Floyd Covington Fellowship Call for Proposals, Spring 2023

Collections Convergence Initiative
  • Mar 17, 2023

USC faculty who want to integrate primary sources related to social justice into their teaching or research are invited to apply for the next round of Floyd Covington fellowships, with awards to be announced by the end of the Spring 2023 semester. Past fellows have included Li-Ping Chen, Natalia Molina, Maddox Pennington, and Allissa V. Richardson.

See the call for applications below for application guidelines and details.

Sources of Social Justice: The Floyd Covington Fellowship

A Faculty Fellowship Opportunity from the USC Libraries Collections Convergence Initiative

The USC Libraries are home to a significant and growing number of primary source collections on anti-racism, social justice, and allied topics such as civil and political protest and the histories of underrepresented communities, identities, and perspectives. These materials are housed within, to name but a few library collections, Southern California Regional History; East Asian Studies; Exile Studies; Latin-American and Iberian Studies; and the ONE Archives at USC Libraries.

The USC Libraries, in consultation with faculty partners participating in the Collections Convergence Initiative (CCI), seek to encourage and support the use of the materials within these collections in teaching and research projects. The need for these unique materials to gain wider attention, use, and analysis has never been greater. The USC Libraries is pleased to announce this faculty fellowship competition named for the long-time head of the Los Angeles Urban League; the Floyd Covington Fellowships also mark the recent arrival at USC Libraries of the papers of this important civil rights leader. Covington Fellow applications can be made in one of two tracks. Each fellowship (two will be awarded) comes with an award of $4,000. USC faculty across all ranks and title are encouraged to apply.

Application Process

Applicants are encouraged to consult with relevant library curators and other library colleagues as they prepare their application materials. Additional information, including examples of successful proposals, can be provided by CCI Director, William Deverell (email address below).

Track One

Inventive Instruction Using Primary Sources. Applicants will propose revision of at least two USC courses (undergraduate or graduate courses or a combination) in close consultation with instructional colleagues in USC to draw digital sources, exercises, assessments, and other course activities into their courses. The revisions should speak to issues of anti-racism and protest in the United States context, both in content and sources made available for student learning and research. Applications should include a c.v., current syllabi to be revised, and a one-page cover letter describing the applicant’s general approach to revision. Applications should also include the name(s) and title(s) of USC Libraries colleagues who will be consulted in regard to course/syllabi revisions

Track Two

Primary Source Research. Applicants will propose a research project or projects for which dedicated work within USC Libraries collections pertaining to anti-racism or civil rights is critical.  Applications should include faculty c.v. and a one-page cover letter outlining the research project(s) to be undertaken and the specific sources or collections to be consulted.

Applications are due April 24, 2023 via email submission. Both fellowship awards will be announced by the end of Spring term, 2023. Applications should be submitted to Professor William Deverell at deverell@usc.edu.

About Floyd Covington

Floyd C. Covington (1901-1989) was a civic leader in Los Angeles' African American community from the late 1920s to the 1970s. Through his work as the first Executive Director of the Los Angeles Urban League and his service in the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Covington redefined social welfare and equal opportunity in both employment and housing for various communities in Los Angeles. Covington's papers contain his early scholarship and poetry from his youth and education in Seattle, Washington and Topeka, Kansas; scrapbooks, photographs, posters, and reports from his leadership of the Los Angeles Urban League during the 1930s and 1940s; correspondence, speech drafts, and other writings documenting Covington's work in intergroup relations and equal opportunity at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; family mementos -- including papers and photographs from Covington's wife, Alma Covington, and his father in law, Thomas Augustus Greene, Sr.; and lastly, correspondence, realia, and creative works documenting Covington's strong relationships with community associations, such as the YMCA in Los Angeles, and his passions for creative writing, music, and theater.