Library of Congress Mellon Fellowship in Humanities and Social Sciences 2017, USA

Publish Date: Feb 08, 2017

Deadline: Feb 28, 2017

CLIR/Library of Congress Mellon Fellowship 

 

As part of its Mellon Fellowship program, the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) offers a fellowship award to support original source dissertation research in the humanities or related social sciences at the Preservation Research and Testing Division of the Preservation Directorate at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. The fellowship is offered as part of CLIR's long-established Mellon Fellowship program and is generously funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

New technologies and methods of analysis enable new interpretations of our unique books, maps, manuscripts, photographs, sound recordings, and drawings - the rich array of human expression - and also assist in preserving those sources. Technologies such as hyperspectral imaging, handheld x-ray fluorescence, Raman spectroscopy, X-Ray diffraction and environmental scanning electron and other high resolution microscopy use new forms of non-destructive testing to reveal hidden or obscured information on objects; shed new light on techniques of document and object construction; and permit a more rigorous approach to scholarly questions concerning influence, provenance and intent.

CLIR seeks proposals from applicants whose dissertation projects will benefit from the opportunity to examine original sources using the entire array of new technologies and equipment available at the Library of Congress. Applicants should explain how their research will reveal previously hidden content and properties of original sources, support new interpretations of those sources, and advance scholarship in their field. No prior technical experience or scientific background is required to apply for this fellowship.

The fellow will work on-site with the professional staff in the Preservation Research and Testing Division (PRTD). A mentor from the Division will work closely with the fellow, as well as the fellow's dissertation advisor(s) and other professors at the fellow's home institution, to ensure the fellow receives the training and support necessary to successfully complete the full year of research. PRTD staff will act as a liaison with special collection curators to ensure the fellow has access to a range of expertise and knowledge that supports their area of study.

How To Apply

All application documents must be submitted in one email** to mellon@clir.org. A complete application consists of:

  • a completed application form;
  • the Research Proposal;
  • a Qualifications essay;
  • transcripts for all graduate coursework taken to date; and
  • two (2) reference letters (see the reference provider guidelines).
    **Reference letters may be submitted with the other application documents or emailed directly to CLIR by the letter writer. Letters sent directly to CLIR by the letter writer will be held confidential and will not be shared with the applicant.

The application documents can be combined into one PDF document or attached to the submission as individual files, but (with the exception of the reference letters) must be sent together in one email message to mellon@clir.org.

Eligibility Requirements

Who is eligible to apply?
To be eligible, an applicant will:

  • be enrolled in a doctoral program in a graduate school in the United States (master's thesis research is not eligible), and have already received approval of the dissertation proposal
  • complete all doctoral requirements except the dissertation and be ready to start research for it no later than September 1, 2017
  • plan to do dissertation research with original source material at the Library of Congress for a period of 9-12 months
  • write the dissertation and receive the Ph.D. degree in a field of the humanities or in a related element of the social sciences (candidates for the Ed.D, J.D., or D.D. degrees are not eligible).

An applicant may be of any nationality but must be enrolled in a U.S. graduate school and be studying here, not on a campus abroad even if operated by a U.S. institution.

Proposed research must be conducted on-site at the Library of Congress for the entire duration of the fellowship.

Who is not eligible to apply?

  • Those who will be significantly engaged in writing their dissertations during the fellowship tenure. This is a research fellowship. Students may apply even if they have started dissertation research or done some writing, but CLIR's awards may be used only for original source research that applicants still need to do. Awards will not be granted to applicants who request support for intermittent research trips combined with the writing of their dissertations.
  • Those who will be conducting interviews and/or creating oral histories. This fellowship is not meant to support the creation of primary source material, such as oral histories. Applications which request support for research involving interviews or oral history creation will be considered ineligible, even if a part of the research period will also be spent conducting research at the Library of Congress.

Fellowship Tenure and Conditions

  • The fellow will receive a stipend of $2,000 per month for a period ranging from 9-12 months, and will receive an additional $1,000 upon participating in a symposium on research in original sources and submitting a report acceptable to CLIR on the research experience. The fellow will also be granted an additional monthly stipend of $500 to support living expenses in Washington, D.C. Thus the maximum award for 2017 will be $31,000.
  • Fellowships must begin by September 1, 2017 and end within 12 months of commencing.
  • Fellowships cannot be renewed or extended.
  • Fellows are expected to devote full time to their dissertation research without holding teaching or research assistantships or undertaking other paid work.
  • Applicants may apply simultaneously for other fellowships, including other Mellon awards, but fellows may not hold other fellowships simultaneously with CLIR's.
  • Fellows may use stipends to meet living expenses, travel costs, and other expenses that enable dissertation research to be carried out, but not to defray tuition.

Successful applicants will agree to the special provisions of the fellowship opportunity.

  1. Within one month of the end of the fellowship period, the fellow will send to CLIR a written analysis of the fellowship experience. The fellow may also have the opportunity to present his or her report at a Library of Congress TOPS event, and/or to develop the report into a CLIR publication.
  2. Following the fellowship period, the fellow will participate in a one-day symposium about the fellowship experience. The symposium will be held in mid-October 2017 at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The fellowship program will cover all costs associated with the fellow's attendance at the post-fellowship symposium.

For more information please click "Further Official Information" below.


This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:

https://www.clir.org/fellowships/mellon/preservation.html

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