The Animals and Society Institute and Wesleyan Animal Studies invites applications for the fifth annual summer fellowship program for scholars pursuing research in Human-Animal Studies.
Beginning in the summer of 2011 and going forward, this interdisciplinary program will enable 6-8 fellows to pursue research in residence at Wesleyan University at the College of the Environment. Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut is a selective private, coeducational, non-sectarian school of liberal arts and sciences known for the excellence of its academic and co-curricular programs. Wesleyan’s College of the Environment was created in 2009 with a belief in the resilience of the human spirit and a desire to engage students and scholars in discussions about environmental issues and their social and political impact.
The fellowship will be hosted by Wesleyan faculty Lori Gruen and Kari Weil. Gruen is chair and associate professor of philosophy, associate professor of environmental studies, associate professor of feminist, gender and sexuality studies at Wesleyan, and author of Ethics and Animals: An Introduction (Cambridge, Feb. 2011). Weil is a visiting professor of letters at Wesleyan, and author of Thinking Animals: An Introduction (Columbia, 2011).
The fellowship is designed to support recipients’ individual research through mentorship, guest lectures, and scholarly exchange among fellows and opportunities to contribute to the intellectual life of the host institution. All fellows must be in continuous residence for the duration of the program, May 23 – July 1, inclusive.
The fellowships are open to scholars from any discipline investigating a topic related to human-animal relationships. Selected topics from previous years’ programs include:
- Analyzing one County’s Attempt to go “No Kill”
- Animal Ethics in Cold War Literary Culture
- Animal Experimentation and Animal Welfare in Twentieth Century Anglo-American Science
- Animal Research in Theory and Practice
- Animals and Colonialism
- Cloning Extinct Species of Mammals
- Ethics and Politics in Environmental Discourse in India
- Gender Relations in Cattle Ranching
- Genetically Engineered Pigs
- Human Animal Relationships at the Duke Lemur Center
- Inter-species Identity and Alterity in a Video Game
- Legal Personhood, Animal Advocacy, and Human-Animal Relationships
- Literary Representations of Dogs
- Media Representations of the 2007 Pet Food Recall
- Science and Policies Affecting Elephants in Captivity
- The Animal Rights Movements in France and the United States
- The Human-Animal Relationship for Veterinary Students
- Victorian Quaker Women’s Contributions to Feminist-Animal Ethics
- Xenotransplantation and Black Market Organs
Application deadline: January 15, 2011
Amount of Award
Scholars selected to participate in the fellowship program will be awarded a stipend of $3,000 to help cover travel costs, housing, living expenses, books, and other research expenses. The Wesleyan hosts will help coordinate housing for the fellows.
Eligibility
Applicants must (1) possess a Ph.D., J.D., M.S.W. or equivalent, or be a doctoral student at the dissertation stage; (2) have a commitment to advancing research in Human-Animal Studies; (3) be actively engaged, during the fellowship program, in a research project that culminates in a journal article, book, or other scholarly presentation, and (4) submit a follow-up report six months after the fellowship’s completion.
Application
Applicants should email electronic copies of the following items to fellowshipapplication@animalsandsociety.org:
- Cover sheet with the applicant’s name, mailing address to be used for future correspondence, telephone and fax numbers, e-mail address, present rank and institution name, date Ph.D. or J.D. or M.S.W. received or expected, citizenship status, title of project, history of fellowships and grants received during the past five years.
- One paragraph abstract
- Project proposal of up to three pages (single-spaced) that describes the project and indicates work completed on the project to date. As the description will be considered by a panel of scholars from a variety of disciplines, it should be written for non-specialists.
- Curriculum vitae of up to three pages.
- Two letters of recommendation (pdfs of original letters recommended)
- Applicants are responsible for contacting referees and supplying them with a description of the project.
Selection Process
The selection committee includes members from a range of disciplines connected to Human-Animal Studies.
Applications are evaluated on the contribution that the completed project will make to Human-Animal Studies, the qualifications of the applicant to complete the research, and how well the applicant’s project complements the other projects. In addition, we favor projects that include policy and practice implications.
Applicants will be notified by e-mail and letter March 2011.
The fellowship program will be directed by Ken Shapiro, Executive Director of Animals and Society Institute, Margo DeMello, Program Director, Human Animal Studies Program, and Wesleyan professors Lori Gruen, and Kari Weil. Please address all correspondence to us at the following address:
Committee on FellowshipsAnimals & Society Institute
403 McCauley Street
Washington Grove MD 20880fellowshipapplication@animalsandsociety.org
301-963-4751
Margo DeMelloProgram Director,
Human-Animal StudiesAnimals and Society Institute2
512 Carpenter Rd,
Suite 201A2
Ann Arbor, MI 48108
734-677-9240www.animalsandsociety.org
www.Facebook.com/AnimalsandSocietyInstitute
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