CAC Public Humanities Fellowships

2023-24 Fellowship for UNC-Chapel Hill Graduate Students

Carolina Public Humanities (CPH) and the Carolina Asia Center (CAC) are pleased to announce a fellowship for graduate students in the humanities, arts, and social sciences: “Carolina Asia Center Public Humanities Fellow.”  This fellowship will provide professional development for a graduate student to learn about the ways that humanities subjects can contribute to public good and translate into public knowledge. It also provides the student with the opportunity to network with other emerging scholars exploring public humanities. Finally, this fellowship supports the student to conduct a public-facing project to make a humanistic project on an Asian subject better accessible to the general public, in furtherance of the CAC’s mission to positively transform our understanding of and relationship with Asia, and to equip students and others with the knowledge of Asia to assume leadership roles. This fellowship is supported with funds from the CAC as a pan-Asia National Resource Center under the Title VI programs of the US Department of Education.

Duties and Benefits of the Fellowship Recipients:

One Fellow will be selected from disciplines in the Humanities, Fine Arts, or Social Studies in which public engagement is important for graduate education and future careers. The Carolina Asia Center Public Humanities Fellow will join an interdisciplinary graduate workshop with the Maynard Adams Fellows for the Public Humanities that will meet six times across the year.

The March meeting will be part of the annual Maynard Adams Symposium for the Humanities (featuring the distinguished CUNY philosopher Miranda Fricker). Other meetings may include group outings to humanistic events, discussions with public humanists, and other activities aimed at providing rigorous professional development in publicly-engaged scholarship. Fellows’ workload outside of meetings will be minimal (e.g. pre-circulated essays, podcasts, video clips, etc.), and meetings will typically include a shared meal.

In addition, the recipient will be expected to develop a public outreach project or event focusing on an Asian subject. To facilitate the planning for these projects, the Fellow will workshop ideas with the CPH Associate Director for State Outreach, Joanna Sierks Smith, and consult with the CAC Associate Director, Kevin Fogg. At the conclusion of the spring semester, the Fellow will be required to submit a brief (2 page) report on the project in order to reflect on successes, challenges, and lessons learned about publicly engaged scholarship.

The readings and discussions will focus on key issues that remain important in modern society: the importance of public education, the discussion of humanistic knowledge in the media and public debates, the development of human identities, and the value of the humanities for well-informed participation in contemporary political cultures. The fellow may choose to supplement these readings with literature that places these questions in a specific Asian context, depending on their research subject.

Stipend:

The Carolina Asia Center Public Humanities Fellow will receive a stipend of $2,000 (payable in two distributions) for reading the assigned materials, participating in the workshop/meal conversations, completing consultations with CPH and CAC staff, and developing a public project or event, and will also receive an additional $250 stipend upon submission of a final project report. There are no fees for meals or reading materials; and there are no required papers, but the Fellow will be required to attend all meetings, develop a public project, and submit a brief final project report.

Applications:

Graduate applicants must have a research focus on a topic related to East Asia, South Asia, or Southeast Asia, and be studying in a discipline that includes scholarship and teaching in the humanities, social sciences and/or arts.

The following application materials are required:

1. The applicant’s current CV.
2. A statement from the applicant (up to 1,200 words or two single-spaced pages) that describes (1) why and how she/he/they has an academic interest in links between the humanities and public issues, or (2) why and how she/he/they thinks humanists and artists should engage with public audiences, (3) why public humanities are important for the field of Asian Studies or a particular Asian society, or (4) why and how she/he/they plans to pursue a career with humanistic themes outside academia. Applicants may address any or all of these four themes in their statements.
   In addition to this summary of interests and themes, the two-page application statement should briefly describe an outreach activity or event that the applicant envisions as a possible in-person or on-line public humanities project. This description could become the framework for a project in the coming year (including, for example, a collaboration with a community college, public school, museum or other institution). Applicants are encouraged to consider innovative approaches and new formats for public outreach.
3. A one-page letter from the applicant’s graduate advisor, explaining why the Carolina Asia Center Public Humanities Fellowship would be valuable for the candidate and how this applicant shows potential for public engagement.

Applicant Selection Process:

Applications are due by 5:00 PM on Friday, September 15, 2023; the applicant’s CV and statement of interest should be emailed as a pdf attachment to Dr. Kevin W. Fogg at the Carolina Asia Center (kfogg@email.unc.edu). The letter from the faculty advisor should be submitted separately by the professor as a pdf attachment to the same email address. The CAC and CPH will convene to announce a Fellow by Tuesday, September 19, 2023.