The African Critical Inquiry Programme is pleased to announce the 2016 Ivan Karp Doctoral Research Awards to support African doctoral students in the humanities and humanistic social sciences who are enrolled at South African universities and conducting dissertation research on relevant topics. Grant amounts vary depending on research plans, with a maximum award of ZAR 40,000.

The African Critical Inquiry Programme (ACIP) seeks to advance inquiry and debate about the roles and practice of public culture, public cultural institutions and public scholarship in shaping identities and society in Africa. The ACIP is committed to collaboration between scholars and the makers of culture/history, and to fostering inquiry into the politics of knowledge production, the relationships between the colonial/apartheid and the postcolonial/postapartheid, and the importance of critical pluralism as against nationalist discourse. ACIP is a partnership between the Centre for Humanities Research at the University of the Western Cape and the Laney Graduate School of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia (USA).

ELIGIBILITY: The Ivan Karp Doctoral Research Awards are open to African postgraduate students (regardless of citizenship) in the humanities and humanistic social sciences. Applicants must be currently registered in a Ph.D. programme in a South African university and be working on topics related to ACIP’s focus. Awards will support doctoral research projects focused on topics such as institutions of public culture, particular aspects of museums and exhibitions, forms and practices of public scholarship, culture and communication, and the theories, histories and systems of thought that shape and illuminate public culture and public scholarship. Applicants must submit a dissertation proposal that has been approved by their institution to confirm the award; this must be completed before they begin ACIP-supported on-site research or by December 2016, whichever comes first.

APPLICATION PROCESS: Awards are open to proposals working with a range of methodologies in the humanities and humanistic social sciences, including research in archives and collections, fieldwork, interviews, surveys, and quantitative data collection. Applicants are expected to write in clear, intelligible prose for a selection committee that is multi-disciplinary and cross-regional. Proposals should show thorough knowledge of the major concepts, theories, and methods in the applicant’s discipline and in other related fields and include a bibliography relevant to the research. Applicants should specify why an extended period of on-site research is essential to successfully complete the proposed doctoral dissertation. Guidance and advice on how to write a good proposal and budget can be found in the Resources section of the ACIP website (http://www.gs.emory.edu/about/special/acip.html) or here: http://www.ssrc.org/publications/view/the-art-of-writing-proposals/.

To apply, eligible applicants should submit the following:

• ‚ completed cover sheet (form below and online at http://www.gs.emory.edu/about/special/acip.html)
• abstract of the proposed research project (250 words maximum)
• research proposal outlining the project’s goals, central questions and significance, and its relevance for ACIP’s central concerns. Proposals should include a clearly formulated, realistic research design and a plan of work responsive to the project’s theoretical and methodological concerns. Applicants should provide evidence of appropriate training to undertake the proposed research, including the language fluency necessary for the project. Proposals should be no longer than 5 pages; they should be double spaced, with one inch margins and a font no smaller than 11 point.
• bibliography of up to two additional pages
• project budget listing and justifying project expenses to be supported by the award
• your curriculum vitae
• current transcript
• two referee letters; one of these must be from your supervisor. Your referees should comment specifically on your proposed project, its quality and significance, and your qualifications for undertaking it. They might also evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your project and how you and your work would benefit from receiving the research award. Referee letters should be submitted directly to the selection committee.

Funding is to be used for on-site dissertation research; research cannot be at the applicant’s home institution unless that institution has necessary site-specific research holdings not otherwise available to the applicant. Applicants who have completed significant funded dissertation research by the start of their proposed ACIP research may be ineligible to apply to extend research time. Eligibility will be at the discretion of the ACIP Selection Committee, depending on completed research time and funding. Please note that the Ivan Karp Dissertation Research Awards support dissertation research only and may not be used for dissertation write-up, study at other universities, conference participation, or to reimburse debts or expenses for research already completed. The program does not accept applications from Ph.D. programs in Law, Business, Medicine, Nursing, or Journalism, nor does it accept applications in doctoral programs that do not lead to a Ph.D.

SELECTION PROCESS: Applications will be reviewed by the ACIP Selection Committee, an interdisciplinary group of scholars and practitioners drawn from a range of universities and cultural institutions. Selection will be based on the merit and strength of the application. Award amounts will vary according to project needs; the maximum award is ZAR 40,000. Awards will be made only if applications of high quality are received. Notification of awards will be made by late July.

Successful applicants will be required to attend the African Critical Inquiry Workshop in the following year and will have opportunities to consult with scholars associated with the Workshop. They will be expected to attend subsequent ACIP Workshops while completing their dissertations, if possible. After completing their research, applicants must submit a final research report and a financial report.

Students who receive an Ivan Karp Doctoral Research Award from the African Critical Inquiry Programme must acknowledge the support in any publications resulting from the research and in their dissertation. When the dissertation is completed, they must deposit a copy with the African Critical Inquiry Programme at the Center for Humanities Research.

Closing date: Applications and referees’ letters must be received on or before Monday 2 May 2016. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Please submit materials as a single file attachment with documents in the order listed above. Applications should be sent by email with the heading “ACIP 2016 Research Award Application” to lameezlalkhen@gmail.com.

Supported by funding from the Ivan Karp and Corinne Kratz Fund
http://www.gs.emory.edu/about/special/acip.html
https://www.facebook.com/ivan.karp.corinne.kratz.fund

Download Grant Application