Thanks to a generous endowment donation by the ABP Pvt Ltd of India in honour of long-term owner and editor-in-chief of Anandabazar Patrika, Asoke Kumar Sarkar, the College proposes to elect a fixed-term stipendiary Early Career Fellow in Classical Indology. The Asoke Kumar Sarkar Early Career Fellowship will be for three years, commencing at the start of academic year 2023/24 (1 October 2023) or as soon as possible thereafter. The post-holder will not be a Trustee of the College, and in its Statutes will be elected to a non-Governing Body Research Fellowship. Previous holders of the fellowship include: Dr Anand Venkatkrishnan, Dr Aleksandra Restifo, and Dr Seema Chauhan.
The main duty of the Fellow will be to undertake research, and to contribute to the College’s academic culture. They will be expected to report annually to the Governing Body of the College on research activity and outcomes in a branch of Classical Indology. Applications are particularly encouraged from those working on research projects in Sanskrit, or on the relationship between Bengali language and literature and its classical foundations.
The Fellow will be required to participate in the admission to Balliol College of undergraduate and graduate students applying for Asian and Middle Eastern Studies courses, and to assist in the College’s oversight of its students in the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (of whom there are around 6–8 undergraduates in residence at any one time, with a larger number of resident graduates). Further participation in the educational activities of the College, including a small amount of paid tutorial teaching, would be welcomed, but is not obligatory.
For more information, including the skills and experience required and the application procedure, please see these further particulars.