Friday, October 31, 2014

Fellowship Opportunities at the John Carter Brown Library, 2015-16

The John Carter Brown Library (JCB), an independently funded institution for advanced research in the history and culture of the Americas on the campus of Brown University, will award approximately forty residential fellowships for the year July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016. The Library contains one of the world’s premier collections of primary materials related to the discovery, exploration, and settlement of the New World, from Greenland to Patagonia, to 1825, including books, maps, newspapers, and other printed objects. JCB Fellowships are open to scholars working on all aspects of the Americas in the early modern period, broadly conceived.

Short-term Fellowships are for two to four months with a monthly stipend of $2,100. Open to U.S. and foreign citizens who are engaged in pre- or post-doctoral, or independent, research. Graduate students must have passed their preliminary or general examinations at the time of application.

Long-Term Fellowships are for five to ten months with a monthly stipend of $4,200. These include NEH Fellowships, for which an applicant must be a U.S. citizen or have lived in the U.S. for the three years preceding the application deadline. For other long-term fellowships, all nationalities are eligible. Graduate students may not hold JCB Long-Term Fellowships. PhD candidates are welcome to apply for long-term fellowships if all degree requirements, including the successful defense of their dissertation, have been met by the December 1 deadline.

THEMATIC AND CLUSTER FELLOWSHIPS

Alongside our regular fellowship program, this year we will be encouraging applications in three special areas, as part of a set of pilot initiatives the Library is sponsoring. These emphases enhance our regular fellowship program. That is, given equally strong applications, the fellowship committee may give preference to applications in one of the following areas:

Environmental Studies: The JCB is keen to welcome applications whose projects have thematic resonance with the study of the environment and its history, lato sensu. In coming years, as part of a multi-year project on “The Four Elements in the History of the Americas,” the Library will explore the cultural significance of earth, air, fire, and water to the diverse populations of the Americas, from the continents’ earliest indigenous inhabitants to the last waves of European scientific explorers at the end of the colonial period. This project will begin in 2014-15 with an exhibit and related programming on “Subterranean Worlds” and will continue in 2015-16 with a focus on air and climate.

Indigenous Studies: This 2-4 month fellowship is designed for a junior or senior scholar working on the history and/or anthropology of native peoples of the Americas who could benefit from an extended stay and privileged access to the JCB’s collection in this field. Tribal historians with non-traditional academic backgrounds are also eligible to apply. The inaugural John M. Monteiro Memorial Fellow in Indigenous Studies may also help to develop symposia and/or lectures and will be able to access additional funds to bring in speakers and activities to the Library.

Interdisciplinary Cluster Fellows (ICFs): As part of an effort to expand the disciplinary scope of research at the Library, and to emphasize the role of the JCB as a laboratory for new research methods, the fellowship committee encourages applications from small interdisciplinary groups of between 2-4 scholars who would be in simultaneous residence for periods of up to one month to work in collaboration on a particular theme, object, or scholarly project. Each scholar would receive a one-month fellowship and priority access to stay at the Fiering House Fellows’ residence. ICF applications are collective applications – one per cluster – and will be due to the Library on January 15, 2015.

Recipients of all fellowships must relocate to Providence and be in continuous residence at the JCB for the full term of the award. Rooms are available for rent at Fiering House, the JCB Fellows’ residence, a beautifully restored 1869 house just four blocks from the Library.

The deadline for short- and long-term fellowships is December 1, 2014, including the special environmental and indigenous fellowships. Interdisciplinary Cluster Fellowship applications are due on January 15, 2015.

For more information and application instructions: www.jcbl.org or jcb-fellowships@brown.edu

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