The John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress offers two short-term fellowships annually for independent scholars, students, and college and university faculty to conduct research based on items from the Kislak Collection. The Kislak Collection is a major collection of rare books, manuscripts, historic documents, maps and art of the Americas donated to the Library of Congress by the Jay I. Kislak Foundation of Miami Lakes, Fla. The collection contains some of the earliest records of indigenous peoples in North America and superb objects from the discovery, contact, and colonial periods, especially for Florida, the Caribbean, and Mesoamerica.
The Kislak Fellows Program supports scholarly research that contributes significantly to a greater understanding of the history and cultures of the Americas. It provides an opportunity for a period of 3 months of concentrated use of materials from the Kislak Collection and other collections of the Library of Congress, through full-time residency at the Library. The program supports research projects in the disciplines of archaeology, history, cartography, epigraphy, linguistics, ethno-history, ethnography, bibliography and sociology, with particular emphasis on Florida, the circum-Caribbean region and Mesoamerica. We encourage interdisciplinary projects that combine disciplines in novel and productive ways.
Select the "Sample Kislak Collection Items" tab for a representative selection of the types of items available for research in the Kislak Collection.
Eligibility
Independent scholars, students, and college and university faculty in all disciplines are eligible. There is no degree requirement for applicants for the short-term fellowship. Relevant educational information should be supplied in the application.
Tenure & Stipend
The Kislak Short-term Fellowship is for a period of 3 months, at a stipend of $4,200 per month, for residential research at the Library of Congress. Two Fellowships will be awarded annually. The Library of Congress will pay stipends monthly by means of electronic transfer to a U.S. bank account. Transportation arrangements, housing, and health care insurance and costs are the responsibility of the Fellow. The Library will provide Fellows with information on housing and can provide Fellows with contacts for commercial providers of health care insurance. The Library is required to ensure that nonresident alien visitors maintain minimum levels of medical insurance, and will provide information about insurers that offer qualifying policies to nonresident aliens.
Applications
Applicants must submit:
- A completed application form, in English
- A curriculum vitae (maximum 2 pages; additional pages will be discarded)
- A single paragraph abstract
- A statement of proposed research (maximum 3 pages)
- An explanation of why the Library of Congress is the required venue for your research (maximum 1 paragraph)
- A bibliography of works you have consulted for your proposal
- 3 letters of reference (in English) from people who have read the research proposal
Successful proposals will clearly indicate the purpose and principal scholarly contribution of the project, and the benefit to the project of working in the Library of Congress using both the Kislak materials and the Library's other collections.
Due Date
The annual application deadline is October 15. For 2016, the application deadline is extended to October 31. Application materials must be submitted by the deadline date via the Kluge Center's online application system.
Expectations
The Kislak Fellows are expected to develop research of a publishable quality. As a Library of Congress resident scholar, fellows are also expected to make at least one presentation about their research and to participate actively in Kluge Center events and programs as appropriate.
For more information please click "Further Official Information" below.
This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:
http://www.loc.gov/loc/kluge/fellowships/kislakshort.html