Application Packet:
India's Past and the Making of the Present
A National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute
for Community College and Four-year College and University Faculty
Sponsored by The Community College Humanities Association
Held On-Site in New Delhi, Varanasi, and Agra, India
July 1 – July 26, 2013
Application deadline: March 4, 2013
Project Directors:
Beverly Blois
Dean Emeritus, Humanities Division, Northern Virginia Community
College
Daniel Ehnbom
McIntire Department of Art and Center for South Asian Studies,
University of Virginia
Project Manager:
David Berry, Executive Director
Community College Humanities Association
India's Past and the Making of the Present
November 1, 2012
Dear Colleague:
Thank you for your interest in "India's Past and the Making of the Present," a
National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute for College and
University Faculty sponsored by the Community College Humanities
Association. This letter from the project directors will set out the general
scope and aims of our project, and appended to the letter you will find an
Application Packet, consisting of NEH general "Application Information and
Instructions" and a link to the NEH Application cover sheet . Please note
that this Application Cover Sheet must be filled out online at the NEH web
address https://securegrants.neh.gov/education/participants/ ,
submitted electronically, and then printed out and submitted in hard copy to
us, with your full application, as explained below.
India is a country with a rich cultural tradition that is very much a part of the
world’s humanities heritage. Materials related to India appear throughout
world history, world literature, art history, comparative religion and other
survey courses widely taught in American colleges and universities. In this
institute we will introduce our participants to the most current scholarly
perspectives on India so that they can broaden and deepen their knowledge
and understanding of Indian history and culture and can enrich their
teaching, particularly in humanities survey courses. Our institute will also
provide a solid foundation of scholarship for faculty interested in designing
and teaching courses dealing with South Asia.
Four areas of inter-connected disciplinary focus for our institute will provide
participants with the most up-to-date scholarship in those fields:
The Indus Valley Civilization and the Aryan Question
The Classical Period and the Development of Major Religions
Mughal India and the Attempt at Socio-Religious Syncretism
The Raj, Independence, and the Making of Modern India
More specifically, the larger theme that defines our proposed study of India is
the powerful mix of the present and past in contemporary India’s encounter
with and understanding of its cultural legacy. Given the thousands of years of
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Indian history, it should come as no surprise that the past has been a
powerful factor in forging the cultural traditions of India. In recent years, a
whole new avenue of historical inquiry has emerged that seeks to uncover
how generations, ethnic and religious groups, and differing communities
remember a historical event and create distinct interpretations of history.
This past/present dynamic can be seen not only in reference to specific
historical events/eras/figures but also in other humanities fields such as
literature, art and architecture, where fresh perspectives are re-shaping
previously established forms of study. We will make this dynamic new
scholarship accessible to our participants so that they can incorporate this
material into their humanities courses.
In general, we have designed the institute to cover our themes while moving
chronologically through Indian history from the past (Indus Valley
civilization) to the present (post-Partition India). We believe that this is the
way that most teachers will encounter Indian history and culture while
teaching survey courses. We also believe that since our organizing theme is
the idea of the interplay of past and present in Indian history and culture, it
makes sense to organize our study historically. While we have adopted the
generally-accepted periodization of Indian history into ancient, Mughal,
colonial, and post-Partition periods, the weekly schedule sometimes departs
from strict chronology to accommodate our visiting scholars.
The institute is designed to be an intense, interdisciplinary engagement with
Indian history and culture, providing participants with a rich interplay of
resources, seminars, and site visits. Even though scholars will prepare formal
presentations, the actual sessions will permit a variety of teaching styles to
engage the participants in the study of our material, with all project meetings
and readings being in English. Meetings will be conducted by institute
scholars from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon or from 2:00 to 5:00 pm. Working
lunches will allow participants frequently to engage in informal discussion
with the visiting scholars. Many mornings or afternoons are devoted to site
visits or reading, reflection, and informal discussion. Evenings are normally
free, but a few evening activities may be scheduled. The project directors
will be available throughout the institute to consult with participants about
their work.
Prior to the start of the institute, participants will read Vibha Dehejia’s,
Indian Art (1997) for an overview of the sub-continent’s history and an
introduction to the historical and cultural significance of the art and
architecture that the participants will see during the institute. Participants
will also read Tarun Tejpal’s The Story of My Assassins (2009) and
Sudeep Chakravarti’s The Avenue of Kings (2010). Both are powerful
fictional portrayals of social consciousness and disillusionment in present
day India.
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STRUCTURE AND CONTENT
In the first week, we will introduce the themes of the institute and begin
to explore the early history of India and how interpretations of that past
have become controversial in modern India. Shereen Ratnagar, retired
professor of archaeology and ancient history at Jawaharlal Nehru
University, will introduce the Indus Valley civilization, describing and
offering the most current interpretation of the artifacts and objects that
have been found at various archeological sites. She will also examine the
reasons for the Ganges migration of the Aryans and the ensuing
emergence of cities and kingdoms in the Gangetic plain (800-400 BCE)
while discussing why these early societies facilitated the establishment of
an enduring culture which is still very much reflected in India today. Dan
Ehnbom, our senior scholar, will provide an overview of the art and
architecture of India, pointing out some recurrent characteristics of the
art of ancient India, such as the floral motifs of early architecture, and
explaining how that art informed later artistry of almost all religions of
India, thus creating a sense of cultural integration. To permit an
expanded exploration of India’s art, Dr. Ehnbom and Dr. Ratnagar will
take the participants to the National Museum in New Delhi where they will
lecture to the participants on some of the museum’s key exhibits, such as
the Indus Valley civilization archeology finds and sculptures of Gupta
period iconography.
In this first week, Dr. Ehnbom will also acquaint participants with the city
of Delhi by leading a tour of sites and areas that are of cultural
importance. Participants will visit the Red Fort (built by Mughal Emperor
Shah Jahan when he moved his capital from Agra to Delhi in 1638 CE),
the Chandni Chowk (an old-style market in Old Delhi built within the
walled city of what was originally Shahjahanabad--the city developed by
Shahjahan to mark Delhi as his new capital), Connaught Place (the
central market and business hub named after the Duke of Connaught).
These tours will allow participants to see first-hand a flourishing
modernity that exists alongside the reminders of the past. This will be
followed by lunch at Karim’s, a restaurant serving Mughalai food. Romila
Thapar, one of India’s foremost historians, will discuss the challenges of
India’s past and the role that history has played in shaping the political
and cultural dialogue of contemporary India. Shashi Tharoor, former UN
under-secretary general for communications and public information, will
discuss the challenges of the religio-ethnic diversity of modern India, and
how India must look beyond its past, especially in its effort to foster the
current climate of socio-economic progress.
In the institute’s second week, moving to classical India and the
development of fixed religious faiths, Meena Nayak will examine the
Krishna mythos in the Mahabharata, an epic which dates to the period
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after the Ganges migration, noting how Krishna’s myths and narratives
were adoptions from tribal traditions. These infusions created the grounds
for a system of belief that was so powerful that it not only initiated a new
unified religion that has endured until today, but it also served to eclipse
the numerous heterodox sects that were destroying the prevalent
Vedic/Aryan system of belief. In particular, Professor Nayak will shed light
on the ethical traditions that the Mahabharata established, explaining how
these became the very tenets on which current Hindu society is based.
She will also lead a trip to the nearby town of Kurukshetra, which is both
the location of the Mahabharata battlefield and the site where Krishna
recited the Bhagavad Gita. Dr. Ehnbom will provide further insight into
the themes of Krishna’s portrayal in the Mahabharata by discussing
Krishna in the visual arts and the accompanying political culture his divinity
evoked.
Swami Agnivesh, a Vedic scholar, will investigate the idea of how in the
classical period diverse religions and conflicting philosophies had to
accommodate each other to create a syncretic Indian culture and how in
today’s India this very culture has become politicized under the impact of
a renewed Hindu nationalism. He will also explain how age-old religious
practices are still a part of daily life and these traditions not only connect
Indians to their history but also reaffirm the validity of their present. To
provide a first-hand experience of this connection and reaffirmation, Dan
Ehnbom and Meena Nayak will accompany the participants to visit the
Birla temple, Nizamuddin dargah (tomb), Bangla Sahib gurudwara, and
Sacred Heart cathedral in New Delhi. These four places of worship located
within just a few miles of one another are visited everyday by Indians of
all faith, demonstrating how religious faiths in India have been and
remain fluid and assimilative. Conversely, these same places, when
triggered by communal politics, can become instantaneous flashpoints of
violence because centuries of religious sectarianism also lies within them.
Shyam Benegal, one of India’s most honored film directors, will address
the interplay between past and present by discussing how India’s “new
cinema” grapples with the idea of depicting the past in modern cinema.
Benegal will talk about how religious tradition and communal cultures
have become a metaphor for film-makers and how the Indian “new
cinema” incorporates these ideas by employing avant-garde techniques of
modernism and postmodernism. Institute participants will view Benegal’s
film, Samar (1999), which won the National Film Award for Best film. This
movie is a narrative of caste and religious prejudices that have existed in
Indian society from the earliest of times and are still wide-spread today.
The film shows how one tiny offense committed by an untouchable can
evoke deep-rooted hatred amongst the upper class Brahmins and thrust
the community into a cycle of violence.
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We will finish the second week with a trip to Varanasi, one of the world’s
oldest cities and a site considered holy by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains,
and nearby Sarnath (site of Buddha’s first sermon). Participants will be
able to see first-hand elements of India’s religious complexity because,
here, not only are ancient Vedic Hindu practices still part of daily life, but
also they exist side-by-side with the sectarian worship of Jainism and the
relics of Buddhism’s origins. These two sites display all the complicated
tensions and concord of modern India--a microcosm of India’s past and
present.
The third week will be a study of the impact of Islam on the subcontinent. We will focus on how, while the initial encounter between India
and Islam involved political dominion, sectarian violence, and
consolidation of a Muslim kingdom, the later establishment of the Mughal
Empire (1526-1707) produced elements of a cultural and political
synthesis. In this regard, Dr. Ehnbom will focus on the fusion of Islamic
and South Asian artistic patterns to show how the unifying force of
Mughal emperors, like Akbar, furthered an Indian tradition of integration
and tolerance.
Asghar Ali Engineer, chairman of the Centre for the Study of Society
and Secularism, Mumbai, will examine more closely the nature of the
complicated and intertwined relationship that developed between
Hinduism and Islam, noting how, despite the contentions between them,
Islam influenced the development of Hinduism (and vice versa) and how
both religions reached an accommodation that some followers renounced
in the twentieth century, which has led to more dissension in current
India.
Sunil Kumar, professor of history at Delhi University and scholar of the
Sultanate era, will speak about the encounter between India and Islam
during the Delhi sultanate (1206-1526). In particular, he will talk about
the motives of the first Muslim invaders, explaining how it is now believed
that the invasions were not religiously-driven but simply expansionist in
nature. He will also return to our discussion of how India perceives the
present in terms of the past and examine the resentment that the Hindus
have harbored for centuries about the violent nature of Islam’s advent in
their country. Dr. Kumar will also lead participants to selected places in
and around present-day Delhi. One of the sites he will show is
Tughluqabad, an abandoned fort in Delhi, dating to the early fourteenth
century. He will also take participants to the Qutb Minar, completed in
1192 CE. This is not only the tallest minaret in India, but it also
exemplifies the best qualities of Indo-Islamic architecture. Dr. Kumar will
illustrate how the meaning of these places has transformed over time as a
result of the complex interplay of forces such as demographic change,
political association and religious shifts.
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Ebba Koch, one of the world’s leading experts on the Taj Mahal, will join
our institute for an overview of Mughal architecture and specifically the
Taj Mahal. She will begin by taking the participants to Humayun’s tomb in
Delhi, a mausoleum commissioned by Humayun’s wife, Hamida Bano
Begum (1562 CE), and often considered to be the “mini Taj Mahal”
because of the architectural similarity between the two monuments. Her
talk will also provide background for the weekend trip to the Taj Mahal,
the mausoleum commissioned by Emperor Shah Jahan for his favorite
wife, Mumtaz Mahal, (built 1632-48) and to Fatehpur Sikri--the political
capital of the Mughal Empire under Akbar (1571-85). She will also
conduct a visit to the Agra Fort, the walled city captured by the Mughals
from Sultan Ibrahim Lodi after the first battle of Panipat in 1526 CE,
which marked the beginning of the Mughal Empire. In visiting these sites,
Dr. Koch will endeavor to show how the interpretation of these places has
changed over time, much as what Sunil Kumar will do in his sessions
devoted to sites in Delhi.
In the fourth and final week, in keeping with our institute’s emphasis on
India in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, we will focus on the
British Raj, India’s independence, and the making of modern India. David
Campion, an expert on British colonialism, will start the week with a visit
to Coronation Park in Delhi, where he will give a site lecture on the
background and development of British Raj and its impact on the culture
and society of India. The after-effects of the Raj are not only evident in
the events/history of post-colonial India, but they have also become a
part of the Indian psyche, impacting everything from politics to religion.
Mushirul Hasan, director general of the National Archives of India, will
talk about Gandhi and Nehru’s perspectives on colonialism in India and
their role in India’s Independence and how these events led to the
creation of modern India. Tushar Gandhi, one of Mahatma Gandhi’s
great-grandsons, on a site visit to the Raj Ghat, the memorial to Gandhi,
and the Gandhi Museum, will touch upon the sensitivity that Indians still
feel about the British Raj and the partition between India and Pakistan.
During these visits, he will talk about Gandhi’s advice to the nation about
dealing with the scars of colonialism, his heartbreak at the Partition, and
his vision for the future of independent India. Ironically, the present that
emerged in India is quite contrary to Gandhi’s dream, and this fact in
itself has become a matter of political debate. The participants will also
visit the Nehru museum and the National Gallery of Modern Art which
houses a collection of over seventeen thousand works dating from 1857
to the present.
A reoccurring feature of Indian life since the 1950s has been communal
violence, i.e., violence carried out between sectarian religious and social
groups, often triggered by politics that invoke the history of separatism
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and fueled by fringe movements that draw upon cultural sensitivities.
Sudeep Charavarty, author and expert on anti-establishment
movements in India, will bring the institute into the heart of this issue by
discussing the Naxalite movement and the communalism that has dictated
much of India’s political agenda since independence. He will also talk
about the other sources of tension in India today, such as disenchantment
with the establishment, systemic corruption and antipathy between India
and Pakistan. M.J. Akbar, editorial director of India Today, will share
with the participants his insights on the India-Pakistan dynamic and its
impact on the socio-political conditions in both countries. These themes
also
take expression in Indian fiction, and Karthika V. K., publisher and
editor-in-chief at Harper Collins, India, will conclude the Institute’s
sessions by presenting a talk on the changing face of modern Indian
fiction. She will discuss how the most recent literature has increasingly
turned to issues of social awareness and realism, often exposing the dark
under-side of Indian politics and society.
For a detailed day by day outline of the Institute, including seminars, site
visits and reading assignments, please see the "Daily Schedule" posted on
the Institute website at:
www.ccha-assoc.org/India2013
FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS, EXPENSES and STIPEND
Participants in 4-week NEH institutes are allotted a stipend of $3300.
Because of the nature of our institute, all in-country arrangements will be
made in advance and will necessitate committing most, if not all, of the
stipend amount. All lodgings in New Delhi, Varanasi, and Agra, most meals,
all admissions and associated fees, all internal transportation (by air and
bus), and assorted other costs are covered for all participants. Shortly after
selection, in addition to the three pre-institute books mentioned above, we
will also send out the customized anthology of readings selected by our
presenters.
Airfares to India fluctuate around $1500 for a round-trip ticket from any of
the several US departure cities (New York, Washington, Chicago, Seattle, and
Los Angeles among them). International air travel to and from the institute
is the responsibility of participants, but it is hoped that, in most cases, their
college or university employer will underwrite these costs in whole or in part.
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INSTITUTE FACULTY
Project faculty and staff
The institute will be sponsored by the Community College Humanities
Association. Beverly Blois (Northern Virginia Community College) and
Daniel Ehnbom (University of Virginia) will serve as project co-directors,
and David A. Berry, executive director of CCHA, will serve as project
manager.
Beverly Blois is professor emeritus of history and former dean of the
humanities division at the Loudoun campus of Northern Virginia
Community College, a position he held from 1992 to 2011. In 1990-92,
he was executive director of Project International Emphasis, which was an
effort to infuse international content into programs and courses
throughout the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). Dr. Blois
directed NEH-funded institutes on Indian history and culture in 2008 and
2011. He will have general administrative responsibility for the institute.
Daniel Ehnbom is associate professor of art history and the former
director of the center for South Asian studies at the University of Virginia.
He was the South Asia area editor for painting and sculpture of The
Dictionary of Art (1996, 35 vols.). As senior project scholar, he will
conduct sessions throughout the course of the institute. Professor
Ehnbom also led the 2008 and 2011 NEH institutes in India.
David A. Berry, executive director of the Community College Humanities
Association, will serve as project manager for the institute. He has
directed and managed over fifteen previous NEH summer institutes
sponsored by CCHA. His responsibilities will include administrative and
financial oversight of the institute, and he will also help disseminate
results of the institute through the offices of CCHA.
Meena Nayak is an assistant professor of English at Northern Virginia
Community College, where she teaches courses on world literature,
comparative mythology and English composition. She is a Ph.D candidate
at Jadavpur University, Kolkata and is also a successful and best-selling
novelist, having published a number of novels dealing with India,
including Endless Rain (2006), a socio-political portrayal of Kashmir.
During the institute she will discuss aspects of Indian mythology and will
also assist with local arrangements.
Swami Agnivesh is a scholar and the author of books on the Vedic era,
Hinduism and social reform, such as Hinduism in the New Age (2005). He
has received a number of national and international awards for his work
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on implementing social reform, including the Rajiv Gandhi National
Sadbhavna Award (2004) and Sweden’s Right Livelihood Award (2004).
M.J. Akbar is a leading Indian journalist. A prolific writer, he authored a
number of books including Nehru: The Making of India (1989) and
Tinderbox: The Past and Future of Pakistan (2011). He serves as editorial
director of India Today, a leading weekly news magazine, and is editor-inchief of Asian Age (of which he is a founder).
Shyam Benegal is one of India's leading film-makers and is considered a
pioneer of “new cinema” in India. His work includes over thirty feature
films and numerous documentaries and television serials, for which he
has received many awards, including the country's highest honors--the
Padma Sri (1976) and the Padma Bhushan (1991), the Dadasaheb Phalke
Award for Lifetime Achievement (2005) and an honorary Doctorate from
Jamia Millia University.
David Campion is an associate professor of history at Lewis and Clark
College in Portland, Oregon, where he teaches courses in the history of
South Asia, Modern Europe, and British colonialism. He has published on
issues relating to the British Empire and colonial India. His monograph,
“Watchmen of the Raj: The Dilemmas of Colonial Policing in British India,
1870-1931” is under consideration for publication by Manchester
University Press. He was also a participant in our 2011 India Institute.
Sudeep Chakravarty is a journalist and best-selling author of both
fiction and non-fiction books and a visiting faculty at Manipal Institute of
Communication at Manipal University. He is a member of the World
Future Society, a Washington D.C.-based organisation of futurists. He was
invited to the Club of Asia by Strategic Intelligence; and in 2004, to the
Indo-German Young Leaders Forum by the BMW-Herbert Quandt
Foundation.
Asghar Ali Engineer is a prominent Islamic scholar who is known for his
work on Muslim liberation theology. He is Chairman of the Centre for the
Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai, and the director of the
Institute of Islamic Studies. He has authored more than sixty books and
many articles on aspects of Islam and Islam in India. Recently, his
autobiography, My Living Faith: My Quest for Peace (2011) was endorsed
by the Indian Vice President, Shri Hamid Ansari.
Tushar Gandhi is a great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. He is author of
the controversial book, Let’s Kill Gandhi (2007), and he directs the
Mahatma Gandhi Foundation in Mumbai, India.
Mushirul Hasan is a noted scholar of Indian culture. He is the director
general of the National Archives of India and former vice-chancellor of
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Jamia Millia Islamia University, Delhi. He is the recipient of the Officer
dans I'Ordre des Palmes Academiques (the highest French civilian award)
and the Padma Shri awarded by the president of India. He has written
extensively on topics of modern Indian history, including The Nehrus:
Personal Histories (2006) and The Legacy of A Divided Nation: India’s
Muslims since Independence (1997).
Karthika V. K. is currently the publisher and chief editor of Harper
Collins Publishers, India where she has published authors such as Bookerprize winner Aravind Adiga. She speaks often at international book fairs
and has chaired many national and international panels on fiction and the
role of editors and publishers in the shaping of contemporary Indian
literature. She recently appeared on the list of the “25 Most Powerful
Women in India” (India Today, March 2009).
Ebba Koch is professor of art history at the University of Vienna and one
of the world’s foremost experts on Indian architecture. Since 2001 she
has been a global advisor to the Taj Mahal Conservation Collaborative, a
body of professionals who work to restore and preserve the Taj Mahal.
She is the author of numerous books, including Mughal Architecture: An
Outline of Its History and Development (2nd ed., 2002) and The
Complete Taj Mahal and the Riverfront Gardens (2006).
Sunil Kumar is professor of history at Delhi University. He has also
taught at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of
London, at the Sorbonne University in Paris and at Duke University. He
has published many books on the pre-Mughal period of Indian history,
including The Emergence of the Delhi Sultanate, 1192-1286 (2007) and
The Present in Delhi’s Pasts (2002).
Shereen Ratnagar, one of India’s leading archeologists, is retired
professor of archaeology and ancient history, Centre for Historical
Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. She is a recipient of the
Bronze Medal of the College de France and has published extensively on
early Indian history and the Indus Valley civilization.
Romila Thapar is one of the premier scholars of ancient South Asian
history. She has published over twenty books dealing with early Indian
history, including the standard treatment of Ancient India, A History of
India, volume 1 (1966). Dr. Thapar has been the recipient of numerous
prestigious awards for her scholarship, including the 2003 Kluge Chair
(Visiting) in the Countries and Cultures of the South at the Library of
Congress, Washington, DC (for people of great scholarly
accomplishment); the Distinguished Service Award from the Association
of Asian Studies (2003); and an Honorary Doctorate from the University
of Oxford (2002).
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Shashi Tharoor is a humanities scholar and a published author. He is
currently a member of the Indian parliament. He served as the UN undersecretary general for communications and public information (2002-07).
Some of his works include The Great Indian Novel (1989), India: From
Midnight to the Millennium (1997) and The Elephant, the Tiger and the
Cell Phone: Reflections on India in the 21st Century (2007).
INSTITUTE LOCATION AND FACILITIES
The institute will consist of a four-week program centered in New Delhi. Our
central conference location, the Taj Ambassador Hotel, has double occupancy
rooms for participants and will provide meeting rooms and an opportunity for
broadband internet access. We have taken care to obtain comfortable
lodgings in a ‘green’ neighborhood of New Delhi, within walking distance of
the Khan Market and the Lodhi Gardens.
All lodging and full board commitment for the four weeks (in New Delhi, plus
overnights to Agra and Varanasi), based on double occupancy by all
participants at Taj Ambassador Hotel in New Delhi, at the ITC Mughal (former
Sheraton) in Agra (1 night), and at the Gateway Hotel Ganges (former Taj
Ganges) in Varanasi (1 night), plus the entire land package for the 4 weeks
(ground transportation, museum admissions and guides, etc) will be covered
by institute fellows’ $3300 stipends. Fellows or their employers will be
responsible for international airfares.
We are aware of the possible impact of climate on participants and have
chosen facilities to ensure satisfactory conditions for summertime scholarly
study and also for access to the cultural and historical landmarks important
to our study. Please be aware, however, that the average day and evening
temperatures for New Delhi are 95F and 80F respectively; the July high
temperatures can, however, reach 110F+, and the humidity can reach
75%+. Rainfall in New Delhi in July averages 9.5” and rainfall can be
expected about one day out of three. July is a monsoon month in north
India.
All applicants should take into consideration temperature and humidity, and
the need to trek and climb at many of our site destinations.
APPLICATION
The Institute is intended to function as a stimulus to individual study and
research and as a seedbed for course and curriculum development. In your
application essay you should identify an area of personal research interest
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and/or of curriculum development that you intend to pursue during the
course of the institute.
For the reasons indicated above, you should note that perhaps the most
important part of your application is the essay that must be submitted as
part of the complete application. This essay should include any personal and
academic information that is relevant; reasons for applying to this particular
Institute; your interest, both intellectual and personal, in the topic;
qualifications to do the work of the project and to make a contribution to it;
what you hope to accomplish by participation, including any individual
research and writing projects; and the relation of the study to your teaching.
Please follow the guidelines in the enclosed general “Application Information
and Instructions” from NEH, and remember that four (4) copies of your
completed application, in hard copy, must be postmarked no later
than March 4, 2013, and should be addressed to our project manager as
follows:
David A. Berry, Executive Director
Community College Humanities Association
Attn: “CCHA/NEH India Institute 2013”
c/o Essex County College
303 University Avenue
Newark, NJ 07102-1798
email: berry@essex.edu
Tel: 973-877-3577
We wish you all the best and look forward to hearing from you. If you have
additional questions about the structure or content of our Institute, please
contact David Berry, above, or one of the project directors at either of our
addresses below. For further information, please visit our project website at
www.ccha-assoc.org/India2013
Sincerely,
Dr. Beverly Blois, Dean Emeritus
Humanities Division
Northern Va. Comm. College
1000 Byrd Highway
Sterling, VA 20164
email: bblois@nvcc.edu
Tel: (703) 450-2503
Dr. Daniel Ehnbom
The McIntire Department of Art
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 400130
Charlottesville, VA 22904
email: dje6r@virginia.edu
Tel: (434) 924-6130
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NEH SUMMER SEMINARS AND INSTITUTES
FOR COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY TEACHERS
APPLICATION INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS
Summer Seminars and Institutes for College and University Teachers are
offered by the National Endowment for the Humanities to provide college and
university faculty members and independent scholars with an opportunity to
enrich and revitalize their understanding of significant humanities ideas,
texts, and topics. These study opportunities are especially designed for this
program and are not intended to duplicate courses normally offered by
graduate programs. On completion of a seminar or institute, participants will
receive a certificate indicating their participation. Prior to completing an
application to as specific seminar or institute, please review the
letter/prospectus from the project director (available on the project’s
website, or as an e-mail attachment) and consider carefully what is expected
in terms of residence and attendance, reading and writing requirements, and
general participation in the work of the project.
Each seminar includes 16 NEH Summer Scholars working in collaboration
with one or two leading scholars. Participants will have access to a
significant research collection, with time reserved to pursue individual
research and study projects.
Institutes are for 25 Summer Scholars, and provide intensive collaborative
study of texts, topics, and ideas central to undergraduate teaching in the
humanities under the guidance of faculties distinguished in their fields of
scholarship. Institutes aim to prepare participants to return to their
classrooms with a deeper knowledge of current scholarship in key fields of
the humanities.
Please note: The use of the words “seminar” or “institute” in this document
is precise and is intended to convey differences between the two project
types.
ELIGIBILITY
These projects are designed primarily for teachers of American
undergraduate students. Qualified independent scholars and those employed
by museums, libraries, historical societies, and other organizations may be
eligible to compete provided they can effectively advance the teaching and
research goals of the seminar or institute. Applicants must be United States
citizens, residents of U.S. jurisdictions, or foreign nationals who have been
residing in the United States or its territories for at least the three years
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immediately preceding the application deadline. Foreign nationals teaching
abroad at non-U.S. chartered institutions are not eligible to apply.
Please note: Up to two seminar spaces and three institute spaces are
reserved for current full-time graduate students in the humanities.
Applicants must complete the NEH application cover sheet and provide all the
information requested below to be considered eligible. An applicant need not
have an advanced degree in order to qualify. Adjunct and part-time lecturers
are eligible to apply. Individuals may not apply to study with a director of an
NEH Summer Seminar or Institute who is a current colleague or a family
member. Individuals must not apply to seminars directed by scholars with
whom they have studied. Institute selection committees are advised that
only under the most compelling and exceptional circumstances may an
individual participate in an institute with a director or a lead faculty member
who has guided that individual’s research or in whose previous institute or
seminar he or she has participated.
Please note: An individual may apply to up to two projects in any one year
(NEH Summer Seminars, or NEH Summer Institutes), but may participate in
only one.
SELECTION CRITERIA
A selection committee reads and evaluates all properly completed
applications in order to select the most promising applicants and to identify a
number of alternates. (Seminar selection committees typically consist of the
project director and two colleagues. Institute selection committees typically
consist of three to five members, usually drawn from the institute faculty and
staff members.) While recent participants are eligible to apply, selection
committees are charged to give first consideration to applicants who have
not participated in an NEH-supported Seminar, Institute or Landmarks
Workshop in the last three years (2010, 2011, 2012).
The most important consideration in the selection of participants is the
likelihood that an applicant will benefit professionally. This is determined by
committee members from the conjunction of several factors, each of which
should be addressed in the application essay. These factors include:
1. quality and commitment as a teacher, scholar, and interpreter of the
humanities;
2. intellectual interests, in general and as they relate to the work of the
seminar or institute;
3. special perspectives, skills, or experiences that would contribute to the
seminar or institute;
4. commitment to participate fully in the formal and informal collegial life
of the seminar or
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institute;
5. the likelihood that the experience will enhance the applicant's teaching
and scholarship; and
6. for seminars, the conception and organization of the applicant's
independent project and its
potential contribution to the seminar.
When choices must be made among equally qualified candidates, several
additional factors are considered. Preference is given to applicants who
have not previously participated in an NEH Summer Seminar,
Institute, or Landmarks Workshop, or who significantly contribute to
the diversity of the seminar or institute.
STIPEND, TENURE, AND CONDITIONS OF AWARD
Individuals selected to participate in five-week projects will receive stipend of
$3,900; those in four-week projects will receive $3,300; those in three-week
projects will receive $2,700; and those in two-week projects will receive
$2,100. Stipends are intended to help cover travel expenses to and from the
project location, books and other research expenses, and living expenses for
the duration of the period spent in residence. Stipends are taxable.
Applicants to all projects, especially those held abroad, should note
that supplements will not be given in cases where the stipend is
insufficient to cover all expenses.
Seminar and institute participants are required to attend all meetings and to
engage fully as professionals in the work of the project. During the project's
tenure, they may not undertake teaching assignments or any other
professional activities unrelated to their participation in the project.
Participants who, for any reason, do not complete the full tenure of the
project must refund a pro-rata portion of the stipend.
At the end of the project's residential period, participants will be asked to
submit online evaluations in which they review their work during the summer
and assess its value to their personal and professional development. These
evaluations will become part of the project's grant file and may become part
of an application to repeat the seminar or institute.
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
Before you attempt to complete an application, please obtain and read the
“Dear Colleague Letter” from the director(s) of the project(s) to which you
intend to apply: the letter contains detailed information about the topic under
study, project requirements and expectations of the participants, the
academic and institutional setting, and specific provisions for lodging and
subsistence. In most cases, the “Dear Colleague Letter” can be found on the
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project’s website. All application materials must be sent to the project
director at the address listed in the “Dear Colleague Letter.”
Application materials sent to the Endowment will not be reviewed.
CHECKLIST OF APPLICATION MATERIALS
A complete application consists of three copies of the following collated
items:



the completed application cover sheet,
a detailed résumé, curriculum vitae, or brief biography, and
an application essay as outlined below.
In addition, it must include two letters of recommendation as described
below.
The application cover sheet
The application cover sheet must be filled out online at this address:
https://securegrants.neh.gov/education/participants/
Please fill it out online as directed by the prompts. When you are finished,
be sure to click on the “submit” button. Print out the cover sheet and
add it to your application package. At this point you will be asked if you
want to fill out a cover sheet for another project. If you do, follow the
prompts and select another project and then print out the cover sheet for
that project. Note that filling out a cover sheet is not the same as applying,
so there is no penalty for changing your mind and filling out cover sheets for
several projects. A full application consists of the items listed above, as sent
to a project director.
Résumé
Please include a detailed résumé, curriculum vitae, or brief biography (not to
exceed five pages).
The Application Essay
The application essay should be no more than four double spaced pages.
This essay should include any relevant personal and academic information.
It should address reasons for applying; the applicant's interest, both
academic and personal, in the subject to be studied; qualifications and
experiences that equip the applicant to do the work of the seminar or
institute and to make a contribution to a learning community; a statement of
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what the applicant wants to accomplish by participating; and the relation of
the project to the applicant's professional responsibilities.


Applicants to seminars should be sure to discuss any independent
study project that is proposed beyond the common work of the
seminar.
Applicants to institutes may need to elaborate on the relationship
between institute activities and their responsibilities for teaching and
curricular development.
The two referees may be from inside or outside the applicant’s home
institution. They should be familiar with the applicant's professional
accomplishments or promise, teaching and/or research interests, and ability
to contribute to and benefit from participation in the seminar or institute.
Referees should be provided with the director's description of the seminar or
institute and the applicant's essay. Applicants who are current graduate
students should secure a letter from a professor or advisor. Please ask each
of your referees to sign across the seal on the back of the envelope
containing the letter. Enclose the letters with your application.
SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS AND NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE
Completed applications should be submitted to the project director and
should be postmarked no later than March 4, 2013.
Successful applicants will be notified of their selection on Monday, April 1,
2013, and they will have until Friday, April 5 to accept or decline the offer.
Once you have accepted an offer to attend any NEH Summer Program
(NEH Summer Seminar, Institute or Landmarks Workshop), you may
not accept an additional offer or withdraw in order to accept a
different offer.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT
Endowment programs do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national
origin, sex, disability, or age. For further information, write to the Equal
Opportunity Officer, National Endowment for the Humanities, 1100
Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20506. TDD: 202/606-8282
(this is a special telephone device for the Deaf).
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