The Department of Ethnic Studies UC Berkeley

Visiting Scholar Directory

How to become a Visiting Scholar in Ethnic Studies

The Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley is able to accommodate a limited number of visiting scholars each year to engage in significant independent research projects.

 

Eligibility Criteria

Graduate students are eligible to apply as “Visiting Student Researchers” when they meet the following specifications: https://vspa.berkeley.edu/visiting-student-researcher

US-based and international scholars are eligible to apply as “Visiting Scholars” when they meet the following specifications: https://vspa.berkeley.edu/visiting-scholar

 

The Application Process

All visiting scholars and visiting student researchers must receive an invitation from an Ethnic Studies faculty member.

Prospective visiting scholars and visiting student researchers who do not have an active collaboration in place with an ES faculty member can look for a faculty member whose research interests match their own. Faculty profiles can be found here.

Once a scholar has identified a potential faculty sponsor, they should provide the faculty member with the following information via email:

1. current CV
2. brief description of intended research (length should be 200 words or less)
3. brief statement on scholarly or intellectual relevance to the field of Ethnic Studies
4. brief statement on intellectual rationale for working with this faculty sponsor
5. beginning and end date for their visit

If the scholar receives an invitation from the faculty member, the scholar should then contact Gillian Edgelow at gilliane@berkeley.edu for details on the administrative processes.

 

Fees

There are several fees involved in the process of obtaining Visiting Scholar status at UC Berkeley.

• $640 for the DS2019 Processing Fee for the J-1 Visa (there will also be a US government SEVIS fee for the visa itself)
• University Services fee – details here
• $500 Department fee (per semester)

NOTE: A department administrative fee reduction may be requested if a scholar is arriving without institutional support or where there is financial hardship. This request should be included with your application. Please note that the J-1 visa fee and University Services fee are both mandatory and cannot be waived.

 

Information Regarding Visas

J-1 Visas

Foreign visiting scholars will need to obtain a J-1 Visa to pursue their research in the Ethnic Studies Department. J-1 Visas are obtained by the issuance of a DS-2019 (which is the “certificate of eligibility”). There are several steps to securing a J-1 Visa and each step takes time. Plan for the visa application process to take 3-4 months, depending upon your home country.

Please note: Documentation of an “objective measurement” of English language proficiency is required for all J-1 Exchange Visitors. Either a recognized English language test (e.g., TOEFL, IELTS, etc) or signed documentation from an academic institution or English language school.

 

Additional Information

Facilities

Visiting scholars have access to the University’s libraries and are given normal borrowing privileges. Visiting scholars do not have access to secretarial services, office space, office supplies, and generally do not have the use of telephones, fax or express mail services. Visiting scholars are often able to consult with faculty members interested in their field of study, and to participate in the intellectual life of the department by attending presentations and colloquia.

Visiting scholars in the Department of Ethnic Studies will be given access to the following:

• Use of the department copier
• Use of the department scanner
• An email address @berkeley.edu
• A wireless connection to the internet
• A departmental mailbox

 

Health Insurance

International visiting scholars must have adequate health insurance during the entirety of their appointment at UC Berkeley. Details can be found here.

 

Questions?

All questions about the Ethnic Studies Visiting Scholars Program should be sent to:

Gillian Edgelow
Visiting Scholar Coordinator
510-643-7172
gilliane@berkeley.edu

 

DEPARTMENT OF ETHNIC STUDIES VISITING SCHOLARS
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY

 

2022-2023 Academic Year

Emanuella Doussis National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Director of the Institute of European Integration and Policy; UNESCO Chairholder on Climate Diplomacy Climate Change and Forced Migration Appt dates: October to December 2022 Faculty sponsor: Khatharya Um

Fatma Eren Phd Student, Dept of American Culture and Literature Hacettepe University, Turkey War and Migration in Vietnamese American Novels Written in the Twenty-First Century Appt dates: August 2022 to May 2023 Faculty sponsor: Khatharya Um

 

2021-2022 Academic Year

Maria Faini Berkeley Connect Program Scholar African American Studies and Ethnic Studies Appt dates: August 2021 to May 2022	May Ying Welsh Documentary Filmmaker and Journalist Digital Archiving of the Loni Ding Media Collection Appt dates: September 2021 to August 2022 Faculty sponsor: Lok Siu
Kumiko Noguchi Associate Professor, International Studies Meiji Gakuin University, Tokyo The Indian Gaming Industry and Tribal Sovereignty in the United States Appt dates: October 2021 to September 2022 Faculty Sponsor: Tom Biolsi	Leerom Medovoi Professor, Department of English University of Arizona Ensoulment: The Inner Life of Race from Pastoral Power to Racial Capitalism Appt dates: August 2021 to May 2022 Faculty sponsor: Keith Feldman
Linn Normand Assoc. Prof, University of Stavanger, Norway Exhuming immigrant voice of the past: a critical archival study of the Bancroft Library Appt dates: September 2021 to August 2022 Faculty sponsor: Cathy Ceniza Choy

 

2019-2020 Academic Year

Maurício Barros de Castro Adjunct Professor, Art Institute Rio de Janeiro State University – Brazil The political posters of Rupert Garcia: contemporary art, race and ethnicity in California Appt dates: August 2019 to June 2020 Faculty sponsor: Ramon Grosfogue	Yuko Ito Professor, Dept of International Relations Asia University, Tokyo – Japan The Transpacific Development of Contentious Historical Memories amongst East Asian Nations Appt dates: September 2019 to June 2020 Faculty sponsor: Cathy Ceniza Choy
Smadar Lavie Independent Scholar Crossing Borders, Staying Put: Mizrahi Feminism, Palestine, and the Racial Formations of the Israeli State Appt dates: May 2019 to April 2020 Faculty sponsor: Lok Siu	Fred Lee Associate Professor of Political Science and Asian/Asian American Studies, The University of Connecticut, Storrs Bong Joon-ho and Liu Cixin book project Appt dates: January to May 2020 Faculty sponsor: Michael Omi
Gabrielle Williams Berkeley Connect Fellow Ethnic Studies and African American Studies Starving from Satiety: Explorations of Uncommon Hunger in Twentieth-Century African American Literature August 2019 to May 2020	Dongli Wu PhD Student in English Literature Nanjing University – China Gender and Immigrant Spaces in Willa Cather’s Works Appt dates: September 2019 to August 2020 Faculty sponsor: Cathy Ceniza Choy

 

2018-2019 Academic Year

Bidrea Alnasser PhD Candidate, Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick, UK Iraqi Women’s Narratives of Identity and Security: Challenging Dominant Knowledge Appt dates: November 2017 to January 2020 Faculty sponsor: Keith Feldman	John Dougherty Berkeley Connect Senior Fellow Ethnic Studies & African American Studies Flooded by Progress: Law, Natural Resources, and Native Rights in the Postwar Pacific Northwest Appt dates: August 2018 to May 2019 Faculty sponsor: Cathy Choy/Ula Taylor
Sasha Gora Doctoral Candidate, Rachel Carson Center for Environment & Society, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Germany Culinary Land Claims: Restaurants, Relocalization, and Reconciliation in North American Cuisine Appt dates: February to April 2019 Faculty sponsor: Lok Siu	Loubna Qutami President’s Postdoctoral Fellow Before the New Sky: Multiscalar Dispossession and (Im)Possibilities of Palestinian Transnational Youth Movements Appt dates: August 2018 to May 2019 Faculty sponsor: Khatharya Um
Carolyn Smith President’s Postdoctoral Fellow Appt dates: August 2018 to May 2019 Faculty sponsor: Shari Huhndorf