Call for Proposals—Justice Studies Curriculum Development Grant

The Center for Justice at Columbia and the Heyman Center Public Humanities Initiative invite proposals for the development of new curricular offerings in justice studies.

There is consistent and growing student interest in issues of social justice and the widespread cultural effects of mass incarceration in a number of fields including sociology, history, public health, education, arts, political science, psychology, women and gender studies, social work, law, African-American studies and more. We therefore seek to develop courses in these areas (but not limited to them) that can be offered within current disciplinary structures, as part of already-existing majors and concentrations, but that bring significant attention to justice issues. Although undergraduate courses will be given preference, course proposals for graduate courses will be considered.

The Justice Studies Curriculum Development Grant competition is open to tenured or tenure-track professors, Core Lecturers, and current PhD students (ABD) at Columbia. Successful applicants will receive a $3,000 research allowance. These funds may be used to support research or to hire a graduate student or advanced undergraduate to provide research and teaching assistance. (N.B. in the case of tenured faculty, successful applicants MUST use the funds or to hire a graduate or advanced undergraduate student to provide research and/or teaching assistance; $500 may be used by tenured faculty for the purchase of books and other research materials). Successful applicants will commit to teaching the course within two years of the completion of the syllabus.

Eligibility
Tenured or tenure-track faculty, Core Lecturers, and current PhD students (working with a faculty member) in any discipline at Columbia University are eligible to apply, though the courses offered must be open to undergraduate and/or graduate students in the Arts and Sciences. Courses may be team-taught by instructors from different disciplines (e.g., Sociology and English) or different schools (e.g., Social Work and Arts and Sciences). In the case of team-taught courses, the award will be split evenly between faculty members or given fully to the graduate student (ABD) co-instructor (minus $500 for research costs for the faculty instructor).

Submission
For Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty and Core Lecturers: Please submit your proposed course and a full CV to Professor Geraldine Downey, Director of the Center for Justice at Columbia ([email protected]), on or before May 1, 2015. Awards will be announced by June 1, 2015.

For PhD Students: You may work with a faculty member to propose a team-taught course (see above). You may also apply directly to the GSAS Teaching Scholars Program: https://gsas.columbia.edu/student-guide/teaching/teaching-scholars-program

Award
Successful applicants will receive a $3000 research allowance to be used for development of the proposed course and the teaching of this course within two years of the completion of the syllabus.

Terms of the Award
Awardees will commit to teaching the course within two years of the start date of the grant. At the end of the semester in which the course is taught, the awardees will make a presentation about their course at a workshop hosted by the Center for Justice and the Heyman Center for the Humanities. The courses will be featured on the Center for Justice and Heyman Center websites, acknowledging the support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.