The Karsh Institute works tirelessly to understand, defend, and invigorate the institutions, practices, and cultural underpinnings that are the foundations of democracy. Through all our work—robust interdisciplinary scholarship, research and teaching, and vibrant programs and partnerships designed to engage the public and influence policy agendas—we are shaping a thriving democratic future.
Check this page frequently to learn about new job openings, calls for proposals, student positions, and other opportunities at the Karsh Institute of Democracy.
Karsh Institute Event Planner
Review of Applications: March 10, 2025
The Event Planner will support events to further the priorities of the Karsh Institute through convenings that amplify work on democracy, connect with audiences, and enrich the public discourse. This position will involve event development and execution, vendor booking and management, collaboration and communication with event partners and speakers, and logistics management, among other duties.
This member of the Karsh Institute team will work independently and in coordination with UVA faculty and other Karsh Institute staff, in particular the Labs Coordinator, Senior Finance Generalist, Project Manager, and occasionally others on the Karsh communications and programming teams.
Karsh Institute Associate
Anticipated start date: June 2025
The Karsh Institute Associate is a new 12-month full-time position at UVA's Karsh Institute of Democracy. As a staff member at the Karsh Institute of Democracy, the Karsh Institute Associate will work on projects related to the Institute’s priorities and support essential administrative and operational work across the Institute. The Karsh Institute Associate will provide event, communications, executive, and project support as assigned by the Institute’s leadership team. This position will report to the Managing Director with a flexible start date between June and August 2025. The Associate will participate in the interview selection process for the 2026-2027 Associate. >>APPLY FOR THE KARSH INSTITUTE ASSOCIATE POSITION
UVA Grad Students: 'Borders and Boundaries'
Karsh Institute of Democracy / DEM 7500 Fall 2025–DEM 7501 Spring 2026
Taught by Paulina Ochoa Espejo, John L. Nau III Professor of the History and Principles of Democracy
Students will each receive a $1,500 research stipend and will become fellows of the Nau Lab for the 2025–2026 academic year
Borders and boundaries are central to the modern world. But why do they matter so much? Why is it so hard to cross them, open them, or get rid of them? This interdisciplinary graduate course will ask these questions about territorial borders—and other boundaries. These questions challenge assumptions about immigration and the differences between natives and aliens, but they also show how national and territorial borders relate to other conceptual divides, such as those between nature and culture, the sacred and the profane, or civilization and barbarism. How have these distinctions shaped the modern state’s views on controlling territory? How do these boundaries shape colonialism, membership, sovereignty, the unity of the nation state? And how do they mold our thinking about the rights of indigenous peoples and of the Earth, or about the limits between the human and non-human worlds?
We will seek answers to those questions from the viewpoints of several disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. >>READ MORE ABOUT THE 'BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES' COURSE