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The Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at MIT (AKPIA@MIT) is pleased to announce its postdoctoral fellowship program for the academic year 2014-2015. The fellowship program is intended for scholars with a Ph.D. in any field related to architecture — including but not limited to architectural, art, landscape, and urban history; design, technology, urban planning, anthropology, and archeology — who are engaged in research on an Islamic topic.Preference will be given to projects that relate to the primary theme for this fellowship cycle, “The Symbolic Appropriation of the Land Revisited” (inspired by Grabar, The Formation of Islamic Art, chapter 3).  AKPIA@MIT is launching a collective research project that builds upon the pioneering historiographical work of scholars like Oleg Grabar, Marshall Hodgson, and Paul Wheatley who analyzed the ways by which Islam, both as a religion and sociocultural system, moved through, engaged with, and appropriated the spaces of other cultures over time. These geographical processes were expressed in and transformed through art and architecture, urbanization, and environmental design.  Fellows are expected to contribute to that research agenda through their postdoctoral work.One to three fellowships will be granted.  The fellowship duration can range from two months to a maximum of two semesters, or nine months, that will have to fall within the academic year.  No summer fellowship will be granted.  Fellows are required to be in residency at MIT during their fellowship with minimal travel to attend conferences or give professional talks.  They are expected to pursue research on their topic in consultation with the Aga Khan professors about the Symbolic Appropriation of the Land Revisited theme.  Fellows will give at least one public lecture at MIT, submit a broad review article on research on their topic at the end of their fellowship to be electronically published as part of a new AKPIA Working Paper series on the website, and participate in the program's scholarly and academic activities during their stay at MIT. The fellowship award consists of monthly stipend not to exceed the amount of $3,145 (before taxes) per month and one roundtrip economy ticket for the fellow from his/her place of residence. Fellows will be responsible to find their own housing and health insurance during their fellowship period. AKPIA will provide library cards, email accounts at MIT, and a workplace in the AKPIA@MIT office that is shared with other fellows.Deadline for application is March 21, 2014 and results will be announced by April 25, 2014. The first required step to begin the application process is the completion and submission of the electronic application form at http://web.mit.edu/akpia/www/fellowshipapp.htm (all fields are required).  The accompanying documentation package can be e-mailed, preferably as a single PDF, to akpiafellowapp@MIT.EDU; this package must include a C.V., a research proposal, a substantial writing sample or a portfolio, and two letters of recommendation.  Please follow the detailed instructions in http://web.mit.edu/akpia/www/fellowshipapp.htm. The letters of recommendation can arrive separately either by mail or electronically. Applicants are encouraged to seek other sources of funding to supplement the fellowship award. Scholars with their own financial resources or who are on sabbatical and wish to apply to AKPIA fellowships are also welcome. AKPIA reserves the right to prorate its fellowship when combined with another grant or fellowship.If unavailable electronically, additional printed materials can be mailed to:The Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture2014-2015 Postdoctoral FellowshipsMIT, Room 10-39077 Mass Ave.Cambridge, MA 02139For further information please send email to &#60;akpiafellowapp@MIT.EDU&#62;, or call 617- 253-1400, or visit the web at http://web.mit.edu/akpia/www/