Funding opportunity: Luce/ACLS Early Career Fellowships in China Studies (Deadline Nov. 16, 2023)

In 2023-24, ACLS is offering two types of fellowship for early career scholars to support research, writing, and publicly engaged scholarship. Workshops and events for fellows will be held in 2024 and 2025.

Long-term fellowships are financially supported by the Henry Luce Foundation, with additional funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed on this webpage, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

Long-term research fellowships will enable recent PhDs (without tenure and within eight years of the PhD) to take leave from university responsibilities for four to nine months to carry out research and writing towards a significant scholarly product.

Possible project outcomes include, but are not limited to, contributions to the development of one or more of the following: monographs, scholarly articles, conference papers, book chapters, or book on a topic in the humanities or interpretive social sciences. ACLS also encourages projects that have the potential to contribute to:

Pedagogical tools that make meaningful connections between a scholar’s research and post-secondary teaching.
Works that bridge scholarly and creative practice.
Community-engaged projects grounded in scholarly research but geared toward a public audience. Potential or actual community and/or student engagement with the research project is encouraged, as is the dissemination of the research to audiences across higher education.

Early Career fellowships support scholarly research in all disciplines of the humanities and the interpretive social sciences. Research may be conducted on any topic related to cultures, histories, and societies in China, and their influence and impact on communities, countries, and cultures around the world, as required by the research plan. Research on Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Tibet, and Xinjiang is eligible. The study of non-traditional sites (e.g., sites in Africa or Latin America) is also permitted, so long as there is a clearly articulated rationale for the relationship to Chinese or Chinese-language communities and cultures. There are no restrictions regarding time period or methodological approach.

Long-term fellowships emphasize the importance of research conducted in China if travel is possible. Applicants who do not propose travel should explain how they will gain access to sources.

A working knowledge of Chinese is required or knowledge of another language used in China studies (e.g., Tibetan, Uyghur).

The fellowship period must begin between July 1, 2024, and September 30, 2025.

Publicly Engaged Scholarship

ACLS holds the core belief that knowledge is a public good. Applicants are strongly encouraged to consider the broader impact of their research, especially its potential to increase public engagement with humanistic knowledge and scholarship – from media and outreach to engaged research, teaching, and public programming.

Fellows will be required to participate in a public writing workshop in 2024 and 2025. Learn more about publicly engaged humanities at Humanities for All.

The Luce/ACLS Program in China Studies promotes inclusion, equity, and diversity as integral components of merit that enhance the scholarly enterprise. It is a priority that every cohort of fellows and grantees is broadly inclusive of different backgrounds, cultures, and any aspects that make one unique. In China studies we seek balance in regard to national origin, educational background, and current university affiliation, as well as in disciplinary approaches, topics, and historical periods studied.

For full fellowship details, click https://www.acls.org/competitions/henry-luce-foundation-acls-program-in-china-studies/

Here is the application link https://ofa.acls.org/