Mellon Scholars Program in African American History at the Library Company of Philadelphia

Detail from Thomas Nast, The Past and the Future (Philadelphia: King & Baird, [1864]). Color wood engraving.

The Library Company of Philadelphia’s Program in African American History (PAAH), with the support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, is pleased to announce a new Mellon Scholars Program of fellowships, internships, and workshop for 2014-2015. These competitive programs are designed to increase the participation of scholars from underrepresented backgrounds and others in the field of African American history prior to 1900.

The Mellon Scholars Fellowship Program aims to promote research in the collections of the Library Company and to enhance the production of scholarly work in African American history of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. The following fellowships will be offered for 2014-2015:

• Post-doctoral fellowships, with a stipend of $50,000 for the academic year, or $25,000 for one semester. Applicants must hold a Ph.D. by September 1, 2014; application deadline November 1, 2013.

• Dissertation fellowships, with a stipend of $25,000 for the academic year, or $12,500 for one semester. Applicants must be in the later stages of research or writing; application deadline March 1, 2014.

• Short-term fellowships, for doctoral candidates and senior scholars, with a stipend of $2,500 for one month of research between June 1, 2014 and May 31, 2015; application deadline March 1, 2014.

Application procedures for Fellowships: Eligible candidates may apply for both a short-term and either a dissertation or post-doctoral fellowship. To apply, fill out an online coversheet and send via email a single PDF document containing a brief resume and a two- to four- page description of the proposed research. Applicants for short-term and dissertation fellowships should also have one letter of recommendation sent under seperate cover in PDF format. Applicants for post-doctoral fellowships should include a writing sample of no more than 25 pages and should have two letters of reference sent under seperate cover in PDF format. All application materials should be sent to fellowships@librarycompany.org. If you wish to apply for more than one fellowship, simply check more than one box on your electronic cover sheet. For more information about the fellowship program, contact James Green via telephone at (215) 546-3181, fax (215) 546-5167, or e-mail jgreen@librarycompany.org. For more information about PAAH's Mellon Scholars Program, contact Erica Armstrong Dunbar, Program Director, at era@udel.edu.

The Mellon Scholars Internship Program is a four-week summer program (June 2 to June 27, 2014) that provides potential scholars of early African American history with experience in original archival research, guidance on applying to graduate school and developing research agendas, and exposure to the work of research libraries.

The internship will have three components: guided primary source research in the Library Company's African Americana Collection culminating in the production of a short research paper and a capstone colloquium; a special project such as cataloging or creating an annotated bibliography of items in our collection; and professional development through workshops on the graduate application process, mentoring by established scholars, networking, and field trips to local repositories.

Interns will be rising seniors or recent college graduates and will receive a $1,500 stipend and an allowance for room, board, and travel to and from Philadelphia. Application deadline: March 1, 2014 with a decision to be made by April 15.

The Mellon Scholars Summer Workshop is a one-week professional development program (June 16 to June 20, 2014) designed to prepare students for the transition to graduate study and for conducting independent research in early African American history archival collections. Program activities will include research talks, CV-building, an introduction to the African Americana holdings at the Library Company and at area repositories, training in the creation of competitive fellowship and graduate program applications, and mentoring and networking with African American history scholars.

Workshop participants will be recent college graduates or students in their first years of graduate study and will receive an allowance of up to $1,200 to cover the cost of travel, room, and board. Application deadline: March 1. 2014, with a decision to be made by April 15.

Application procedures for Internships and Workshops: Eligible candidates may apply for both the workshop and the internship. To apply fill out an online cover sheet and send via email a single PDF document containing a resume and a 500-750-word personal statement describing future goals and how the internship or workshop would further those goals. One letter of recommendation from a faculty member familiar with the applicant's academic work should arrive under seperate cover in PDF format as well. Please email materials to fellowships@librarycompany.org. For more information about PAAH's Mellon Scholars Program and application guidelines, contact Erica Armstrong Dunbar, Program Director, at era@udel.edu.