The Obermann Center, in association with the Office of the Vice President for Research and the Office of the Provost, is pleased to invite UI tenured fulltime faculty members in all fields to submit letters proposing to design and direct the next Obermann Cmiel Research Semester.
Download PDF version of this RFP
Held at the Obermann Center, Cmiel Research Semesters are designed to encourage fruitful interaction among 4-6 UI scholars working on independent research, scholarship, or creative projects related to the Semester’s topic.
The application process will be two-fold. First, through this announcement, the Obermann Center invites all tenured UI faculty members to submit a letter proposing a compelling broad-based topic for a semester-long gathering of UI researchers during Fall 2009 or Spring 2010. A review committee will judge applications and select one. Following the selection of the Research Semester director and topic, a second campus-wide call will be sent out in early Fall 2008 announcing the topic and inviting all UI faculty and eligible staff members to submit proposals to participate in that Semester.
The convener and each participant will receive, contingent on department and college approvals, a one-course reduction, supported by funding up to $10,000 to the participant’s department/college. In addition, each participant will receive a $1500 discretionary research allowance to be used during or after the Semester. Finally, funds will be set aside should the Semester participants plan a speaker series or symposium.
The convener and participants will agree to arrange their schedules so that each can be in residence at the Obermann Center throughout the Research Semester at least two weekdays per week and meet formally as a group at least once a week. Through these formal and informal interactions, Semester participants will discuss their work, report scholarly developments on the Semester topic in their respective disciplines, and explore possibilities for strengthening, expanding, or institutionalizing their research interactions.
All participants will be provided private offices, computers with Internet access, and access to Obermann Center staff, services, and facilities.
The Cmiel Research Semester is funded by the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, the C. Esco and Avalon L. Obermann Endowment, the Office of the Vice President for Research, and the Office of the Provost.
Guidelines for Preparing Letters of Application
Applicants are asked to submit ideas for interdisciplinary topics that will allow individuals from various disciplines to work independently on scholarly or creative projects and to significantly benefit from interaction with one another. Our hope and expectation is that participants’ publications or creative works will be informed and strengthened by one another’s knowledge and perspective.
The Obermann Center invites any and all topics. Some previous topics have been: “Sexuality as a Social Phenomenon,” “Sounding the Voice,” “Articulating the Animal,” and “Unregulated Labor.”
Letters will be judged by the following criteria:
- scholarly importance of the topic;
- potential for attracting strong UI researchers, scholars, or creative or performing artists from different disciplines;
- likelihood that the Semester will result in each participant producing publishable works informed by participation in the Semester;
- the applicant’s record of scholarly work on the topic and experience, if any, with seminars or symposia or other collaborative ventures.
- If an applicant previously received a grant from the Obermann Center, the results of that grant may also be taken into consideration.
Letter: In a letter (2-3 pages, single spaced), please:
- state the proposed Semester topic;
- state which semester you wish to convene the Cmiel Research Semester (i.e., Fall 2009 or Spring 2010);
- describe its importance in terms of recent research on the topic and its potential for broad interdisciplinary appeal;
- pose some interesting and important cross-cutting questions that participants from disparate disciplines might address, and/or give at least one hypothetical example of how a participant in one discipline might inform the work of a participant from another discipline;
- identify a few distinguished people in the field who might be invited as visiting speakers;
- describe your own work on the proposed topic and indicate what project you would undertake during the Research Semester;
- describe your experience directing or participating in collaborative ventures.
CV: The director’s biosketch or curriculum vitae (3 pages maximum) including degrees, appointments, relevant publications, and external grants. Append a list of any previous Obermann grants and the scholarly or creative results of each grant.
Signatures: Please have your DEO email this statement to Neda Barrett (neda-barrett@uiowa.edu, 335-4034): “I endorse this proposal. I am willing, if this application is recommended, to consider a one-course reduction for the applicant and to discuss compensation to the department/college from the Obermann Center (up to $10,000) to help ameliorate the instructional loss derived from the reduced teaching load.”
To discuss proposal preparation, contact Jay Semel (jay-semel@uiowa.edu, 335-4034).
Submission and deadline: Please email your application materials as an attachment to Neda Barrett (neda-barrett@uiowa.edu) no later than Tuesday April 8, 2008, 5 PM.