About the Residency
Location: The New York Public Library | New York City, NY
Dates: July 15–20, 2024
The CES Summer Residency is a one-week program for teachers invested in teaching with the Library’s collections. Educators will have an opportunity to handle objects of study from the Library’s archives and pose questions during lectures, artifact demonstrations, and cohort discussions.
Participation in the residency includes lunch and lodging for the duration of the program, round-trip travel to New York City, and a $1,000 program stipend.
Before starting your application, please review this page for important information about the topic of study, eligibility criteria, and more.
This Year's Theme: Dangerous Books
Unfortunately, over the past several years, there has been an alarming increase in book bans and challenges across the country. The New York Public Library stands by the right to read freely and access to knowledge for all and recognizes the vital role that public libraries play in our democracy.
In continuing this work, NYPL’s Center for Educators and Schools is offering educators a space to investigate histories of censorship, understand the sometimes contentious relationships between authors, readers, and libraries, and encounter new and classic media that push the boundaries of social convention and conformity. Over the course of a week, participants will explore interdisciplinary perspectives of what it means to create, consume, and preserve dangerous books through the Library’s collections.
The CES Summer Residency offers a deep dive into the power of literature to challenge, provoke, and reshape society. Participants will be encouraged to delve into historical case studies and discover other primary source documents uncovering the relationship between censorship and cultural practice.
Program Topics
Discover a sneak preview of the themes explored during residency below!
Real & Imagined Danger: Explore the different ways books can pose danger through propagandic material, subversive themes, and toxins laced in books.
“A Truly Great Library…”: As librarian Jo Godwin once said, “A truly great library contains something in it to offend everyone.” Discover the roles of libraries in protecting intellectual freedom through NYPL’s institutional records.
Black Expertise: Delve into subversive Black artistic practices through the story of poet Phillis Wheatley, foodways and culinary tradition, musical experimentation, and more.
Staging Taboos: Explore pioneering artists and their enduring impact on theater and cinema through “cursed plays,” drag performance, and censored experimental films.
Literature vs. the Law: Learn about storytellers and writers across centuries that faced forces that attempted to ban, restrict, and silence the dissemination of ideas about gender and sexuality.
Explore last year's residency theme!
Plus, read about a 2023 resident's experience with our program!
Application & Residency Details
The 2024 residency program will be held in-person from July 15–20, 2024, and is supported with funding from the Whiting Foundation.
Applications are due by 11:59 PM PST on April 26, 2024. Late applications will not be considered.
Selection Criteria
We are looking for educators with a demonstrated commitment to the humanities, creative learning, and teaching with primary sources. We aim to select a group that reflects diverse perspectives in its many forms: professional and life experiences, affiliated schools, geographical residences, and more. Applications will be reviewed by a panel of educators and librarians at NYPL.
Eligibility
CES welcomes applications from a national audience of full- or part-time educators who teach in public, charter, independent, and religiously affiliated schools, as well as homeschooling educators. This year’s residency program will be exclusively open to high school humanities educators.
Participants must be US citizens, residents of US jurisdictions, or foreign nationals who have been residing in the US or its territories for at least three years immediately preceding the application deadline. US citizens teaching abroad at US chartered institutions are also eligible to apply. Foreign nationals teaching abroad are not eligible to participate.
Application Requirements
To be considered for selection, you must submit a complete application form, which includes the following components:
- Personal statement
- Resume or curriculum vitae
- Teaching artifact
Please refer to the application form for more details.
Notification Procedure
All applicants will receive an email on May 15, 2024, with information about their application status. Selected applicants must confirm their participation no later than May 29, 2024, or their spot in the program will be forfeited.
Books for All: Protect the Freedom to Read
Stand with The New York Public Library all year long to protect the freedom to read! Find out how you and your students can get involved in our Teen Banned Book Club, download discussion guides and more, and explore information and resources about book bans and challenges.
Explore the Center for Educators & Schools
The New York Public Library’s Center for Educators and Schools is devoted to making all of the Library’s resources accessible and useful for educators. Explore programs and services tailored for the educator community, such as book lists, credit-bearing workshops, special access to exhibitions, tips on teaching with primary source materials from our vast research collections, and much more.
This work is part of the Library’s overall commitment to our branch patrons and education programs, led by the Merryl H. and James S. Tisch Director of The New York Public Library. Major support for educational programming is provided by Merryl H. and James S. Tisch.