Shanghai and Berlin: Application Process and Resource Information

Applicants

We welcome applications from prospective participants from a wide range of disciplines. Backgrounds in Chinese or German literature or film studies are of course most pertinent; however we also hope to consider applicants from other fields, such as History, Art History, Architecture, Urban Studies, and Gender Studies. That list is not meant to be exclusive; scholars from other fields are welcome to apply, and we look forward to gathering a talented and disciplinary diverse group for the seminar. All texts will be in English. Knowledge of Chinese or German is not required.

Eligibility

The seminar is intended primarily for teachers of American undergraduate students.  Qualified independent scholars and those employed by museums, libraries, historical societies, and other organizations may be eligible to compete provided they can effectively advance the teaching and research goals of the seminar or institute.  Applicants must be United States citizens, residents of U.S. jurisdictions, or foreign nationals who have been residing in the United States or its territories for at least the three years immediately preceding the application deadline.  Foreign nationals teaching abroad at non-U.S. chartered institutions are not eligible to apply.

An applicant need not have an advanced degree in order to qualify. Adjunct and part-time lecturers are eligible to apply.  Individuals may not apply to study with a director of a seminar or institute who is a current colleague or a family member.  Individuals must not apply to seminars directed by scholars with whom they have studied. Graduate students in the humanities may apply.

Schedule

There will be an informal welcome reception Sunday afternoon, June 26, for participants to meet each other. The seminar will begin the next day, meeting every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday for two-hour sessions. Because it is a seminar, we will expect each participant to take responsibility for one of our meetings and to introduce the material for the day. There will be an opportunity for the “presenter” to post on-line comments to the group for consideration in advance of our meeting. During the session, the ‘presenter’ will be responsible for initiating the discussion with some background discussion and by pointing us toward key questions, relating the text to the themes of the class.

Beginning in the third week, one weekly session will be dedicated to seminar participants’ presenting their own projects—whether they are articles or book manuscripts or curricular revisions.  For this too, material should be circulated in advance. This opportunity to share your work with colleagues from different disciplines and at different career stages can be extraordinarily helpful, while also enhancing the seminar’s discussion of the broad topic of urban modernism. 

The last meeting of the seminar will take place on the afternoon of August 4.

Individual Appointments

The co-directors will expect each participant to meet with each of them early in the seminar, ideally during the first week, to learn about the participants’ projects and interests. Professors Berman and Wang will otherwise be available in office hours or by appointment. Participants are strongly urged to meet again with at least one of the co-directors to discuss the progress of their work and the ideas and conduct of the seminar.

Academic Resources

Stanford will provide participants in the seminar with access to the Stanford computing network. Participants who arrange with us to stay on campus will have internet connections in their rooms.  Photocopying facilities will be available. While there is access to computer printing, participants in previous seminars who could bring their own printer found that to be convenient.

The seminar participants will be able to draw on the rich collections of the Stanford University Libraries and the Hoover Institution. The Cecil H. Green Library, Stanford’s main research library, houses nearly three million volumes, as well as 6,500 current periodicals and 350 current newspapers. The Stanford East Asia Library includes a Chinese collection with some 350,000 volumes and 28,300 reels of microfilm. The Hoover Library and Archive, with collections particularly focused on twentieth-century political developments is a major resource. The library holds 1.6 million volumes, and the archive contains sixty million documents. The collections of the East Asia Library and the Hoover Institution are particularly strong in material from the history of Republican China and the Communist Movement, both of which are relevant to the concerns of the seminar.  Green Library and the Hoover Institution have robust collections relevant to modern Germany. Whether seminar participants focus on China or on Germany in their own work, they will be well served by the available resources.

Green Library summer hours are Monday-Thursday 8 AM- 9PM; Friday 8 AM-6 PM; Saturday 9 AM- 5PM; and Sunday 1 PM- 9 PM. The Hoover library summer hours are Monday – Friday 8 AM – 5 PM. The East Asia Library is open 9 AM – 5 PM. Further information about the Stanford University Libraries is available at http://www-sul.stanford.edu/. The resources of the Hoover Institution are described at http://www.hoover.org/library-and-archives. The East Asian Library is at http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/asrg/

Housing

Seminar participants may rent from Stanford, or they may make their own arrangements privately. Studio units on campus in a graduate student housing area will be available for rent from Stanford Conference Services. The cost will be about $90/night, which will include linen and housekeeping service, and there will be an additional charge for participation in a meal plan.  These units are a twenty-minute walk to the library and the seminar location; there is however also a campus bus system, and bicycles are popular. Living on campus would be very convenient. Since housing in the vicinity of Stanford can be costly, the price for the campus rental is not unreasonable. Participants may however choose to live elsewhere and make their own arrangements.

Stipend

Participants in this six-week seminar receive a stipend of $4,500. Stipends are intended to help cover travel expenses to and from the project location, books and other research expenses, and living expenses for the duration of the period spent in residence.  Stipends are taxable.  Applicants should note that supplements will not be given in cases where the stipend is insufficient to cover all expenses.  Whether one rents from Stanford or makes other accommodations, the cost of living in the San Francisco Bay Area is high. Participants may find that they may have to draw on their own resources to supplement the stipend..

Seminar participants are required to attend all meetings and to engage fully in the work of the project.  During the project's tenure, they may not undertake teaching assignments or any other professional activities unrelated to their participation in the project.  Participants who, for any reason, do not complete the full tenure of the project must refund a pro-rata portion of the stipend.

Status

Seminar participants will be given “Visiting Scholar” status. (The status is dependant on having completed a Ph.D., which is typically the case in NEH seminars; different arrangements would have to be made for an “ABD” participant). Visiting Scholars are entitled to make use of many university facilities; the status does not, however, provide for telephone privileges or individual photocopying needs.  Access to the Stanford computing network will be provided; you are strongly urged to bring your own computer, however, as well as your own printer. Please note: while some Visiting Scholar privileges are extended to their spouses, this is not the case for unmarried partners.

Location and Cultural Resources

Stanford University is located next to Palo Alto, California, with easy train connections to San Francisco and San Jose, and their rich offerings of museums, recreation, and restaurants. In addition, cultural events take place on campus, including theater and concerts. Participants should also plan on visiting Stanford’s Cantor Center for the Visual Arts, the university’s art museum with a spectacular Rodin sculpture garden.

The San Francisco Bay Area provides numerous opportunities for biking and hiking. A drive to the ocean can take 40 minutes to spectacular scenery (but the water is too cold for swimming). The campus provides numerous athletic opportunities. The summer weather at Stanford is often hot during the day, but it cools off in the evening; San Francisco can be notoriously chilly in the summer.

Application Instructions

A completed application consists of three copies of the following collated items:

• the completed application cover sheet,
• a detailed résumé, or brief biography, and
• an application essay as outlined below.

In addition, it must include two letters of recommendation as described below.

Note:  The application cover sheet must be filled out online at http://www.neh.gov/online/education/participants

When you are finished, be sure to click the ‘submit’ button. You must also print out the cover sheet to include with the application package. Note that filling out a cover sheet is not the same as applying, so there is no penalty for changing your mind and filling out cover sheets for several projects.

In addition to the cover sheet, your application must include:

1. Résumé
   Please include a detailed résumé or brief biography (not to exceed five pages).
    
2. The Application Essay
   The application essay should be no more than four double spaced pages.  This essay should include any relevant personal and academic information.  It should address reasons for applying; your  interest, both academic and personal, in the subject to be studied; qualifications and experiences that equip you to do the work of the seminar and to make a contribution to the  learning community; a statement of what you want to accomplish by participating; and the relation of the project to your professional responsibilities. 

   You should be sure to discuss any independent study project that is proposed beyond the common work of the seminar. 
    

3. Reference Letters

   The two referees may be from inside or outside your home institution.  They should be familiar with your professional accomplishments or promise, teaching and/or research interests, and ability to contribute to and benefit from participation in the seminar. Referees should be provided with the director's description of the seminar and your essay.   Applicants who are current graduate students should secure a letter from a professor or advisor.  Please ask each of your referees to sign their name across the seal on the back of the envelope containing their letter, and enclose the letters with your application. 

DEADLINE

 The application itself must be sent to Stanford (not to the NEH!) with a postmark deadline of March 1, 2011. Please send the collated material (three copies) and the two confidential letters of recommendation to:

Russell A. Berman
Department of Comparative Literature
Building 260, Room 209
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-2031

A faculty selection committee will review the applicants. Decisions will be announced on April 1, 2011, and those selected have until April 5 to accept or decline. If you will not be home during the notification period, you are advised to provide an address and phone number where you can be reached.  No information on the status of applications will be available prior to the official notification period.

If you have logistical questions, please contact the coordinator of our Research Unit, Diane Jakubowski, at dianejak@stanford.edu or 650-725-8620.  For inquiries regarding the substance of the seminar, you may contact the co-directors at berman@stanford.edu or banwang@stanford.edu

We hope that we have covered all the important points. We believe that “Shanghai and Berlin: Cultures of Urban Modernism in Interwar China and Germany” promises to be an innovative and exciting approach to core questions about modern culture, with historical as well as contemporary ramifications. We are looking forward to your application and to the summer.