Mellon Sawyer Seminar Graduate Student Researcher Award
Deadline: May 27, 2022
Eligibility
Full time UCR graduate students in good standing at Step 3 or 4 in their CHASS Ph.D. program.
Award Period
Fall 2022 to Spring 2023
Award Details
Awardees will be appointed as Graduate Student Researchers (Step 3 or 4) for 2022-23 (three quarters) at the current UC academic salary scale. Appointments include GSHIP/fees.
Award Description
Funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the 2022-23 Mellon Sawyer Seminar “Unarchiving Blackness” offers two dissertation research awards to support graduate students in the humanities, arts, and humanistically-oriented social sciences during the 2022-23 academic year. This award is aimed at graduate students in CHASS PhD programs who are in good standing at step 3 or 4. Researchers will have office space for the academic year through the support of the Center for Ideas and Society. They will be expected to be an important part of the intellectual life of the Sawyer Seminar throughout the year by presenting their work, and by active participation in events and discussions.
Complete Applications Include
Abstract & Bibilography
Dissertation project abstract (300 words) and 1-page single-spaced bibliography
Research Statement
1-page single-spaced research statement with description of topic, argument, and indication of progress to completion. The statement should indicate how the scholar engages with the idea of “unarchiving Blackness,” based on the rationale in this call
Letter of Recommendation
Confidential letter of recommendation from a dissertation committee member should be sent to Katharine Henshaw at cis@ucr.edu with the subject line: “Recommendation Letter for Mellon Sawyer Seminar Graduate Student Researcher” by the application deadline
Application form with required documentation should be submitted by 11:59 PM on the deadline.
Rationale
How do archives of Black life—including documents, drawings, maps, material culture, photographs, and digital content—shape historical narratives of the past, impact the material conditions of African and African Diasporic people in the present, and create imaginative possibilities of vibrant Black life for the future? The “Unarchiving Blackness” Mellon Sawyer Seminar addresses this question, through a comparative cross-disciplinary exploration of the making of archives (both past and present) and the methodological approaches to archives within the humanities. This seminar works to “unarchive Blackness,” by pulling together scholars whose innovative archival engagements counter the dehumanization, commodification, and ongoing disenfranchisement of African and Black people that saturates traditional archives and upholds colonial logics of anti-blackness. As a result of this Sawyer Seminar, researchers across the humanities will develop archival practices and ethics that imagine thriving futures for African and Black people.
The year long Mellon Sawyer Seminar for “Unarchiving Blackness” will be led by Professors Jody Benjamin (History), Ademide Adelusi-Adeluyi (History), Ayana Omilade Flewellen (Anthropology), Jade S. Sasser (Gender & Sexuality Studies), and andré carrington (English).
Please contact Professor Adelusi-Adeluyi (ademide@ucr.edu) with questions about the GSR award application.
Award Details
Awardees will be appointed as Graduate Student Researchers (Step 3 or 4) for 2022-23 (three quarters) at the current UC academic salary scale. Appointments include GSHIP/fees. Eligible UCR students will be enrolled full-time and in good standing in a CHASS Ph.D. program. Awardees are generally expected to be in residence at UCR in order to facilitate participation in the seminars and meetings. Shared office space will be provided at the Center for Ideas and Society.