Brief Description:

The Center for Islam in the Contemporary World (CICW) at Shenandoah University invites applications for research grants for Summer and Fall 2022. Maximum amount for the research grant is $2,500 for faculty/post-doctoral applicants and $2,000 for graduate students. These grants are meant to support research and writing by individual scholars and advanced graduate students in the US and Canada. Grants could include funding for travel, research support, publication, and dissemination of results. Grants must be distributed during Summer or Fall 2022 semester, and before December 31, 2022. If intended for travel, grants will be disbursed in the form of reimbursement after the grant holder completes travel and submits all receipts to CICW. The academic nature of the project should follow CICW policies and guidelines for individual grant applications.

We understand that due to COVID-19 restrictions, it may not be possible to conduct field research this summer and fall. The applicants should think of creative ways in which grant awards could be utilized.

Description:

a) Description
The Center for Islam in the Contemporary World (CICW) at Shenandoah University invites applications for research grants for Summer and Fall 2022. Maximum amount for the research grant is $2,500 for faculty/post-doctoral applicants and $2,000 for graduate students. These grants are meant to support research and writing by individual scholars and advanced graduate students in the US and Canada. Grants could include funding for travel, research support, publication, and dissemination of results. Grants must be distributed during Summer or Fall 2022 semester, and before December 31, 2022. If intended for travel, grants will be disbursed in the form of reimbursement after the grant holder completes travel and submits all receipts to CICW. The academic nature of the project should follow CICW policies and guidelines for individual grant applications.

We understand that due to COVID-19 restrictions, it may not be possible to conduct field research this summer and fall. The applicants should think of creative ways in which grant awards could be utilized.

b) Areas of research

CICW is specifically looking for proposals in the following area:

Islam on the Edges - this research program directs our gaze toward the edges of Islam in its various dimensions: geographic, doctrinal, cultural, linguistic, historical, and civilizational. CICW’s work is built on the understanding that Islam on the Edges is Islam full of dynamism, uniqueness, innovativeness, and adaptation. In order to understand Islam in the contemporary world, it is equally important to study Muslim experiences in Indonesia, Malaysia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Senegal, South Africa, Zanzibar – to name a few, as it is to understand Egypt, Saudi Arabia, or Turkey. Constantly at the edges, Muslims who live in these parts of the world embody the contradictions of belonging to the Muslim civilization yet being treated as outsiders, and being so close to the Other but never quite belonging. In contemporary times, and with the increased Muslim presence in the areas where Muslims did not traditionally reside, the edges are being constantly redefined - geographically, doctrinally, and in other ways. We welcome proposals that question and expand our understanding of the edges.

Our research aims to highlight Islam on the Edges by looking at the following: (1) formations of orthodoxy along the Edges, with a corollary claim that Islam on the Edges is as orthodox and normative as Islam in any other part of the world, (2) novel, unique, and heterodox approaches to Muslim experiences in Islam on the Edges, (3) social innovation and entrepreneurship along Islam on the Edges, and (4) cultural and material production. CICW’s objective is to do away with the “center-periphery” approach to the study of Islam, and to elevate Islam on the Edges to equal footing with other expressions of Islam anywhere in the world. Learn more about Islam on the Edges here.

Proposals covering other areas related to the study of contemporary Islam and Muslims may be considered, but the above area will be given a preference.

c) Grant recipient’s obligations

Grant recipient will acknowledge CICW’s support when he/she produces a publishable outcome or presents research at academic venues. CICW may invite the grant recipient to present her/his work at Shenandoah University. Completed papers should be sent to CICW for archival purposes within three months after the end of the grant period.

d) Deadline for applications

The deadline for CICW short-term research grant applications is May 15, 2022. The application should be received latest by 11:59pm ET on the same date. The results will be announced no later than May 31, 2022.

e) Eligibility

The applicant must be a resident of the U.S. or Canada. The applicant can be from any discipline in the humanities and/or social sciences.

f) How to apply?

Full application contains the following, combined into one PDF file:

Biographical data (Name, Address, Phone Number, Current position and/or affiliation)
Proposal (not longer than 2 pages, Times New Roman 12-point font, single-spaced), which includes: description of the project, timeline for completion, proposed outcome(s).
Bibliography (not longer than 2 pages)
Academic CV (max.3 pages)
Budget outline
IRB approval letter (if applicable)

Contact Information:

For questions about this application, please contact Center for Islam in the Contemporary World at CICW@contemporaryislam.org

Begin Accepting Applications Date:

4/04/2022

Deadline Date (EST Time Zone) :

5/15/2022 11:59 PM