The USC Libraries are now accepting applications for their Summer Primary Source Research Fellowship on Sustainability, which supports public-facing research at the intersection of history, gender studies, and sustainability studies. The fellowship runs for ten weeks this summer and offers students a $5,000 stipend. Applications are due April 8, 2024. (Please note: You must be signed into Google with a USC account to access the form.)
Last year, USC Dornsife graduate student Amber Santoro served as the libraries' inaugural sustanability fellow. Her work mined the Century Freeway collection for insights about the effects of freeway construction on marginalized Los Angeles communities. View her project here!
See the call for applications below for guidelines, eligibility requirements, and other details.
USC Libraries Summer Primary Source Research Fellowships on Sustainability
Call for Applications
The Collections Convergence Initiative at USC Libraries is pleased to announce funding from USC’s Office of the President, the Divisional Dean of Social Sciences, the Dean of Libraries, the Van Hunnick History Department, and the Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability for student fellowships to conduct primary source research on sustainability studies during summer 2024. Each fellow will receive a stipend of $5,000.
The USC Libraries are home to a wide range of primary source collections that speak to concerns about, activism around, and policy making approaches to sustainability across the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. These include archival collections on topics ranging from community-led conservation efforts to city planning records; artists’ books on environmental activism; and rare books on the history of science. Many of these primary sources speak to intersections with gender studies and other fields of historical inquiry. Examining historical discussions can inform contemporary decision making and inspire new approaches to old questions.
Student fellows are invited to work with USC Libraries collections and generate public-facing research on sustainability studies, in the form of libraries-wide lectures and workshops, content for a research guide, social media posts, blog entries, exhibition and programming proposals (physical or digital), creative projects, research papers, or proposals for USC Arts & Climate Collective funding. Operating as a lab for the humanities, the libraries will provide student fellows with experience in conducting independent research with primary sources and creating public humanities content in service of their own research interests and those of broader public audiences.
Student fellows will meet with the director of special projects for the USC Libraries’ specialized collections on a weekly basis for check-ins, and subject specialist librarians and library staff will also be available for consultation. The full cohort of fellows will meet twice a month to share ideas, updates, and reflections. As a group they will identify guests to invite with whom they can network, share ideas, and learn about professional development opportunities in public humanities and sustainability studies.
Note: For physical exhibits a proposal will need to be submitted either to the USC Libraries Programs & Planning Committee or to the department of Special Collections for an exhibit later in the academic year. For digital exhibits the student should be familiar with the digital publishing platform Scalar and may request some assistance from the Ahmanson Lab.
Fellowships Available ($5000 each)
There are five fellowships available. One fellowship is reserved for students affiliated with the Van Hunnick History Department. Undergraduate and graduate students are eligible to apply.
Application Process
Students are encouraged to consider what USC Libraries primary sources related to sustainability studies are of interest to them before completing the application form. They may refer to this list of potential collections for guidance.
Important Dates
Application deadline: April 8, 2024
Fellows announced: April 15, 2024
Fellowship period: June 3 – August 12, 2024 (10 weeks)