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Student & Faculty Microgrants
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Student Microgrants
The Rural Humanities Initiative is pleased to provide funds on an ad hoc and rolling basis for student (both undergraduate students and graduate students) student research, public humanities, or community-engaged projects that focus on Black lives connected to Ithaca and/or our surrounding rural area. Up to $350 is available each year per project.
The definition of “project” can vary depending on what students expect to achieve. Projects can be things such as mapping the history of Black lives on the Cornell campus or in/around Ithaca; small place-based research projects on specific plaques, memorials, or monuments (celebratory, ambivalent, or simply racist) on the Cornell campus or in/around Ithaca; deep dives into places of historical or contemporary significance to Black life; archival work at Kroch Library or Tompkins County History Center on any specific Black event or person, etc. All of these small projects should include a plan for public dissemination. The Rural Humanities website will host an online platform to share photos and research results. Projects can supplement activities for a course in which students may be enrolled, or they may be entirely extra-curricular. We welcome new and innovative project ideas.
Application Procedures
To apply for funds of up to $350 per project per year, please write a brief description (max. 2 pages, single-spaced) that addresses the following four points and headings:
- Project description: Describe in detail the project – who or what you want to explore, why it interests you, the expected significance, the resources you plan to use (books, archives, interviews, etc.).
- Format: what formats will you use for the project? Written? Visual? Audio? How do you plan to document your research and what audiences would you like it to reach?
- Timeline: What is the timeline for the project?
- Budget: Please provide a budget for the proposed project.
Please send application materials in a single .pdf to rural-hum@cornell.edu with the subject line "Student Microgrant + [YOUR NAME]"
Virtual Event Microgrants
The Rural Humanities Initiative is pleased to provide funds on an ad hoc and rolling basis for faculty and graduate students for virtual events that focus on Black lives connected to Ithaca and/or our surrounding rural area. Up to $1000 is available per event.
The definition of “virtual event” can vary but includes webinars, lectures, conversations, podcasts, author discussions, or other one-off audio(visual) events (not conferences or workshops) that can be readily recorded, archived, disseminated, and viewed by wider audiences as a public good. We welcome new and innovative project ideas.
Application Procedures
To apply for funds of up to $1000 per event, please write a brief description (max 1 page, single-spaced) that addresses the following five points and headings:
- Project description: Describe in detail the event and its constituents (speaker/s, other participants, any students involvement, intended audience, community partners), with an explanation of how each constituency will participate in the event.
- Format: What format will be used (e.g., webinar, recorded conversation, only audio, audiovisual, etc.)?
- Date: What is the proposed date(s) of the event?
- Budget: Please provide a budget for the proposed event.
- Dissemination: Please delineate the desired audience and your plans for disseminating the event (whether it will only be recorded, a live event that will also be recorded, etc.)
Please send application materials in a single .pdf to rural-hum@cornell.edu.