Summary
As per NEH guidelines, applications will be due on March 1 and participants will be informed of their acceptance on March 28, 2018. NEH Summer Scholars must either be American citizens, or have lived in the U.S. continuously since March 1, 2015. Please check the NEH Eligibility Requirements for more details.
In general, we aim to attract a robust mix of participants from multiple disciplines—including film studies, art history, musicology, German studies, history, performance studies, and library, museum and archival studies—and will make an effort to reach interested participants from cultural organizations and four- and two-year colleges, as well as contingent faculty.
Please note: It is not necessary to speak German to participate in this Summer Institute!
NEH offers a $3300 stipend available to all participants in this four-week Institute. The stipend is intended to help cover travel, housing, meals and basic academic expenses. We will withhold a portion of the stipend for room and/or partial-board (depending on the arrangements made by individual participants). The stipend will be disbursed in two installments, at the start of the first and third weeks of the Institute; those who, for any reason, do not complete the full tenure of the Institute will receive a reduced stipend and may be required to return funds already disbursed.
To Become a 2018 NEH Summer Scholar
Please start by reviewing the NEH Eligibility Requirements and Terms and Conditions for Participants in NEH Seminars and Institutes as an NEH Summer Scholar.
NEH Institutes provide opportunities for college and university faculty as well as for teachers, qualified independent scholars, advanced graduate students, and those employed by museums, libraries, historical societies, and other organizations to enrich and revitalize their understanding, scholarship, and teaching of humanities topics that bear upon undergraduate education. These specific study opportunities are not intended to duplicate graduate-level courses.
Each institute allows twenty-five to thirty-six participants (NEH Summer Scholars) to pursue an intensive program of study under a team of scholarly experts, who present a range of perspectives on a humanities topic. Participants and scholars mutually explore connections between scholarship and teaching of the topic.
In any given year, an individual may apply to two Institutes, but may attend only one.
NEH AWARD STIPEND, TENURE, AND CONDITIONS
Each NEH Summer Scholar will receive a stipend of $3,300 for a four-week Institute in 2018. The stipend is intended to help cover travel, housing, meals, and basic academic expenses. Stipends are taxable.
NB: Institute participants must attend all meetings and engage fully as professionals in the work of the project. During the project, participants may not undertake teaching assignments or professional activities unrelated to their participation in the project. Those who, for any reason, do not complete the full tenure of the project will receive a reduced stipend.
At the end of the project’s residential period, NEH Summer Scholars are expected to submit an online evaluation of the institute.
NEH EQUAL OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT
Endowment programs do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or age. For further information, write to the Equal Opportunity Officer, National Endowment for the Humanities, 400 7th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20024. TDD: 202/606-8282 (this is a special telephone device for the Deaf).
How to Apply to this NEH Summer Institute
SELECTION CRITERIA
The selection committee for this 2018 NEH Summer Institute will be comprised of: co-directors Skyler Arndt-Briggs and Barton Byg, and faculty members Seán Allan, April Eisman and Johanna Yunker. The committee will evaluate all complete applications to select a group of NEH Summer Scholars and identify alternates.
Application essays should explain how the specific program will benefit the participant professionally. They should, therefore, address the following:
1. your quality and commitment as a teacher, scholar, and interpreter of the humanities;
2. your intellectual interests as they relate to the topic of the institute;
3. your special perspectives, skills, or experiences that would contribute to the program;
4. evidence that participation will enhance your long-term teaching and scholarship; and
5. if appropriate, an independent project and its potential contribution to the institute.
Five institute spaces are reserved for non-tenured and non-tenure-track faculty members. Three institute spaces may be reserved for advanced graduate students. First consideration is given to those who have not previously attended an NEH Seminar or Institute. When choices must be made between equally qualified candidates, preference is given to those who would enhance the diversity of the program.
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
Prior to applying to a specific seminar or institute, please study the project website and carefully consider the project’s expectations and requirements. A complete application consists of the following three items:
1.The Application Cover Sheet
—Compete the cover sheet online.
—Follow the prompts.
—NB: Before you click the “submit” button, print the cover sheet and add it to your application package.
Then click “submit.”
—You will be asked if you want to fill out a cover sheet for a second project. If you do, repeat the process.
—NB: Do not use the same cover sheet for different projects.
2. A Résumé and References
Please include a résumé or curriculum vitae (not to exceed five pages). Include the name, title, phone number, and e-mail address of two professional references (no letters of recommendation needed).
3. The Application Essay
The application essay should be no more than four double-spaced pages. It should address:
—your interest in the subject to be studied;
—qualifications and experiences that equip you to do the work of the institute and to make a contribution to the learning community;
—a statement of what you want to accomplish by participating; and,
—if you already know, a description of the independent research or curriculum project you will want to develop during the Institute and its relation to your professional responsibilities.
Submission and Notification Procedures
A scanned copy of your application—including the NEH cover sheet—must be submitted to the project directors, not the NEH, no later than March 1, 2018. NB: Applications sent to the NEH will not be reviewed.
Please email your application (to the attention of co-directors Skyler Arndt-Briggs and Barton Byg) at: coldwarculture@german.umass.edu
Successful applicants will be notified of their selection on Wednesday, March 28. They will have until noon on Friday, April 6 to accept or decline the offer. The decision to opt in or out of on-campus housing must be sent to us by Monday, April 30.
NB: Once you have accepted an offer to attend any NEH Summer Program (Seminar or Institute), you may not accept an additional offer or withdraw in order to accept a different offer.
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