[URBANTH-L]Institutions of Public Culture Fellowships (Emory U in collaboration with South African cultural institutions)

[Angela Jancius]

Institutions of Public Culture Fellowships, 2006-07
Emory University; Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Deadline: May 25, 2006

Are you involved in heritage studies, film and media, critical art theory, 
transforming museums, designing new types of memorials, or any other form of 
cultural production?  Do you teach, study or research at a university on 
topics related to public culture, public history, museums, or heritage 
debates?  Do you work for a museum, local arts council, your local city 
council, or are you in a private practice, working for an NGO, or operating 
independently?

Underwritten by generous support from Emory University's office of the 
provost and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the Centre for the 
Study of Public Scholarship (CSPS) is offering fellowships for 2006-07 on 
its Program on Institutions of Public Culture.  Through this Program the 
CSPS strives to develop an informed and nuanced understanding of how 
cultural interactions among different communities are and should be 
conducted in public spaces.

The Study of Institutions of Public Culture:
Institutions of Public Culture are critical social locations where knowledge 
and perceptions of the public sphere are shaped, debated, imposed, 
challenged, and disseminated.  As sites for the elaboration of ideas about 
self and society they are also locations for challenging such assertions and 
experimenting with new definitions.  Scholars need to explore the range and 
variety of "publics" that might be engaged and how the very notion of 
"public" has changed over time and been inflected by different institutional 
settings.

South African Cultural Institutions in Transition:
The transition from apartheid South Africa to a popularly elected government 
forged links between institutions and spheres of cultural production that 
were formerly separated.  Many South African public institutions with a 
complex history of ethnic and racial exclusion underwent changes that called 
for the rethinking of basic categories and practices.  For many 
institutions, though, this process of transformation is an ongoing one.  In 
this time of continuing transition it remains vital to promote critical 
engagement and to sustain commentaries and debates.

The Center for the Study of Public Scholarship (CSPS) at Emory University, 
Atlanta, Georgia, is collaborating with South African cultural institutions 
to bring together scholars of public culture who are working from 
universities, museums, NGOs, political or arts organizations, or other 
institutional sites.

The Program on Institutions of Public Culture takes a comparative, 
historical, and practical approach in order to explore the parameters and 
possibilities for change.  The Program provides opportunities for South 
Africans to reflect on their recent experience and relate it to the 
histories and practices of some institutions in the United States, such as 
the Center for Public Scholarship's partners:

* The Michael C. Carlos Museum, a university museum which has excellent 
collections of Ancient Art, African Art, and Ancient American Art
* The Atlanta History Centre, a major urban history museum, with research 
and exhibiting programs on urban history and the Civil Rights era
* The Institute of African Studies at Emory, a vigorous area studies 
program, that has a regular seminar
* The Smithsonian Institution's Centre for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, 
in Washington, DC, which is committed to exhibiting cross-cultural work

The Centre invites applications for 2006/7 for:
Two Research fellowships, September 2006 to May 2007

Research Fellows in the Program on Institutions of Public Culture will come 
from universities and from arts, culture, and heritage institutions.  They 
will normally have completed at least a masters degree or equivalent.  The 
research fellowships will be of a semester in duration and can be taken up 
either from September 2006 to December 2006 or January 2007 to May 2007.

Research fellows will:
.  Work on a well-developed project dealing with the broad theme of 
Institutions of Public Culture that will utilize resources available at 
Emory.  This could involve work on a book, a series of articles, a specific 
exhibition plan, an education plan, or the writing up of a research project.
.  Help organize and participate in CSPS programs.
.  Be asked to participate in other relevant Emory programs and courses.
.  Present their research or project work to assembled colleagues and 
audiences drawn from the scholarly community of Emory and Atlanta more 
generally.

Living expenses and airfare
.  Research fellows will receive a stipend of approximately US$15,500 per 
semester.
.  The Program will pay for airfare for fellows between South Africa and 
Atlanta.
.  Fellows will also receive a research allowance.

Research fellows will also:
.  Participate in the ongoing seminar of the CSPS and other activities 
organized by the Graduate Institute of Liberal Arts, the Institute of 
African Studies, and other relevant programs.
.  Visit cultural institutions where appropriate.
.  Meet in forums for discussion of their ongoing work, selected readings, 
program planning and coordination.

To apply for a Research Fellowship, please include:
1 A completed application cover sheet (available on the website or from the 
Steering Committee)
2 A five- to ten-page statement of purpose, including a description of the 
project you plan to complete during the fellowship and noting how specific 
resources at Emory will be helpful
3 Specify the period you would prefer to take up the fellowship:
    .  September to December 2006
    .  Or January to May 2007
4 Your resume or curriculum vitae (you should also indicate previous 
scholarships and fellowships)
5 Three letters of recommendation by persons who know you personally and/or 
professionally - Letters should address the quality and significance of your 
project as well as your capacity and preparation to complete it (Your 
referees must send these letters directly to the steering committee)
6 A writing sample of ten to thirty pages or any comparable sample of your 
work

Closing date: Applications and referees' letters must reach the Steering 
Committee on or before 25 May 2006.  The Committee may interview applicants. 
Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.
Please send your application to:

Prof. Leslie Witz
Steering Committee, Institutions of Public Culture
Centre for Humanities Research (Institute for Historical Research)
University of the Western Cape
Private Bag X17
Bellville 7535
South Africa
Email: lwitz at uwc.ac.za

Phone: 021-9592225 (from outside SA: 27+21+9592225)
Fax: 021-9593598 (from outside SA: 27+21+9593598)
Further information on the Program and CSPS is available at 
http://www.csps.emory.edu/