Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University

Dissertation Grants

The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America invites scholars whose dissertation research requires use of the library's collections to apply for research support.

Applications will be evaluated on the significance of the research and the project's potential contribution to the advancement of knowledge as well as its creativity in drawing on the library's holdings. Grants of up to $3,000 will be given on a competitive basis to cover travel expenses, living expenses (up to $125 per diem), photocopying, and other incidental research expenses, but not the purchase of durable equipment.

A brief report about work accomplished under the grant will be due no later than one year from the date of the award.

2012-2013 Dissertation Grants

Alix Genter, Rutgers University
“Butch-Femme and the Ambiguities of American Sexual Culture, 1945–1969”

Annelise Heinz, Rutgers University
“Mahjong: Gender, Race, and the Democratization of Respectable Leisure”

 Antonio Daniel Juan Rubio, Universidad Politecnica, Spain
“The Presence of Women in the US Congress: Edith Nourse Rogers”

Suzanne Kahn, Columbia University
“Divorce and the Politics of the Social Welfare Regime, 1959–1996”

Zain Lakhani, University of Pennsylvania
“Encounters Known and Strange: Coercion, Violence and the Politics of Defining Rape in America, 1945–1996”

Jessica Lancia, University of Florida
“Borderless Feminisms: A Transnational History of the US Women’s Movement, 1967–1985”

Einav Rabinovitch-Fox, New York University
“This Is What a Feminist Looks Like: The Construction of the New Woman Imagery through Fashion and the Political Culture of American Feminism, 1890–1940”

Sarah Rowley, Indiana University
“A New Right: The Cultural Politics of Abortion, 1960s–1980s”

 Megan E. Springate, University of Maryland
“Women’s Holiday Houses and the Contradictions of Progressive Era Reform”

Melinda R. Tarsi, University of Massachusetts at Amherst
“A Veteran Welfare State: Veterans’ Benefits and the Development of American Social Policy”

Rich Updegrove, Northern Arizona University
“Queering Nonviolence—Barbara Deming's Androgynous Vision”

Deadline

Applications must be received by Monday, March 25, 2013.

Awards will be announced by May 1, 2013 to be used for research at the library from July 1, 2013, through June 30, 2014.

Eligibility

Applicants must have advanced to candidacy in a doctoral program from any college or university in a relevant field and have an approved dissertation topic. Priority will be given to those whose projects require use of materials available only but the Schlesinger Library. Non-US citizens are eligible but should contact the library regarding visas and other required paperwork prior to applying.

How to Apply

Applications must include:

  • The Schlesinger Library Grants and Fellowships cover page.
  • A project description (no longer than four double-spaced pages in twelve-point font), indicating the purpose of the research, the Schlesinger Library holdings to be consulted, and the significance of these holdings to the project overall.
  • A curriculum vitae of no more than two pages.
  • The name of one reference who has agreed to send a supporting letter directly to the library by the deadline of March 25, 2013.
  • A proposed budget indicating how the funds requested will be spent.

Preferred mode of application is via e-mail attachment to slgrants@radcliffe.harvard.edu. If possible, please combine application pieces into a single document.

Recommenders should observe the same deadline as applicants and may send their letters by attachment to the same e-mail address or send a paper copy to Grants Administrator, Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, 3 James Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.

Each grantee will be expected to give the Library a copy of the completed dissertation, and to acknowledge Radcliffe's support in the dissertation and any resulting publications. Prior to applying, non-US citizens should contact the library regarding visas and other required paperwork.

Applicants for Schlesinger Library grants may be interested in applying for a research stipend from the New England Regional Fellowship Consortium of which the Schlesinger Library is a member.

The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study does not discriminate in admissions, in the administration of its educational policies and programs, or in the selection of faculty, staff, vendors, or contractors, on the basis of any classification prohibited by law or on any basis unrelated to job requirements or the educational purposes of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.