Amount: up to $25,000 for conferences; up to $15,000 for workshops and seminars; up to $6,000 for planning meetings
Completed applications must be received by November 12, 2008.
This program is intended to support projects in the humanities and related social sciences that bridge disciplinary or geographic boundaries, engage new sources, develop fresh approaches to traditional materials and issues, or otherwise bring innovative perspectives to the study of Chinese culture and society. Proposals are expected to be empirically grounded, theoretically informed, and methodologically explicit. The program especially encourages proposals concerning pre-modern China.
The program will support collaborative work of three types:
Conferences: Grants up to $25,000 will be offered for formal research conferences intended to produce significant new research published in a conference volume.
Workshops/Seminars: Grants up to $15,000 will be offered for workshops or seminars designed to facilitate discussion of ongoing research on newly available or inadequately researched problems, data, or texts.
Planning Meetings: Grants up to $6,000 will be offered for less formal meetings to plan conferences or workshops, or for less structured explorations of issues in Chinese culture and society.
The program aims to promote interchange among scholars who may not otherwise have the opportunity to work together. Accordingly, proposals will not be supported for activities of scholars from one institution or that fall within an institution’s normal range of colloquia, symposia, or seminar series. In addition, the program does not normally support regularly scheduled meetings, conventions, or parts thereof.
Eligibility
The principal organizer must be affiliated with a university or research institution and must hold a Ph.D. There are no restrictions as to citizenship of participants or location of the project; however, it is expected the scholars from academic institutions in Taiwan will participate in conferences, workshops, and planning meetings.
Application Guidelines
Applications must specify one principal organizer.
Applicants should bear in mind that proposals will be read by an interdisciplinary committee of scholars.
The program aims to encourage collective efforts by groups of scholars who are prepared to work together on a limited set of issues. Accordingly, efforts should be made at the earliest possible stage of projects to ensure that the eventual set of conference papers is intellectually coherent and not a loose collection of essays on topics only tangentially related.
Funds awarded in these competitions cannot be used to cover the following expenses:
Direct research expenses, such as those of field work, obtaining research materials, or analysis of data;
Salaries or released time for organizers or participants;
Honoraria or speakers' fees for organizers or participants;
Purchase of equipment;
Institutional overhead. (Direct administrative costs are allowed.)
Proposals for conferences should normally be more elaborate than proposals for planning meetings or workshops.
Workshops are understood to last three or four days, and provide an opportunity for participants to discuss and analyze new approaches and/or new sources in a seminar-like setting.
Planning meetings are understood to last one day.
All proposals must include (in this order):
Application Information Sheet (
A description of the project and its purposes. Descriptions should be no more than five double-spaced pages, and must also include:
a budget for the proposed event, including a statement of any other funds available, and
a short bibliography of relevant sources.
Two-page CV of principal organizer.
A list of those invited with their CVs (two pages maximum). This list should clearly differentiate between those who have agreed to participate in the event and those whose participation is not confirmed. This list should also specify paper writers and discussants. Participation of scholars from academic institutions in Taiwan is expected. Participation of scholars from outside the China field is strongly encouraged.
For conferences only: an appendix containing abstracts (of approximately 150-200 words) for each paper to be presented at the conference.
Submitting Applications
Submit one set of application materials, collated in the order specified.
Applications should be submitted by mail or courier. Applications cannot be submitted by fax or e-mail.
All applications must be printed double-spaced, on one side only, of standard letter size (8-1/2 x 11 inches) paper.
Applications should be unbound and unstapled: books, scholarly papers, brochures, catalogs, or other material not easily photocopied should not be included.
Fully completed applications must be received by November 14, 2008. Applications should be sent to:
New Perspectives on Chinese Culture and Society
Office of Fellowships and Grants
American Council of Learned Societies
633 Third Avenue
New York, New York 10017-6795
Applications must arrive by mail or courier service. Applications will not be accepted by fax or email. Applicants should send an email to the Fellowships Office on the day they send their application materials to ACLS. Each applicant will receive email confirmation when their application is received at ACLS in New York.
Questions concerning the application process should be directed to the ACLS Fellowships Office.