Applications are due October 1, 2017

 

Sidonie Smith and Peggy McCracken, outgoing and incoming directors of the Institute for the Humanities, are excited to announce the New-Model Humanities Publication grant program.

About New-Model Humanities Publication:
The new ecology of scholarly communication is upending the legacy print system of book publishing in the humanities and humanistic social sciences. University presses, aided by Mellon-funded projects exploring the challenges and possible models for infrastructure, preservation, and economic sustainability, are exploring new funding models, new model contracts, open access opportunities, and various platforms for the production of hybrid forms of bookishness and distributed scholarly archives and curated websites.  At the same time, increasing numbers of faculty at U-M are becoming interested in new options for communicating their work. Some of those options involve the diverse range of platforms for publishing various aspects of their scholarly projects; some involve multiple formats, print, print-on-demand, e-book, open access website; some involve print books that have additional materials or archives distributed on the web; some involve platforms with interactive capacities; some involve small data archives. The Institute for the Humanities is committed to supporting humanities faculty as they engage a radically transformed publishing system.
 
About the grant program:
The institute is piloting a small grant program to support experimentation with and planning for new concepts of hybrid scholarly publication. Tenured and tenure-track faculty may apply for one of five available grants, up to $10,000 per award.  Funds must be expended by August 31, 2018; unused funds will be forfeited.
 
Funding may be used to:

  • hire graduate or undergraduate students
  • hire tech consultants
  • attend a seminar or short-course on new modes of scholarly communication (which may involve short-term travel)
  • purchase software (not otherwise supported by U-M) to enhance and support the publication project

Funding may not be used for:

  • Purchasing equipment, including computers, iPads, etc.
  • Books
  • Hosting

Proposal requirements:

  1. Applications are due by October 1, 2017, submissions through eGif.  eGif will open for applications August 1, 2017.
  2. A project description, two-page maximum, that provides a short description of the scholarly project and a status report on where you are in the process; a statement of what you see as the optimum kind of publication/communication of your work; a statement about the kinds of expertise you need to develop or tap to succeed; and a final statement of what a new model of publishing will allow you to achieve.
  3. An annotated list of U-M people and resources available to you as you pursue your concept and preparation.
  4. A detailed budget (form available here on our website by Aug. 28).

Evaluation criteria:

  • Clarity of concept
  • Feasibility
  • Evidence/knowledge of resources already available
  • Anticipated impact of this hybrid model 

Eligible Applicants:
U-M tenured and tenure track faculty working on humanities related research.

Questions: Contact Sheri Sytsema-Geiger at sytsema@umich.edu.