Representing America Abroad: Funding Opportunities for American Studies Scholars via the Fulbright Scholar Program

Session Submission Type: Non-Paper Session: Professional Development Format

Abstract

The Fulbright Scholar Program is sponsored by the United States Department of State and is principally funded by taxpayer contributions. It is bi-national in nature and includes both American and foreign scholars. The Fulbright Scholar Program serves all academic disciplines as well as numerous professional fields and the arts. The Fulbright Scholar Program offers academics and administrators of American universities multiple opportunities to internationalize not only their campuses but also their points of view in terms of their areas of specialization. The program not only sends scholars abroad but also brings scholars to the United States and should be considered a strategic opportunity both for individuals and for campuses.

Every year the Fulbright Award Catalog features more than 300 awards in the various fields that are represented in American Studies. Awards exist in every part of the world and in most of the more than 145 countries that participate in the Fulbright Scholar Program. In fact, American Studies awards represent the largest single field available through the Fulbright Scholar Program and is in particularly high demand in Eastern Europe, the Middle East & North Africa, South and Central America, and East Asia. This presentation will guide attendees in identifying appropriate opportunities through the Fulbright Scholar Program and will make suggestions as to how to be successful in a proposal. The session will also highlight examples of American Studies projects the Fulbright program has funded, particularly those in geographical regions significantly influenced by Western colonialism and foreign policy. Alumni of the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program in attendance at this year's meeting will be engaged and asked to speak about their projects and answer questions from panel attendees.

Sub Unit

• American Studies Association Annual Meeting

Chair

• Michelle Bolourchi, Institute of International Education