Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

Schomburg-Mellon Humanities Summer Institute

June 16-July 25, 2008

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation have created the Mellon-Schomburg Humanities Summer Institute to encourage minority students and others with an interest in African-American and African Diasporan Studies to pursue graduate degrees in the humanities. The program, open to U.S. citizens and Permanent Residents, offers a six-week session for ten rising seniors (juniors in 2008, graduating in 2009). Five will be selected from New York City and five from Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the nation. The Institute, with the help of renowned scholars, will develop and nurture the students’ interest in the appropriate disciplines, and provide them with the requisite basic intellectual challenges and orientations needed to pursue humanities careers and to reach their full potential.
 
The Institute is designed to encourage students to work toward a product-driven goal while highlighting entry into the fields of humanities—an area where they can make significant contributions and build dynamic careers. In devoting their energies to the preparation of a Web site, for other students as well as the public, the students will be exposed to the ways new knowledge is created and the intellectual excitement that one derives from the life of the mind. They will become actively involved in the process of research and discovery and the challenge of interpreting documents and other sources. Students will be encouraged to develop a critical intellectual focus and should find the interaction with their peers and their instructors both stimulating and rewarding. In addition, since the students will be engaged in the study of a theme from various disciplinary perspectives they will also be exposed to differing methodologies. Undoubtedly, a great deal of cross-fertilization of ideas will occur, as the students learn from one another, share documentary resources they have unearthed, and debate their different disciplinary visions and approaches.  

Program Details

• Divided into morning and afternoon sessions, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
• Seminars by distinguished scholars in a humanities field
• Independent research and group interaction
• Assigned readings from scholarly texts
• Viewings and discussions of relevant documentaries under the guidance of two graduate mentors
• Development of a research prospectus
• Content development for a Web site
• Signed certificate by Schomburg Center Director Howard Dodson and Institute Director Sylviane A. Diouf upon completion of the program citing them as Schomburg-Mellon Humanities Scholars.

Each participant will receive a $2,000 stipend* for the six-week session. In addition, the program will cover the travel expenses of students from out of state and all students –including those residing in New York City—will be lodged, free of charge, in the vicinity of the Schomburg Center. Two graduate students will serve as on-site residence counselors.

* Students who are enrolled in the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program are not eligible for the stipend. They are eligible for transportation and housing.

Theme

The theme of the Institute is Africana Age. Focusing on the 20th century, it will offer students opportunities to explore areas such as the dominant political, economic and cultural events of the period; achievements in social and artistic realms that challenged the myth of white supremacy; efforts to forge political and cultural relationships among African peoples across geographical boundaries; and commonalities and differences in the material condition of African peoples across time and geography.

The Africana Age theme is organized chronologically into six primary sections that will be covered by scholars in the following disciplines: history, English and comparative literature, drama and film, art history, dance, political science, and ethnomusicology.

1. Toward White World Supremacy, 1880-1899
Colonization, segregation, and discrimination in the black world
Cultural resistance to white supremacy

2. Pan Africanism, Caribbean Movements and World War I, 1900-1919
African peoples organizing and making strides to refute stereotypes and reject domination

3. Garveyism, Renaissance, Negritude, 1920-1939
Political mobilization and the emergence of a new generation of race-conscious artists and scholars

4. World War II and the Coming Revolution, 1940-1959
The rise of the anti-colonialist struggle in Africa, social movements in the Caribbean, and the Civil Rights Movement in the United States

5. From Decolonization to Black Power, 1960-1979
Independence of African and Caribbean nations and the desegregation of the United States

6. Triumphs, Tragedies and Challenges, 1980-present
Political, cultural and economic issues facing independent nations and African Americans and achievements in a variety of fields

Recruitment

The Schomburg-Mellon Institute accepts nominations of potential participants, with a GPA of 3.0 or above, from educators and professors. The nominee must complete an application, including a written statement.
Participants will be selected based on their compatibility and willingness to take full advantage of this unique educational partnership.

Application deadline
Deadline for all applications is March 10, 2008
Click here for application packet

For more information:

Email:   sdiouf@nypl.org

Call:     (212) 491-2054
Fax:      (212) 491-6760

Write: Schomburg-Mellon Humanities Summer Institute
     Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
     515 Malcolm X Boulevard
     New York, NY 10037