Up to six scholars and artists at any stage producing research or creative work that engages meaningfully in local contexts and issues. All Philadelphia and Drexel community members are invited to apply.

In addition to traditional scholarship, we’re especially interested in public or open-access scholarship, digital projects, media, visual, and performing arts, as well as collaborative or experimental writing.

Fellows will each receive a $5,000 award to support project needs such as course release time, compensation for a research partner, travel and conference fees, texts and materials.

Led by Valerie Ifill (Dance, Westphal College of Media Arts & Design), UnMapping Fellows will participate in workshops and colloquia designed to deepen their work and build a collaborative community.

Applicants are asked to provide the following project information:

• Title

• Modality (literary scholarship, creative writing, dance, public media, etc.)

• Summary (300 words)

• Bio (150 words)

• Representative work sample

Applicants are also asked to respond to these questions:

1. How does your work relate to the UnMapping Project’s goals of celebrating and advancing the role of literature and story in truth-telling and social change?

2. What is your current relationship to community-engaged scholarship or creative practice?

3. Why is this work important to you?

Responses can be submitted as text (600 words).

Applications will be reviewed by a university-community committee of students/alumni, faculty/staff, and community partners. Review criteria includes:

• Innovative creative or scholarly practices related to literature and storytelling

• History of community-engaged work, including lived experience as a historian, community leader, etc.

• Relationship to social justice/social change work

Application Deadline

May 31, 2024 at 11:59PM (ET)

Award Announcement

August 1, 2024