David Center for the American Revolution Predoctoral Fellowship
The David Center for the American Revolution at the American Philosophical Society Library & Museum in Philadelphia invites applications for a nine-month, residential fellowship for graduate students working on topics related to the American Revolution and Founding Era (1750-1800). The fellowship is intended for advanced Ph.D. students working toward the completion of the dissertation. The caliber of the project, the need to use the collections of the David Center for the American Revolution at the APS's Library & Museum and other research institutions in the Philadelphia area, and evidence that the project will be completed in a timely manner, are the three most important criteria for selection. Applicants may be U.S. citizens or foreign nationals.
The David Center for the American Revolution integrates the rich manuscript, microfilm, and print collections of the David Library with the Early American history collections of the APS to create a one-stop-shop for the study of the American Revolution. The David Library collections consist of approximately 8,000 volumes, 9,000 reels of microfilm, and the large Sol Feinstone manuscript collection. The Sol Feinstone Collection, a rich collection of letters and documents, was assembled by DLAR Founder Sol Feinstone (1888-1980) over a period of fifty years. It includes material on almost all notable Americans from before the Revolution to the 1850s, as well as prominent Europeans and documents related to military affairs. This adds to the APS Library's Early American History Collections, which are particularly strong for the period from 1750 to 1840. In addition to the Benjamin Franklin Papers and the Thomas Paine Collection, the APS has a wide assortment of documents from the revolutionary era. Among these are official government documents and correspondence, military records that range from the Continental Army to Pennsylvania county records, and personal correspondence from various historical actors. Comprehensive, searchable guides and finding aids to these collections are available online at www.amphilsoc.org/library and http://amphilsoc.pastperfectonline.com/.
Eligibility:
This fellowship is open to those who are not U.S. citizens or residents, but it does not provide visa sponsorship.
Terms:
- 9 month residential fellowship
- $25,000 stipend
- $5,000 travel/research fund
Application Instructions:
All application materials will be submitted online via Interfolio (https://apply.interfolio.com/154822). All Applicants must submit:
- C.V.
- An introductory cover letter (no more than two pages)
- Two letters of reference in support of the project and applicant.
- A project proposal of approximately 2-4 pages (no more than 1,000 words in length). The proposal should include: a) a description of the project; b) a statement explaining the significance of the project; c) an indication of the specific APS collections the applicant wishes to consult.
Deadline: January 17, 2025 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time.
Current and Past Recipients
Ryan Langton, Temple University, “Negotiating the Endless Mountains: Networked Diplomacy along the Eighteenth-Century Trans-Appalachian Frontier”
Andrea Miles, University of Louisville, “Black Rebels: African American Revolutionaries from North Carolina During and After the War of Independence”
Helena Yoo Roth, The Graduate Center, CUNY, “American Timelines: Imperial Communications, Colonial Time-Consciousness, and the Coming of the American Revolution”
Nicole Breault, University of Connecticut, Storrs, “The Night Watch of Boston: Law and Governance in Eighteenth-Century British America”