Call for Student Research Proposals: Due Oct 11

September 9, 2019

Call for Student Research Proposals: Due Oct 11
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The Religion, Race & Democracy Lab invites undergraduate and graduate students in the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Virginia to join with faculty, staff, and fellow students to investigate the complex interrelationships between religion, race and democracy.

Select students will receive a stipend—$3,000 for undergraduate students and $5,000 for graduate students—to produce media-rich non-fiction narratives on any topic that explores religion, race, and democracy. We seek topics from around the globe and throughout history that will result in a short audio or video documentary. Final projects should engage the broadest possible audience. Please note that this stipend does not support the writing of a dissertation chapter or an academic article.

The Lab requires all student collaborators to participate in two Lab-sponsored events during the research period: a seminar on writing for the public in November 2019 and a three-day workshop, held January 10–12, 2020, that provides students with an introduction to the documentary arts. Additionally, student collaborators are strongly encouraged to attend a welcome lunch on November 1, 2019 and a final share session with the full cohort in April 2020.

Throughout the research period, student collaborators receive one-on-one support from the Lab’s editor and senior producer. In addition, student collaborators are required to identify a faculty mentor with whom to consult about their research efforts. Students are expected to follow the below production schedule and submit a final documentary by April 10, 2020.

The ultimate goal is to present final projects on the Lab’s website, however, the Lab retains the right to publish or not publish any student-produced content. To see samples of student documentaries, visit: https://religionlab.virginia.edu/projects/

ELIGIBILITY
Applicants must:

  • be enrolled at UVA throughout the 2019-20 academic year
  • be able to participate in two Lab-sponsored events: November 2019 writing seminar and January 2020 documentary training workshop

Students who have received Lab funding in the past are welcome to apply again.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
All application materials must be submitted no later than 5 pm, October 11, 2019.

  • completed online form, which includes:
    • project pitch (no more than 2 pages double-spaced, .pdf or .doc only); see sample pitches from This American Life
    • resume (no more than 1 page single-spaced, .pdf or .doc only)
  • brief statement of commitment from a faculty mentor emailed to thereligionlab@virginia.edu
  • brief statement of commitment from a research contributor (i.e. interviewee, archivist, scholar) emailed to thereligionlab@virginia.edu

Have questions? Contact us at thereligionlab.virginia.edu or 434.924.6617.

 

Funding to support undergraduate research is generously provided by