NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES 1996-97 FELLOWSHIPS FOR UNIVERSITY TEACHERS 1996-97 FELLOWSHIPS FOR COLLEGE TEACHERS AND INDEPENDENT SCHOLARS NOTE: Information contained herein is an abstract of the guidelines for the 1996-97 NEH Fellowships for University Teachers and the 1996-97 NEH Fellowships for College Teachers and Independent Scholars. Only information contained in the published NEH guidelines booklet is to be considered complete and official. Applications may not be submitted to NEH either by fax or e- mail. Program guidelines and application forms are now available and can be obtained by using E-MAIL: cjerry@neh.fed.us OR lrichardson@neh.fed.us TELEPHONE: (202) 606-8466 OR (202) 606-8467 FAX: (202) 606-8558 The completed application package must be postmarked no later than May 1, 1995. Applications postmarked after May 1 will not be placed in the fellowships competition. The application package should be directed to the appropriate program, as follows: Fellowships for University Teachers or Fellowships for College Teachers and Independent Scholars The package should be mailed to the following address: NEH, Room 316 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20506 Persons with questions regarding the program of Fellowships for University Teachers should call 202/606-8466. Persons with questions regarding the program of Fellowships for College Teachers and Independent Scholars should call 202/606-8467. GENERAL INFORMATION The National Endowment for the Humanities Congress enacted the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 which established the National Endowment for the Humanities as an independent grant-making agency of the federal government to support research, education, and public programs in the humanities. The Humanities The act that established the National Endowment for the Humanities states, "The term 'humanities' includes, but is not limited to, the study of the following: language, both modern and classical; linguistics; literature; history; jurisprudence; philosophy; archaeology; comparative religion; ethics; the history, criticism, and theory of the arts; those aspects of social sciences which have humanistic content and employ humanistic methods. . . ." NEH FELLOWSHIPS Purpose and Scope Projects supported by NEH Fellowships cover a variety of activities. They may contribute to the advancement of teaching, to scholarly knowledge, or to the general public's understanding of the humanities. NEH Fellowships do not support projects to improve methods of teaching, to carry out empirical educational research projects, or to examine theories of teaching and learning that lack substantial content in a discipline of the humanities. Neither do NEH Fellowships support surveys of courses and programs in other institutions or the preparation of institutional curricula. Criteria for Selection The mission of the National Endowment for the Humanities includes supporting work that will promote or encourage, in the words of the enabling legislation, "progress and scholarship in the humanities." To achieve this mission the Endowment strives to support only projects of compelling quality and importance. Consequently, applicants must demonstrate that their projects will be significant to the humanities. The following criteria will be used in evaluating applications for NEH Fellowships: 1. the significance of the contribution that the proposed project will make to thought and knowledge in the field of the project and to the humanities generally; 2. the quality or the promise of quality of the applicant's work as a teacher, scholar, or interpreter of the humanities; 3. the conception, definition, organization, and description of the proposed project; and 4. the likelihood that the applicant will complete the entire project. Eligibility for NEH Fellowships NEH Fellowships are intended for individuals in diverse circumstances. Applicants may be faculty members of colleges and universities, staff members of colleges and universities, and faculty and staff members of primary and secondary schools. However, NEH Fellowships are not limited to individuals in educational institutions, and scholars and writers in various other positions are also welcome to apply. For example, scholars and writers working in institutions with research or educational collections such as museums, libraries, and historical associations or in institutions with no connection to the humanities, and scholars and writers working independently are eligible and encouraged to apply. There are two NEH Fellowships programs: Fellowships for University Teachers and Fellowships for College Teachers and Independent Scholars. The program to which individuals may apply depends on the institution or institutions where they have been employed, whether part-time or full-time, or on the fact that they have had no institutional affiliation. For applicants whose positions change near the application deadline, eligibility will be based on affiliation during the academic year before the deadline, not after it. The program of NEH Fellowships for University Teachers is open only to --- individuals who are teaching part-time or full-time in a college or university department that grants the Ph.D. degree; --- individuals with part-time or full-time appointments to a central graduate school, on their own campus or another campus, that grants the Ph.D. degree; --- individuals who are affiliated with a postgraduate professional school; --- individuals who are affiliated part-time or full-time in any capacity with colleges or universities that grant the Ph.D. degree in the same general discipline as their proposed project; --- individuals on terminating contracts who have such positions as described above; and --- retired individuals who held such positions. The program of NEH Fellowships for College Teachers and Independent Scholars is open only to --- part-time or full-time faculty and staff members of two-year and four-year colleges and universities that do not grant the Ph.D. degree; --- part-time or full-time faculty members of universities in departments that do not grant the Ph.D. degree as long as the Ph.D. degree is not granted in the same general discipline as their project through another department, program, or college on their campus; --- individuals employed part-time or full-time in any nonteaching capacity at a university as long as the Ph.D. degree is not granted on their campus in the same general discipline as their project; --- individuals employed by institutions other than colleges and universities, such as primary or secondary schools, museums, libraries, etc.; --- individuals on terminating contracts who have such positions as described above; --- retired individuals who held such positions; and --- individuals working independently. Persons whose situations do not fit into any of the above categories should explain their circumstances in a letter attached to the application, and NEH staff will then assign such applications to the appropriate program. General Eligibility Citizenship: An applicant for an NEH Fellowship should be a United States citizen, a United States national of American Samoa, or a foreign national who has been residing in the United States or its jurisdictions for at least the three years immediately preceding the application deadline. Highest Degree: Although applicants need not have advanced degrees, those whose professional training includes a degree program must have received their degrees or completed all official requirements for them by May 1, 1995, the application deadline. Persons seeking support for work leading toward a degree are not eligible to apply, nor are active candidates for degrees. Other Applications: Persons may submit only one application per deadline for an NEH Fellowship. Stipends, Tenure, and Conditions of Award Tenure must cover an uninterrupted period of from six to twelve whole months. The earliest that fellows may begin tenure is January 1, 1996. The latest that fellows who are teachers may begin tenure is the start of the spring term of the 1996-97 academic year. The latest that fellows who are not teachers may begin tenure is April 1, 1997. The maximum amount of the NEH stipend is $30,000 for all tenure periods. The actual stipends for 1996-97 fellows who are teachers will be based on their 1995-96 academic-year salaries and will be calculated to compensate for salary that will not be made up during the tenure period by sabbatical-leave salary or other comparable grants or income from their employing institutions. The stipend for fellows who are not teachers will be based on their 1995 calendar-year salaries and will be calculated to compensate for salary that will not otherwise be provided, for example, by an employer or grant-making agency. Part-time fellowships can be awarded only under exceptional circumstances, such as when job responsibilities cannot be relinquished. Applicants should request periods of tenure that suit their schedules and the needs of their projects. A request for a shorter tenure period will not affect the chance of receiving an award. Fellows may not hold other major fellowships or grants during fellowship tenure, except sabbaticals and grants from their own institutions and small grants from other sources for specific research expenses. Successful applicants who receive offers of fellowships from other foundations after May 1, 1995, must hold the NEH Fellowship first. Application Deadline and Award Notification Applications must be postmarked by May 1, 1995. Applications postmarked after May 1 will not be placed in the fellowships competition. Awards will be announced by mid-December 1995. How Applications Are Evaluated NEH Fellowships have one review cycle per year. The process begins at the application deadline, May 1, 1995, and lasts eight months. Each application is assessed by knowledgeable persons outside the Endowment who are asked for their judgments about the quality and significance of the proposed project. Panelists represent a diversity of disciplinary, institutional, regional, and cultural backgrounds. The Chairman of the Endowment, who is appointed for a four-year term by the President with the consent of the Senate, takes into account the advice provided by this review process and, by law, makes the final decision about funding. Persons can apply again, and failure to gain support in one year does not prejudice an applicant's chances for consideration in future competitions. APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS The completed application will consist of the following documents: 1. the original proposal, which includes a. the original NEH application cover sheet; b. a resume, in outline form and not to exceed two pages; c. a detailed description of the proposed study, not to exceed three single-spaced or six double-spaced pages; d. for translation projects only, a two-page sample of the translation for which the fellowship is to be used (one page from the original text and a page of its translation); e. a one-page bibliography for the project; and f. a separate page with the names, titles, and departments, if applicable, of the three people who will be writing reference letters; 2. eight collated and stapled copies of the following: application cover sheet, resume, detailed project description, two-page sample (for translation projects only), bibliography, and page with the name, title, and department of each referee; 3. a set of two data cards from the inside back cover of this application brochure; and 4. three reference letters, to be submitted on the reference-letter forms provided in this brochure. The authors of the reference letters should send their letters directly to the Fellowships program. Description of Proposed Study The proposal for a fellowship is the only demonstration that evaluators will have of the substance of the project, the contribution it can make to humanities scholarship or teaching, and its general quality. It is essential that the text include enough detail about the ideas, objectives, and methods entailed in the project to enable evaluators to assess quality, significance, and feasibility. A simple statement of need or intent is insufficient evidence that a project merits support. Some reviewers will not possess specialized knowledge of the proposed field of study; therefore, the description should be free of jargon and, as much as possible, technical terms. The description of the proposed study should not exceed three single-spaced or six double-spaced typed pages. The proposal should be easily readable, and pages should have margins of at least one inch. Type should be dark and not smaller than twelve characters per inch, and lines should be spaced so that there are no more than six per inch. Although no particular form is prescribed, the description of the project should address the questions listed below. a. What are the basic ideas, problems, works, or questions the study will examine? What is the planned approach or line of thought, to the extent that it has been developed? If the area is new to the applicant, what are the reasons for working in it or what interests have led to the new area? b. What is the current state of the proposed study? Is it in the beginning stages or in progress? What are the plans for each stage, and how does the part of the study to be done under the fellowship fit into the whole? There should be a proposed schedule or plan of work that the applicant would follow during the tenure of the fellowship. c. What contribution is the proposed project likely to make, and what is its significance for the humanities? Is the applicant demonstrating or merely asserting the significance of the proposed project? In cases where the subject of the proposed study might at first glance seem narrow or obscure, does the proposal make the case for the project's larger significance? If the applicant is working in a new area, how will enhancing the applicant's knowledge contribute to the intended audience's understanding of the issues concerned? d. What is the relationship between the proposed work and the work of others in the same general area? What is distinct about the proposed study? e. For what audience are the results of the study intended, such as students, other teachers, other scholars, the general public, or some combination of these? What form is the proposed study likely to assume? f. What is the relationship of the proposed study to the applicant's long-range teaching or scholarly objectives or to the applicant's development as a teacher, scholar, or interpreter of the humanities? g. What is the applicant's competence in any languages needed for the study? h. At what location or locations will the applicant conduct the study, and what materials will be used? What is the likelihood of access to archives, collections, or institutions with resources necessary for the work? i. If the applicant is applying for a part-time fellowship, what is the necessity of holding the fellowship for part-time rather than full-time tenure? For example, what are the job responsibilities that cannot be relinquished? How much released time, between half time and full time, would be devoted to the fellowship? What duties would be relinquished and what duties would be retained during the requested period of fellowship tenure? Translation Sample Applicants submitting translation projects should include a two-page sample. One of the two pages should be from the text to be translated; the other should be the applicant's translation of that page. Bibliography Following the description of the project should be a selected list, which is not to exceed one page, of publications by other scholars and writers or of primary materials and sources that the applicant has used or is planning to use and that have the greatest relevance to the proposed study. This list of readings and materials is vital to the proposal because Endowment reviewers determine from it the amount of work or preparation an applicant has done in the same area, the character of the applicant's interests, and the nature of the approach to the proposed topic. Reference Letters A completed application includes three letters of reference, the forms for which are included in the application brochure. The authors of the letters should send them directly to the Endowment. Reference letters should provide important information about the applicants and their proposals, and applicants should select their referees carefully. Most helpful in this regard are letters from persons in a position to discuss specifically the likely results or outcome of the proposed project, its significance to the field and to its intended audience, the general quality of the applicant's work, and the applicant's ability to carry out the project successfully. Ideally, no more than one referee should be from the applicant's own institution. It is the applicant's responsibility to check the appropriate program at the top of the reference-letter form, to fill in the upper left section of that form, and to send the form, together with a copy of the full proposal, to each referee. It is also the applicant's responsibility to request that referees send letters of reference directly to NEH. Applicants should ask referees to send reference letters as close to the May 1 application deadline as possible. The names, departments, and employing institutions of the three people who will be writing reference letters on the applicant's behalf should be included on a separate sheet at the end of the project description.