Humanities Advice (adapted from NEH Fellowship guidelines)
Most funding sources will want to know the following about your humanities research project:
- What are the basic ideas, problems, works, or questions the study will examine?
- What is the planned approach or line of thought?
- If the area is new to you, what are the reasons for working in it or what interests have led to it?
- What is the current state of the proposed study?
- Is it in the beginning stages or well underway?
- What are the plans for each stage?
- How does the part to be done during the grant period fit into the whole?
- Provide a proposed schedule or plan of work.
- What contribution is the proposed study likely to make, and what is its significance for the humanities?
- If the subject might seem narrow or obscure you should show the project's larger significance.
- What is the relationship between the proposed work and the work of others in the same general subject area?
- What is distinctive about the proposed study?
- For what audience are the results of the study intended?
- What format (book, articles, paper, other) is the proposed study likely to assume?
Some funding sources will be concerned about other things as well:
Read the guidelines carefully. You may be asked to relate your project to your career goals or to your teaching. The NEH Fellowship program asks about the relationship of the proposed study to your development as an interpreter of humanities. Other organizations may want to know how they will benefit from the study or how society in general will benefit. Read the guidelines and follow them exactly.
Some practical matters you should address:
Check the guidelines. If languages other than English are needed to conduct the research, the funding source may want you to document or demonstrate your competence. You may need to state that you have the facilities and materials needed to conduct the study (phone, fax, computer, copier, film, tapes, etc.). Be prepared to document that you have access to any archives, collections, or institutions with resources necessary for your project. Answer all questions.
Budget -- If a budget is required please consult Mary Ucci in RGC for assistance (x5768, uccim@nku.edu). Also consult the budget information page in this guide. (should be link)