FHC Collaborative Fellowship

The Furman Humanities Center (FHC) Collaborative Fellowship promotes collegiality, collaboration, and multi-disciplinary scholarship, research, and creative activity on pressing societal issues and larger humanistic questions that foster understanding of the human condition. Each year the FHC will support the formation of up to one or two multi-disciplinary cohorts of Furman faculty members (four max) from three different academic disciplines to examine issues of pressing concern in the humanities and arts. Members of the cohort receiving an award agree to meet at least six times during the academic year, provide a record of their discussions, and present the results of their collaboration in a public colloquium, symposium, or performance. In addition, cohort members will have the option to sponsor up to three CLP events linked to their chosen theme. One of these CLPs should share the project with the wider Furman community and should feature a majority of if not all fellows involved. Participants also must agree to serve on future selection committees for Collaborative Fellows.

Amount and Structure of Award:

Each cohort will have one Organizing Fellow ($3,000), and up to two/three Collaborative Fellows ($2,000 each). In addition, the group as a whole will be provided with funds for collective activities (up to $2,000).

Organizing Fellow Award:

(One $3,000 award, disbursed either as Professional Development Funds or as a stipend, with the appropriate taxes withheld) Organizing fellows have the same responsibilities as Collaborative Fellows. In addition, Organizing Fellows are responsible for scheduling Fellow meetings, organizing the final symposium, arranging the details for visiting scholars (if applicable), and managing the Collaborative Fellowship Supporting Funds. Organizing Fellows will track uses of Fellowship funds and insure that Fellows spend funds within four semesters and two summer sessions from the date of their award.

Collaborative Fellows Awards:

($2,000 for each participating individual, up to three participating faculty/staff members; awards will be disbursed either as Professional Development Funds or as stipends, with the appropriate taxes withheld): Collaborative Fellows agree to participate in all Fellowship activities, including regular meetings and the public forum/colloquium/performance presenting the collaboration results. Collaborative Fellows agree to serve on future selection committees, write a report on the impact of their award, and spend and account for any funds associated with their award within a period not to exceed four semesters and two summer sessions from the date of their award.

Student Fellows Awards:

($500 for each participating individual, up to eight participating students from at least three different disciplines in the humanities) Student Fellows agree to participate in all Fellowship activities, take an active role in the regular meetings, participate in the public forum/colloquium/performance presenting collaboration results, and attend any CLPs organized by this group.

Collaborative Fellowship Supporting Funds:FHC

($2,000) The cohort will receive a budget for speakers, meals at meetings, site visits, materials needed, and other expenses shared collectively. These supporting funds must be spent during the semesters for which the cohort has received the award. Unspent funds will revert to FHC. The Organizing Fellow is responsible for the management of these funds. Supporting Funds may not be used for the benefit of individual cohort members without approval by the Organizing Fellow and the FHC committee.

The Application:

Applicant cohorts are invited to submit a joint proposal that 1) provides the names and affiliations of the Fellows, designating who will be the Organizing Fellow; 2) proposes the theme the cohort plans to pursue for the academic school year and explains its importance; 3) articulates the guiding questions the cohort plans to address; 4) provides a rationale for the collaboration; and 5) identifies anticipated outcomes of the collaboration. Cohort members from disciplines not traditionally considered part of the humanities and fine arts shall include a brief statement describing how their participation intersects with the mission of humanist inquiry.

Requirements of Award:

• Applicant cohorts must include Furman faculty members from a minimum of three academic disciplines or interdisciplinary fields
• Individual awards may be used for research and conference travel, but expenses for individual meals are NOT reimbursable by award funds.
• Recipients of Furman Collaborative Fellowships must wait three years from the date of their award before joining another cohort’s application.
• Furman Collaborative Fellows agree to serve on the selection committee for future Fellowship cycles
• Awards may not be used for the purchase of computer hardware.
• Funds allocated to Organizing Fellows and Collaborative Fellows must be spent within four semesters of the date of the award. Supporting Funds allocated to the cohort must be spent by the end of the academic year for which the cohort has received the award.