Young Scholars Program, 2010-2012: Call for Applications

Paul Harvey

I'm just back from Indianapolis and the end of my tenure as one of the leaders of a Young Scholars in American Religion group, which went on from 2007-2009. I was privileged to work with Amanda Porterfield of Florida State, the senior mentor for this round. My group included blog compatriots Randall Stephens, Ed Blum, Matt Sutton, and Kathryn Lofton. The group also featured scholars whose work has been featured here in recent days, including Tisa Wenger (Yale) and Kate Carte Engel (Texas A & M). Additionally, we were fortunate to have four other amazing scholars: Darren Dochuk (Purdue), Spencer Fluhman (BYU), Rebecca Goetz (Rice), and Charles Irons (Elon College).

I'll have more to say about these two years later on the blog; suffice for now to say it was the best professional experience of my academic career, and a deeply affecting personal one as well.

The next group of Young Scholars will begin meeting next year, and the call for applications is up; I'll repost it here for those interested. I know many readers of this blog have applied before; I hope you'll re-apply. Some of the folks in my group were three-time applicants.

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Young Scholars in American Religion 2010-2012: Call for Applications

The Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture announces a program for early career scholars in American Religion. Beginning in October 2010, a series of seminars devoted to the enhancement of teaching and research for younger scholars in American Religion will be offered in Indianapolis. The aims of all sessions of the program are to develop ideas and methods of instruction in a supportive workshop environment, stimulate scholarly research and writing, and create a community of scholars that will continue into the future.

Dates:

Session I: October 14-17, 2010
Session II: April 28-May 1, 2011
Session III: October 13-16, 2011
Session IV: April 26-29, 2012
Session V: October 11-14, 2012

Seminar Leaders:

Ann B. Braude is Director of the Women's Studies in Religion Program and Senior Lecturer in American Religious HIstory at Harvard Divinity School. In addition to directing the WSRP, she teaches courses on the religious history of American women. Her first book, Radical Spirits: Spritualism and Women's rights in 19th-Century America, is now in its second edition, and she is the author of Women and Religion in America, the first history of the religion of American women for a general audience. She has published many articles on women in Judaism, Christian Science, and American religious life, and served as co-editor of Root of Bitterness: Documents of the Social History of American Women. Dr. Braude's most recent book is Saints and Sisters: Women and Religion in America.

Mark Valeri is the Ernest Trice Thompson Professor of Church History at Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education. His areas of specialization include eighteenth-century American religion, religion and social thought in America, Puritanism, and Reformation theology and the social history of Calvinism. Dr. Valeri's works include Practicing Protestants: Histories of Christian Life in America, 1630-1965 (with Laurie F. Maffly-Kipp and Leigh E. Schmidt); Law and Providence in Joseph Bellamy's New England: The Origins of the New Divinity in Revolutionary America (Mackemie Prize, Presbyterian Historical Society, 1995); Global Neighbors: Christian Faith and Moral Obligation in Today's Economy (with Douglas A. Hicks); and, most recently, Heavenly Merchandise: How Religion Shaped Commerce in Puritan America.

Eligibility:

Scholars eligible to apply are those who have launched their careers within the last seven years and who are working in a subfield of the area of religion in North America, broadly understood. Ten scholars will be selected, with the understanding that they will commit to the program for all dates. Each participant will be expected to produce a course syllabus, with justification of teaching approach, and a publishable research article. All costs for transportation, lodging, and meals for the seminars will be covered, and there is no application fee.

To Apply:

Applicants must submit a curriculum vitae with three letters of reference directly supporting their application to the program (do not send portfolios of generic reference letters) as well as a 500-word essay indicating 1) why they are interested in participating, and 2) their current and projected research and teaching interests. The deadline for applications is 15 February 2010. Essays, CVs, and letters of reference should be sent to:

YSAR
Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture, IUPUI
Cavanaugh Hall 417
425 University Blvd.
Indianapolis, IN 46202-5140