Group items tagged

With the triad of concepts "utopia, experience and threat", three of the key references to conflicting social value systems from ancient times to today are touched upon: Social movements inspired by utopias determine ideal preconceptions of politics, religion and society and fight for their realization. In societies that see themselves as democracies, people have experiences, which they mobilize in a way that is critical of democracy - be it against democracy as such or against specific aspects of the relevant established democratic order. The historically - and currently - frequently found references to conflicting social value systems is the impression of threat, as a result of which, for example, ruling elites deploy their law enforcement forces against social movements, various social groups fight for re-order and new order, religiously based preconceptions of society or justice come into conflict, or social inequality becomes a political issue. All three points of reference can be utilized for historical research into conflict histories surrounding the correct order and just society. They expand the theme of the funding program beyond the classic fields of protest and revolutionary history, or the history of constitutions, elections and political parties - which are likewise part of it all - to include a multiperspectival history of conflict and culture surrounding the right order in society and politics.

The special programme "Islam, the Modern Nation State and Transnational Movements" is aimed at researchers who, with an eye to current developments, are examining the emergence of political movements in the Islamic world at the national and/or transnational level. Historical studies are encouraged and supported, together with projects in the areas of religious, cultural or political science: What emancipatory, what modern elements does political Islam promise and integrate? What developments, what connections, what similarities in the key categories, interpretations and claims are to be drawn between pan-Arabism and pan-Islamism at the close of the 19th century and the movements of today? What historical self-descriptions are recognizable in the concepts? Via what specific ideas of communalisation can social radicalisation and mobilisation for violence be legitimised? The special programme takes a look at the dynamics between Islamic teachings, Islamism, nationalism and transnational orientations and environments. Scientific discussion of the countries and regions of the Islamic world should bring together expertise possessing regional and thematic focus in order to allow the problems associated with areas of conflict to be expounded upon, particularly with regard to global influences and processes of cultural exchange. Proposals will be supported that address the particularities and contexts of cultural and historical environments and relationships. The projects' deliverables should be able to make a contribution to diverse and expert discussions in public and political circles. Applications are invited for funding research scholarships and research projects. PhD scholarships are only granted in connection with a research project.

Deadline is April 15, 2013 for the Hanes Walton Award for Quantitative Methods Training which provides scholarships for recipients to attend the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) Summer Program in Quantitative Methods of Social Research at the University of Michigan. Scholarship recipients will receive a waiver of Program Scholar fees to attend the four and/or eight week ICPSR Summer Program. The scholarships are designed to encourage faculty and graduate students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), as well as women and minority graduate students and faculty at other institutions, to attend the Summer Program. There will be one award per category: (1) Graduate Students in PhD programs who have acquired ABD status; and (2) Tenure-Track & Non-Tenured Faculty. The National Conference of Black Political Scientists (NCOBPS) will also provide scholarship recipients with a travel stipend of up to $500.

The U.S. Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) announces an open competition for organizations interested in submitting applications for projects that address the needs of Syrians survivors of torture and other gross human rights violations (GHRV), including released political prisoners and their families. Projects should focus on the mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), medical, legal, and human rights documentation sectors, with specific attention focused on issues faced by recently released political prisoners and other Syrian survivors of gross human rights violations.

The Research Group "Alternatives to Democracy? The Social Order of Dictatorships" examines the question how dictatorial regimes - despite their inherent destructivity and repressive violence - create new orders of the political and the social that appeal to populations at large. The cases of pre-War Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union under Nikita Khrushchev, and Spain during the Franco era will serve as fields of inquiry to address the following questions: Which are the pre-conditions that give rise to dictatorships? When are they seen as an appealing way out of political, social, and economic disruption? How are dictatorial regimes able to generate legitimacy? What kind of stability do they create on the backdrop of crisis, insecurity, and disorder? Essential Duties & Responsibilities: We expect successful candidates to conduct extensive archival research in one of the countries under consideration. Each successful applicant will closely co-operate with the team of organizers of the Research Group: Brigit Aschmann (Chair of Modern European and Spanish History), Jörg Baberowski (Chair of Russian and Soviet History) and Michael Wildt (Chair of German History). Successful applicants are expected to write and defend a dissertation. In their research, they are asked to address and discuss conceptual questions of comparative history, including the comparison of modern dictatorial regimes.

The Max-Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, Department of Religious Diversity in Göttingen is offering The Ph.D. fellowships are for 3-4 years. The dissertation will be defended at Utrecht University. The postdoctoral fellowships are for one or two years. The research will be done in collaboration with the Center for the Study of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in China at Minzu University in Beijing. The projects have to be on the following topics: 1. Study of the relations between Yi and Miao in Sichuan, Yunnan, and Vietnam 2. Study of the effects on ethnic minorities of the opening up of S.W. China to S.E. Asia 3. Social networks beyond ethnicity in China: Case study of the classmates and alumni of Minzu Requirements: For Postdoc: Ph.D. in Social /Cultural Anthropology, Religious Studies, Sociology, Political Science or other related disciplines of the Social Sciences or Humanities. Fluency in English and Mandarin Chinese is expected. For Ph.D. candidates: MA in Social /Cultural Anthropology, Religious Studies, Sociology, Political Science or other related disciplines of the Social Sciences or Humanities. Fluency in English and Mandarin Chinese is expected.

The Fellowship Program for Advanced Social Science Research on Japan is a joint activity of the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission (JUSFC) and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Awards support research on modern Japanese society and political economy, Japan's international relations, and U.S.-Japan relations. The program encourages innovative research that puts these subjects in wider regional and global contexts and is comparative and contemporary in nature. Research should contribute to scholarly knowledge or to the general public's understanding of issues of concern to Japan and the United States. Appropriate disciplines for the research include anthropology, economics, geography, history, international relations, linguistics, political science, psychology, public administration, and sociology. Awards usually result in articles, monographs, books, digital materials, archaeological site reports, translations, editions, or other scholarly resources. The fellowships are designed for researchers with advanced language skills whose research will require use of data, sources, and documents in their original languages or whose research requires interviews onsite in direct one-on-one contact. Fellows may undertake their projects in Japan, the United States, or both, and may include work in other countries for comparative purposes. Projects may be at any stage of development.

The Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations is accepting proposals from non-Unitarian Universalist groups in the U.S. and Canada for community organizing campaigns aimed at creating systemic change in the economic, social, and political structures that affect the lives of those who have been excluded from resources, power, and the right to determination. Through the Fund for a Just Society, UUAC supports projects that are less likely to receive conventional funding because of the innovative or challenging nature of the work or the economic and social status of the constituency. UUAC does not fund social services, educational programs, or advocacy projects. Grants are not awarded for the purposes of re-granting, equipment, capital campaigns, politically partisan efforts, educational institutions, medical or scientific research, or cultural programs. The organization will consider the funding of films, publications, or curricula if they are an integral part of a strategy of collective action for social change. UUAC does not fund individuals.

The American Educational Research Association is accepting applications for its AERA Minority Dissertation Fellowship in Education Research. The annual program provides support for doctoral dissertation research, to advance education research by outstanding minority graduate students, and to improve the quality and diversity of university faculties. The fellowship offers doctoral fellowships to enhance the competitiveness of outstanding minority scholars for academic appointments at major research universities. It supports fellows conducting education research and provides mentoring and guidance toward the completion of their doctoral studies. The dissertation study should focus on an education research topic such as high-stakes testing; ethnic studies/curriculum; tracking; STEM development; measurement of achievement and opportunity gaps; English-language learners; or bullying and restorative justice. Applicants can come from graduate programs and departments in education research, the humanities, or social or behavioral science disciplinary or interdisciplinary fields such as economics, political science, psychology, or sociology.

The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) announces an open competition for organizations interested in submitting an application for a program that supports political prisoner advocacy in Ukraine.

The Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) is offering semester-long sabbaticals for the study, research, and teaching of classical liberal ideas including private property, free speech, individual rights, open markets and other precepts. Sabbatical positions will be offered in the 2018-2020 academic years, and sabbaticals must be taken during the designated periods. Both tenured and tenure track may apply. IHS traditionally works with academics in the fields of economics, political science, philosophy, history, and law, however scholars in other disciplines are welcome to apply.  Available sabbatical time-frames include:  -2019 spring semester  -2019-20 academic year, spring and fall semesters 

The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) announces an open competition for organizations interested in submitting applications for projects that support Religious Freedom globally. "Religious freedom" refers to the right set out in Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including the freedom to adopt a religion or beliefs, change your beliefs, practice and teach your beliefs (which may include through publications, public and private speech, and the display of religious attire or symbols), gather in community with others to worship and observe your beliefs, and teach your beliefs to your children. Proposed programming must be responsive to restrictions on religious freedom and must be in line with the U.S. Government's religious freedom, democracy, governance, and human rights goals. Helpful resources for applicants include the annual country-specific International Religious Freedom Reports https://www.state.gov/international-religious-freedom-reports/ and annual country-specific Human Rights Reports https://www.state.gov/reports/2018-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/. Applicants will be responsible for ensuring program activities and products are implemented in accordance with the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution. DRL programming will engage youth to foster an environment of greater inter-communal and intra-communal respect and peaceful coexistence among religious communities in Pakistan promoting the rights of all people to live free from discrimination, abuse, and violence on account of their religious identity, practices, or affiliation. Proposals should be gender inclusive and include religious minorities.

Scholars of Chinese Studies are encouraged to apply for special summer travel grants designed to promote  the use of the Canton Archives and Passionist China Collection at the Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western  Cultural History at the University of San Francisco Center for the Pacific Rim.  Applications for travel grants to visit the USF Ricci Institute are welcome from scholars and researchers  working on social, cultural, diplomatic, religious, economic, political, and architectural history from the  19th and 20th centuries (to 1950).

Deadline: The deadline for receipt of short-term and summer research grant applications and supporting materials is March 1, 2013. Applicants will be notified approximately one month later. Eligibility: These Title VIII grants are available to American academic experts and practitioners, including advanced graduate students, engaged in specialized research requiring access to Washington, DC and its research institutions. Candidates must be U.S. citizens, in order to be considered eligible for this grant opportunity. This is a residential program requiring visiting scholars to remain in the Washington, DC area and to forego other academic and professional obligations for the duration of the grant. Short-term grants offer a stipend for one month, while summer research grants provide support for two months. Both opportunities include residence at the Wilson Center. Project Scope: EES offers residential summer and short-term research grants to scholars working on policy relevant projects on East Europe. While Southeast Europe remains a primary focus, projects on Central Europe and the Baltic states are also eligible. Countries that fall under this scope are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Projects should focus on fields in the social sciences and humanities including, but not limited to: Anthropology, History, Political Science, Slavic Languages and Literatures, and Sociology.

The research remit of the BIAA covers Turkey and the Black Sea. BIAA research engages with Turkey as a crossroads, Turkey's interactions with the Black Sea region and its other neighbours as well as Turkey as a distinctive creative and cultural hub in a global and neighbourhood perspective. The overall focus of applications should be on History, Society and Culture. The BIAA has primary experience and resources, including a first-class library in Ankara, as an archaeological and historical research centre. It prioritizes research projects with a historical dimension, even when the prime focus is on contemporary Turkey or climate issues. In line with the mission of the BIAA as a centre of excellence for archaeological research, substantial funds will be set aside for selected field projects running over a number of years. Currently three or four projects of this type are supported. Applications for funding should fit within the five Strategic Research Initiatives (SRI) which define the current shape of BIAA research policy: * Climate and its historical and current impact * Migration, Minorities and regional identities * Religion and politics in historical perspective * Habitat and Settlement in prehistoric, historical and environmental perspective * Cultural heritage, society and the economy Proposals may relate to all historical periods up to contemporary Turkey.

The International Research Center "Work and Human Lifecycle in Global History" at Humboldt University in Berlin, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and headed by Professor Andreas Eckert, invites scholars to apply for 10 to 15 international research fellowships (senior scholars and postdoctoral candidates) for the 2014-2015 academic year. Applications are due in Berlin on 31 August 2013. We welcome candidates especially from the disciplines of history, anthropology, law, sociology, political science, and area studies. Applicants should be at the postdoctoral level or senior scholars. We would like the proposed projects to employ a historical and transregional perspective. Also, please do not only focus on work/ labour, but also on life course. Possible topic areas are, among others, the household, loss of work, the relationship between work and non-work, as well as free and unfree labour. We welcome proposals about all regions of the world and especially those that look at comparisons, conflicts, relations between different regions. A global history perspective is not required; keeping an open mind to such ideas, however, is highly desirable. The fellowships will begin on 1 October 2014 and end on 31 July 2015. Shorter fellowship terms will be possible. Fellows will receive a monthly stipend, which can be individually negotiated, and are obliged to work at the research center in Berlin. A fully equipped office will be provided as well as organizational help for visa, housing, etc. During the fellowship, we also encourage fellows to introduce their work to wider audiences within Berlin's scientific community.

The Russell Sage Foundation's program on Social Inequality supports innovative research on whether rising economic inequality has affected social, political, and economic institutions, and the extent to which increased inequality has affected equality of opportunity, social mobility, and the intergenerational transmission of advantage. We seek investigator-initiated research projects that will broaden our understanding of the causes and consequences of rising economic inequalities in the United States.

The Arts Envoy Program annually enables approximately 200 American artists and cultural experts (known as Arts Envoys) to travel abroad for individual programs or as part of an ensemble or group to engage and consult with key foreign audiences through performances, workshops, meetings, seminars, and appearances in foreign media. By addressing topics identified and developed by U.S. Missions (generally U.S. Embassies and Consulates) worldwide in cooperation with ECA, the program promotes an understanding of U.S. policies and institutions, and the political, economic, social, and cultural context from which they arise. Arts Envoy individuals and groups are programmed in one or more countries with a variety of audiences from a wide range of disciplines in the cultural arena, including in the performing and visual arts, and in arts management, as well as with museum professionals and other cultural experts. Arts Envoy programs range from five days to six weeks in length. For more information, please see the full announcement.

The Fellowships for Advanced Social Science Research on Japan program is a joint activity of the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission (JUSFC) and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Awards support research on modern Japanese society and political economy, Japan's international relations, and U.S.-Japan relations. The program encourages innovative research that puts these subjects in wider regional and global contexts and is comparative and contemporary in nature. Research should contribute to scholarly knowledge or to the general public's understanding of issues of concern to Japan and the United States.

The Virginia Center for Civil War Studies and Virginia Tech's Special Collections invite applications for the 2014-15 Virginia Center for Civil War Studies Research Grants. Each grant recipient will visit Virginia Tech's Special Collections in order to conduct research on some aspect of the American Civil War era. An honorarium of $100 per business day will be provided, up to a maximum of $1,000. Recipients will also have the opportunity to give an informal presentation on their projects during their visit. Graduate students, faculty members, and independent scholars are all eligible. Virginia Tech's Special Collections contain one of the largest concentrations of Civil War-related research materials in the world, including 10,000 rare and unique printed sources, and hundreds of manuscript collections containing diaries, letters, ledgers, official papers, and other formats. Highlights include soldiers' accounts from both the Union and the Confederacy; printed memoirs and regimental histories; correspondence from the homefront; primary sources focused on slavery and abolitionism; papers documenting political change in Virginia and the South throughout the 1860s; and records of postwar groups focused on memorializing the Civil War. More information about our collections is available at http://spec.lib.vt.edu/civwar/