Eligibility & Selection

The Institute will be limited to 25 participants, who will be selected from the pool of applicants according to the following criteria:

The general cogency of their statement of goals in attending the Institute,
relatively little formal training in Islamic studies, Near Eastern studies, or Arabic studies
their willingness to view historical phenomena from a variety of perspectives,
their need or desire to teach on a regular basis courses that touch on Islam, from the perspective of whatever discipline,
selecting a group of participants who collectively represent as wide a variety as possible of academic disciplines.

As stated above, the goal of the Institute will be to allow two- and four-year college and university teachers to familiarize themselves with the scholarly issues and debates surrounding the rise of Islam, so that they can, in turn, offer their students a more nuanced and historically grounded view of Islam's role in world history. This broad goal will be met through a combination of assigned readings, collective discussion and analysis of the readings the issues they raise, and the completion of an individual project suited to the participant's needs, particularly instructional needs--whether it is course preparation, a lecture or presentation, creation of a website, etc. Participants are not expected to have the linguistic or methodological training to undertake original research with primary documents for Islamic history.

Each participant will receive a stipend totaling $4200 for the six-week Institute. This sum is intended to cover costs of transportation to and from Chicago, housing during the Institute, and meals, incidental expenses, etc. Stipends will be paid in two instalments, one at the beginning of the Institute, the second about midway through it. Please note that stipends are considered fully taxable income by the Internal Revenue Service, so participants should be sure to take this into account when planning for their 2005 Federal Income Tax.

The twenty-five participants selected will hold the status of "Visiting Scholars" at the University of Chicago for the duration of the Institute. As Visiting Scholars, they will receive a University ID card which will give them access to libraries, computing facilities, etc. (see "The University & Chicago" on this website).

If you are interested in applying, application forms and instructions can be found in the "Application Form" section of this website. Please note that complete applications should be postmarked no later than March 1, 2005, and should be sent to:

Fred M. Donner

NEH "Culture and Communication" Project

The Oriental Institute

1155 East 58th Street

Chicago, IL 60637




ELIGIBILITY & SELECTION
The Institute will be limited to 25 participants, who will be selected from the pool of applicants according to the following criteria: The general cogency of their statement of goals in attending the Institute, relatively little formal training in Islamic studies, Near Eastern studies, or Arabic studies their willingness to view historical phenomena from a variety of perspectives, their need or desire to teach on a regular basis courses that touch on Islam, from the perspective of whatever discipline, selecting a group of participants who collectively represent as wide a variety as possible of academic disciplines. As stated above, the goal of the Institute will be to allow two- and four-year college and university teachers to familiarize themselves with the scholarly issues and debates surrounding the rise of Islam, so that they can, in turn, offer their students a more nuanced and historically grounded view of Islam's role in world history. This broad goal will be met through a combination of assigned readings, collective discussion and analysis of the readings the issues they raise, and the completion of an individual project suited to the participant's needs, particularly instructional needs--whether it is course preparation, a lecture or presentation, creation of a website, etc. Participants are not expected to have the linguistic or methodological training to undertake original research with primary documents for Islamic history. Each participant will receive a stipend totaling $4200 for the six-week Institute. This sum is intended to cover costs of transportation to and from Chicago, housing during the Institute, and meals, incidental expenses, etc. Stipends will be paid in two instalments, one at the beginning of the Institute, the second about midway through it. Please note that stipends are considered fully taxable income by the Internal Revenue Service, so participants should be sure to take this into account when planning for their 2005 Federal Income Tax. The twenty-five participants selected will hold the status of "Visiting Scholars" at the University of Chicago for the duration of the Institute. As Visiting Scholars, they will receive a University ID card which will give them access to libraries, computing facilities, etc. (see "The University & Chicago" on this website). If you are interested in applying, application forms and instructions can be found in the "Application Form" section of this website. Please note that complete applications should be postmarked no later than March 1, 2005, and should be sent to: Fred M. Donner NEH "Culture and Communication" Project The Oriental Institute 1155 East 58th Street Chicago, IL 60637