of the appointment.  Current graduate students can apply if they receive their terminal degree prior to the appointment start date.   

External candidates (non-Purdue employee) should submit application materials electronically via https://careers.purdue.edu/.    The job requisition ID number for this position is 29163 or access the position directly via this link:  https://performancemanager8.successfactors.com/sf/jobreq?jobId=29163&company=purdueuniv

Internal candidates (Purdue employee) should apply via this link: https://careers.purdue.edu/job-invite/29163/

Application should include: 1) Cover letter describing research interests and how the applicant’s research fits within the CCSE’s mission, 2) Curriculum Vitae, and 3) proposal abstract (no more than 500 words; see details below).

We are interested in all research proposals that would help advance the CCSE research mission, but the following topics serve as examples that may be of interest.

Political Science: Congressional speech-making, including deliberative dynamics during committee meetings and floor proceedings. Traditional topics related to party polarization, party governance and the electoral connection undoubtedly fit under this heading, but scholars with proposals centered around marginalized groups are also encouraged to apply.

Communication: Congressional communication, including the study of rhetoric, media coverage of floor proceedings and how members of Congress share their speechmaking with the public.

Computer Science: Computer vision, including speaker identification, object recognition, and tracking. Fellows interested in multimodal classification of some of the substantive topics listed in the other research areas are also encouraged to apply. For example, using text, audio and video data to classify a speaker’s emotional state would be feasible using C-SPAN Archives data.

Sociology: The social dynamics that influence our society also play out in the United States Congress. For example, how external events, like political protests, influence congressional proceedings would fall within this area. Similarly, how changes to voting populations, like felon disenfranchisement, influence the behavior observed on C-SPAN would also be of interest.

History: C-SPAN is undoubtedly a historical record. Although the Congressional Record records what is said, much is lost when those deliberations are merely read. Key moments of political history are contained in the C-SPAN Archives, and scholars are encouraged to study these episodes, especially those which are still relevant today.

Philosophy: Deliberative democratic theorists have helped us better understand our constitutional democracy. Although studies of this ilk have focused on the original constitutional convention, these lessons could be applied to more modern deliberations, like those found in the C-SPAN Video Library.

Although the above list is far from exhaustive, both with respect to topic and discipline, these proposals should provide some indication of the types of projects that would support the CCSE mission of broadening the awareness, expanding access, and increasing the utilization of the C-SPAN Video Library.

Screening of applicants will begin January 15, 2024, and continue until the position is filled. A background check is required for employment in this position. For additional information, contact Dr. Bryce J. Dietrich at [email protected].

Exempt

Purdue University is an EOE/AA employer. All individuals, including minorities, women, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply.