Grants

Since 2019, the Georgetown Humanities Initiative has supported interdisciplinary work through a variety of grants for scholarly, digital, and public-facing projects.

The Georgetown Humanities Initiative invites Georgetown faculty to apply for the following grants for AY 2023-24:

Faculty Book Manuscript Workshop Grants for Assistant and Associate Professors in the Humanities

Faculty Book Manuscript Workshops support the scholarly work of Assistant Professors in the humanities who started working at Georgetown before the 2022-23 academic year and of tenured humanities Associate Professors. Social science faculty who conduct qualitative scholarship, adopting humanistic approaches and methods, will also be considered if they are Associate Professors or Assistant Professors who began working at Georgetown prior to the 2022-23 AY.

Workshops provide a context to facilitate constructive criticism on scholarly monographs in progress, when authors can most effectively benefit from experts’ feedback to turn their scholarly projects into first-rate publications in view of their promotion to the next academic rank.

The Humanities Initiative makes grants available of up to $3,000 each, towards travel and other expenses associated with bringing experts to Georgetown to review and offer guidance on monographs in progress by humanities Assistant or tenured Associate Professors with the aim to secure a publishing contract or strengthen the monograph before the final version is submitted. The program allows faculty to invite to campus two experts in their field for a day-long workshop in AY 2023-24. In case of Covid-related travel and gathering restrictions, workshops will be planned on Zoom.

Eligibility

• Humanities tenured Associate Professors and Assistant Professors who started working at Georgetown before AY 2022-23 are eligible to be considered for this one-time funding opportunity.
• Faculty conducting qualitative scholarship in the social sciences, adopting humanistic approaches and methods, will also be considered.
• Applicants should show evidence of substantial progress toward manuscript completion at the time of application.
• Only monographs will qualify for funding.
• Workshops need to take place within AY 2023-24. Extensions are not allowed.

Application Material

Workshop proposals must include the following components:

1. Faculty C.V. including contact information (name, title, department, email address, telephone number, and campus address).
2. A one-page, single-spaced description of the monograph in progress; a table of contents; an accurate schedule for completion; a brief statement specifying whether or not the work is under contract with a publisher, a list of publishers who have expressed interest, or that the applicant feels would be ideal for the project but who have not yet been contacted.
3. A polished sample chapter.
4. A one-page, single-spaced narrative specifying the workshop objectives, why and how this opportunity will be important for the completion of the monograph, the approximate date and location of the workshop within AY 2023-24, and what the applicant’s timeline is for promotion to Associate or Full Professor.
5. A proposed list of scholars, with affiliations and areas of specializations. Applicants should not make advance commitments to any listed scholar but may check scholars’ general interest in participating.
6. Workshop Budget. Permissible expenses include:
   • Travel expenses (e.g., airfare, ground transportation, lodging);
   • External members’ honoraria;
   • Workshop expenses (e.g., space charges, reproduction services, meals);
     All expenses must be consistent with Georgetown University’s reimbursement rules, including class of travel restrictions, and meal/hotel caps.

Application Deadline: May 1, 2023

Application material should be submitted by email as a single PDF attachment to: humanitiesgu@georgetown.edu.

Grant awardees will be asked to submit a report to Georgetown Humanities upon completion of their workshop.

Research Working Groups

With the aim of building community and promoting interdisciplinary exchange on topics with a humanistic focus, the Georgetown Humanities Initiative plans to sponsor up to two Research Working Groups for AY 2023-24.

Each Working Group will bring together Georgetown faculty and graduate students to foster critical discussion and collaborative research across disciplinary lines on an impactful topic of broad humanistic concern. In a yearlong series of carefully planned bi-weekly meetings, these Working Groups will facilitate deeper understanding of the identified research topic, catalyze innovative ideas about the research area, and lead to a well-defined substantial outcome—such as scholarly publications, digital works, symposia or other public-facing events, or curricular offerings.

Working Group Composition and Requirements

Each group should be led by one or two Georgetown full-time faculty members, one of them from a humanities department or program. In the case of two group leaders in the humanities, they should belong to different departments or programs. The group should be composed of a minimum of 3 people and no more than 6, include both faculty and graduate (and/or undergraduate) students, and strive for diversity and inclusion. The involvement of non-humanities GU scholars is strongly encouraged. Research Working Groups are not intended to be lecture series. Reliance on invited outside speakers should be limited.

The group should meet twice a month. To the discretion of its members, some of the meetings can be open to the Georgetown community if a particular activity lends itself to a wider audience.

The director or co-directors of each Research Working Group are expected to send a written report (500 words) of activities and outcomes to the Georgetown Humanities Initiative at the end of the grant period, and an accounting of all expenditures.

If the Working Group’s funded work is featured at an event (virtual or in-person) during the academic year, it is expected to acknowledge the Georgetown Humanities Initiative as a supporting sponsor on the event publicity. Please email GHI with event details at least two weeks prior to the event date. Likewise, if the Working Group’s funded work is featured in any publication (online and/or print), social media, or the like, we request you to please include the Georgetown Humanities Initiative in your acknowledgments and/or by the usage of the GHI logo.

Funding and Support

For each Research Working Group, funding is available for up to $ 2,500 per year as reimbursements for expenses incurred. Funds are meant to provide support for the group’s research activities, for instance room reservation costs, payment of services, purchasing of material, equipment rental, an occasional guest lecture or other scholarly event, one or more Group member’s conference presentation directly connected with the Research Group’s sponsored project, refreshments. Funds cannot be used for administrative support or Group members’ compensation.

Application Material

Research Working Group proposals must include the following components:

• Project Description
  A 1500-word description, including the Working Group title, director or co-directors, leading ideas and questions unifying the Working Group, how the interdisciplinary approach to the Working Group topic draws on the members’ expertise, how the work of the group will advance faculty and graduate student research in the humanities and the Georgetown intellectual community at large, outline of proposed activities and outcomes.
• Participants’ Curricula Vitae
  In no more than 5 pages, each prospective Working Group member should indicate contact information, title and departmental affiliation, education and positions held, publications and major presentations, honors and awards.

Application Deadline: May 1, 2023

Application material should be submitted by email as a single PDF attachment to humanitiesgu@georgetown.edu.