ACLS-Luce Early Career Fellowships in China Studies (Flexible) 2025 (Up to $15,000) Deadline14 November, 2024

In 2023-24, ACLS is offering two types of fellowship for early career scholars to support research, writing, and publicly engaged scholarship. Workshops and events for fellows will be held in 2024 and 2025.

Flexible fellowships are financially supported by the Henry Luce Foundation.

Flexible research fellowships will enable recent PhDs (without tenure and within eight years of the PhD) with heavy teaching and service responsibilities to carry out research and writing towards a significant scholarly product.

Possible project outcomes include, but are not limited to, contributions to the development of one or more of the following: monographs, scholarly articles, conference papers, book chapters, or book on a topic in the humanities or interpretive social sciences. ACLS also encourages projects that have the potential to contribute to:

• Pedagogical tools that make meaningful connections between a scholar’s research and teaching.
• Works that bridge scholarly and creative practice.
• Community-engaged projects grounded in scholarly research but geared toward a public audience. Potential or actual community and/or student engagement with the research project is encouraged, as is the dissemination of the research to audiences across higher education.

These flexible, short-term awards may be used for access to online archives, travel, conference participation, childcare or other familial responsibilities, and other needs identified in the application essay for accomplishing the proposed objectives.

Early Career fellowships support scholarly research in all disciplines of the humanities and the interpretive social sciences. Research may be conducted on any topic related to the cultures, histories, and societies in China, and their influence and impact on communities, countries, and cultures around the world, as required by the research plan. Research on Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Tibet, and Xinjiang is eligible. The study of non-traditional sites (e.g., sites in Africa or Latin America) is also permitted, so long as there is a clearly articulated rationale for the relationship to China or Chinese-language communities and cultures. There are no restrictions regarding time period or methodological approach.

A working knowledge of Chinese is required, or knowledge of another language used in China studies (e.g., Tibetan, Uyghur).

The fellowship period must begin between July 1, 2024, and September 30, 2025.

Publicly Engaged Scholarship

ACLS holds the core belief that knowledge is a public good. Applicants are strongly encouraged to consider the broader impact of their research, especially its potential to increase public engagement with humanistic knowledge and scholarship – from media and outreach to engaged research, teaching, and public programming.

Fellows will have the opportunity to participate in a public writing workshop in 2024 and 2025. Learn more about publicly engaged humanities at Humanities for All.

The Luce/ACLS Program in China Studies promotes inclusion, equity, and diversity as integral components of merit that enhance the scholarly enterprise. It is a priority that every cohort of fellows and grantees is broadly inclusive of different backgrounds, cultures, and any aspects that make one unique. In China studies we seek balance in regard to national origin, educational background, and current university affiliation, as well as in disciplinary approaches, topics, and historical periods studied.

About American Council of Learned Societies

Formed in 1919, ACLS is a nonprofit federation of 81 scholarly organizations. As the preeminent representative of American scholarship in the humanities and interpretive social sciences, ACLS holds a core belief that knowledge is a public good.

ACLS-Luce Early Career Fellowships in China Studies (Flexible)

Aim and Benefits of ACLS-Luce Early Career Fellowships in China Studies (Flexible)

Stipend of $15,000 ($5,000 per month) for the equivalent of three months’ work accomplished over a twelve-month period.

ACLS-Luce Early Career Fellowships in China Studies (Flexible) Courses

• Chinese language studies

Requirements for ACLS-Luce Early Career Fellowships in China Studies (Flexible) Qualification

• An applicant must hold a PhD from an institution in the United States or Canada, OR be a US or Canadian citizen/permanent resident with a PhD from any institution.
  • An applicant must hold a PhD degree conferred no earlier than January 1, 2015.
  • If the PhD is not conferred (officially awarded) by the application deadline, the applicant must submit:
    • (At the time of application) an institutional statement signed by a university official (dissertation advisor or departmental chair) confirming that the applicant is on schedule to complete the PhD by April 15, 2024.
    • (By April 15, 2024) a letter from the applicant’s graduate school confirming that the dissertation has been submitted and approved by the graduate school for conferral according to the university calendar. The applicant is responsible for submitting the dissertation on time in order to meet this requirement. The applicant should request that the graduate school send the letter to ACLS at ChinaStudies@acls.org.
• An applicant who is not a US or Canadian citizen/permanent resident must have an affiliation, or a long-term regular research or teaching appointment, with a university or college in the United States or Canada.
• Applicants who have obtained tenure, or who have submitted tenure materials for review by the application deadline, are not eligible.
• A working knowledge of Chinese is required, or knowledge of another language used in China studies (e.g., Tibetan, Uyghur).

Interview date, Process and Venue for ACLS-Luce Early Career Fellowships in China Studies (Flexible)

Applications will be reviewed by a panel of scholars in China studies according to the following criteria:

• The research design and intellectual organization of the project.
• The significance of the topic and its potential contribution to China studies.
• The ability of the applicant to accomplish the proposed research, based on academic training and success of previous research projects.
• The feasibility of the plan of work.

Application Deadline

November 14, 2024

How to Apply

Interested and qualified? Go to American Council of Learned Societies on ofa.acls.org to applyApplications must be submitted through the OFFICIAL LINK no later than 9:00 PM Eastern Standard Time on November 14, 2024.

Applications must be submitted online and must include:

• A completed application form.
• An application essay (no more than five double-spaces pages in Arial or Helvetica 11-point font). The essay should discuss:
  • The aims of the research project – what it is about, its location in the current literature, and what sources are to be examined.
  • The significance of the topic and the project’s contribution to the field of China studies.
• A work plan (no more than one double-spaced page in Arial or Helvetica 11-point font). The work plan should include:
  • A timeline for the project, including activity during the fellowship period.
  • Identification of the individuals (colleagues relevant to project), institutions, and/or sites to be visited, including archives, libraries, and geographical sources, as well as proposed institutional affiliation in China (if any).
  • A brief “Plan B” – an explanation of what you will do if you encounter a major obstacle in your plan (e.g., a closed archive, travel restrictions, inaccessible research site).
• A bibliography (no more than two double-spaced pages in Arial or Helvetica 11-point font and with double spacing between entries).
• Optional supporting materials (e.g., images, musical scores, or other similar supporting non-text materials, without annotation) (no more than two pages).
• An applicant’s statement (no more than one single- or double-spaced page in Arial or Helvetica 11-point font) describing the intellectual trajectory and experiences that brought you to the current stage of academic career and that motivate plans for the future. Applicants without US citizenship/permanent residency who have just graduated from a PhD program in the US or Canada and are not yet employed/affiliated with a university in North America must describe plans for a career in China studies in the United States or Canada. It will strengthen the application to include mention of applications underway for academic positions, with the names of institutions being considered.
• A list of the applicant’s publications (no more than two double-spaced pages in Arial or Helvetica 11-point font with double spaces between entries).
• No budget is required.
• The Luce/ACLS Program in China Studies promotes inclusion, equity, and diversity as integral components of merit that enhance the scholarly enterprise. It is a priority that every cohort of fellows and grantees is broadly inclusive of different backgrounds, cultures, and any aspects that make one unique. In China studies we seek balance in regard to national origin, educational background, and current university affiliation, as well as in disciplinary approaches, topics, and historical periods studied. Please use the applicant’s statement to note any relevant information about your personal background and/or ways in which your proposed research addresses issues related to inclusion, equity, and diversity.