The CUNY Dominican Studies Institute (CUNY DSI) is pleased to announce the 2016 National Supermarket Association (NSA) Dominican Studies Fellowship for doctoral students and faculty. Applications are due on Tuesday,, 2016 by 5pm.

The NSA Dominican Studies Fellowship seeks to encourage doctoral students and faculty researchers from colleges and universities to make innovative strides in Dominican Studies and to take advantage of the unique resources of the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute Archives and Library collections by conducting research at CUNY DSI’s premises. The CUNY DSI will award two fellowships of $5,000 each to two applicants.

Applicants must be doctoral students enrolled at an accredited graduate institution, OR faculty members in an accredited postsecondary institution. Applicants must be interested in expanding research in the field of Dominican Studies. Doctoral students should submit proposals around a research topic they are considering for their dissertation. Faculty should submit a research project proposing themes for which they intend to prepare a monograph for publication. Besides the research work itself, selected fellows must commit to organize an activity in their home institution highlighting their research project. Winners are welcome to apply for additional funding for up to $1,500 that will serve as matching funds to cover costs associated with the organization of the activity in their home institution.

The NSA Dominican Studies Fellowship is interdisciplinary and applicants from all disciplines are encouraged to apply. International applicants are also eligible, provided they are authorized to travel to the U.S. Applications will be selected on the basis of the research’s originality and scholarly justification. Applicants should include a timetable with the following:

• Approximate length of stay and dates;
• Approximate date for organizing event at home institution;
• Expected date of completion of monograph ready for publication.

All NSA Dominican Studies Fellows are required to stay a minimum of eight weeks at the CUNY DSI Archives and Library anytime between June 1, 2016 and May 30, 2017. Fellows will work closely with Dr. Ramona Hernández, Director; Anthony Stevens-Acevedo, Assistant Director; Sarah Aponte, Chief Librarian; and Idilio Gracia Peña, Chief Archivist. Fellows will also attend regular meetings with one or more of the staff members to discuss ideas and progress. Following their stay, all fellows are required to submit a brief report (2-3pp) within the subsequent sixty (60) days after their research stay on how their work at CUNY DSI Archives and Library enriched their research project and offer suggestions for improvements on the Archives’ and Library’s collections. Fellows are expected to explicitly acknowledge their reception of this fellowship in all resulting publications related to this grant.

Examples of possible topics are:

• Business areas, size, employment generation and economic impact of Dominican businesses in the U.S;
• Philanthropy amongst Dominicans in the U.S. and in the Dominican Republic;
• Economic and social implications of the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) on Dominican businesses in the Dominican Republic or the U.S.;
• Race effects on Dominican participation and performance in the U.S. labor market;
• History of Dominican entrepreneurship, any historical period including colonial times;
• Marginal return to educational investment for Dominicans as compared to other groups;
• Camila Henríquez Ureña’s contributions to feminist thought and writing;
• Career/life trajectory of musicians or fine-artists whose papers are in the Dominican Archives;
• Dominican LGBTIQ communities in the U.S.;
• History of activism among Dominicans in the U.S.;
• Impact of Dominican voters on U.S. campaigns and elections;
• The experience of the Dominican elderly in the U.S. concerning mobility, economic status, livelihood, etc.;
• Intermarriage profiles for Dominicans in the U.S.;
• Ethnic dynamics among Dominicans in the U.S. and/or interethnic relations;
• Dominican women and men in U.S. politics.

Some of the topics included above are current projects undertaken by CUNY DSI. We are also looking for applicants who may become part of the ongoing research at CUNY DSI.

 

Application Deadline
We will be accepting applications for the NSA Dominican Studies Fellowship until March 1, 2016, by 5pm. Applicants will be notified of the decision by email by May 1, 2016.

How to Apply
All applications must be submitted electronically. All documents must be in pdf format.
To apply, please send a letter of intent, a brief research proposal of no more than 2,000 words, a budget, and a CV to:

Prof. Sarah Aponte, Chief Librarian, aponte@ccny.cuny.edu

The subject of the email must read “NSA Dominican Studies Fellowship Application”.

You may also email us with questions regarding the application.

Fellowships are made available through funds received from the National Supermarket Association (NSA).