Themed Summer Fellowships: Religious Cultures / Sacred Practices / Spiritual Teachings

Description

In the summer of 2024, the Simpson Center for the Humanities will pilot faculty fellowship support with a thematic emphasis, convening a cohort of faculty actively working on research projects that address this year's theme: aspects of the broad spectrum of religious cultures, sacred practices, and spiritual teachings. Projects may be independent or collaborative, and they may take a range of forms; this fellowship will not be limited to supporting the development or completion of scholarly monographs.  We hope to award support to six to eight faculty members total, with priority attention given to assistant and associate professors.

Theme

For the first iteration of what we anticipate will be a multi-year but not necessarily an annual initiative, the thematic will be religious cultures, sacred practices, and spiritual teachings. Projects may investigate religious cultures as they are contextualized by power, social identity, and legacies of racism, domination, and colonialism. They might explore the sacred practices and spiritual teachings that preserve cultural continuity across generations.  Fellows may choose to situate their work within larger frames, such as religion and the environment or gender and theology, to take two examples.  

By gathering scholars together who are working on projects in potentially different disciplinary capacities, historical periods, and languages—to take just these examples—but who share a demonstrated interest in the designated theme, we hope to open new possibilities for deep and sustained crossdisciplinary discussion.

Eligibility

UW tenure-track faculty in the humanities and humanistic social sciences, whose project focuses on an aspect of the broad rubric of religious cultures, sacred practices, and spiritual teachings are eligible to apply. This fellowship is not limited to faculty who are working on book manuscripts. It is also open to those who are working in other modes of scholarship, such as articles, review essays, chapters in edited collections, interviews, or public-facing projects such as podcasts.

Terms of Award

Summer salary support of $10,000. Recipients of this funding will meet in person weekly, six times, beginning in mid-June at the start of summer quarter and extending through late July (the date range we are considering spans June 17-July 31, 2024). The intent of this summer support is to allow fellows to devote themselves full-time to their research projects. Fellows are expected to be in residence, with no competing demands, including teaching or other paid work. As with the Society of Scholars, it is our expectation that each fellow will make a presentation of their work and circulate a portion of it in advance of the session devoted to it.

Criteria

Awards are based on the scholarly merit of the individual applications. Scholarship likely to contribute to intellectual exchange among a diverse group of colleagues is especially encouraged. Joint applications from two scholars working collaboratively on a single, substantive research project that aims to produce co-authored print or web publications are also encouraged.

Selection Process

We will accept proposals early in 2024 through a special funding round (the submission form will open on January 10, 2024, with a deadline of March 1, 2024) and convene an ad hoc review committee to make selections. Applicants will be notified of decisions by early April 2024.