Uhlman Fellows

Carolina Center for Jewish Studies, in collaboration with Carolina Public Humanities (CPH), is pleased to announce the establishment of a fellowship for graduate students in Jewish studies: Uhlman Fellowship in Jewish Studies Public Humanities. The Uhlman Fellowship program is made possible by a generous gift to the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies.

Up to two Uhlman Fellows will be selected each academic year. For academic year 2024-2025, the deadline to apply is February 26, 2024, 5:00pm. Uhlman Fellows applicants must have completed at least one year of graduate study at Carolina and must be working in a subfield of Jewish studies at Carolina. Students may hold an Uhlman Fellowship a second year, and would be designated as a Senior Fellow.

Current/Past Uhlman Fellows:

2023-2024: Oskar Czendze, history
2022-2023: Jocelyn Burney, religious studies

Duties and Benefits of the Fellowship Recipients: Uhlman Fellows will be required to attend meetings*, develop a public project, plan and host a graduate student event, and submit a brief final project report. * Meeting schedule will be finalized in early September; we will work out details if you cannot attend every single meeting.

The Uhlman Fellows will join the Adams Fellows, a similar program coordinated by Carolina Public Humanities, for an interdisciplinary graduate workshop that will meet three times in the fall semester and three times in the spring semester.  All meeting dates and times will be announced in September. Fellows’ workload outside of meetings will be minimal (e.g. pre-circulated essays, podcasts, video clips, etc.), and meetings will typically include a shared meal. Uhlman Fellows must reside in the area in both fall and spring semesters in order to attend all/most of the in person meetings and events.

Uhlman Fellows will be required to participate in discussions in response to short readings that explore the public role of the humanities. The readings and discussions will focus on issues such as: the importance of public education, humanistic knowledge in the media, and the value of the humanities for well-informed participation in contemporary political cultures. The Uhlman Fellows will also participate in the annual Adams Symposium in the spring semester and meet with the visiting keynote speaker.

Each fellowship recipient will be expected to develop a public outreach project or event. To facilitate the planning for these future events (which may take place in virtual or in-person formats), fellowship recipients will workshop their ideas with Dr. Joanna Sierks Smith, CPH associate director for state outreach. For the 2024-2025 cohort of Uhlman Fellows, projects should be completed no later than May 2025. Upon completion, fellows will be asked to submit brief (2 page) reports on their projects in order to reflect on successes, challenges, and lessons learned about publicly engaged scholarship.

In addition, Uhlman Fellows might be asked to coordinate the annual graduate student event, hosted by the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies. This simply involves identifying and inviting a guest speaker, coordinating event logistics and helping promote the event to grad students (with help from staff at the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies), and taking a lead role with hosting responsibilities while the guest is in town.

Stipend:  Each Uhlman Fellow in Jewish Studies Public Humanities will receive a stipend of $2,000 (payable in two distributions) for reading the assigned materials, participating in the workshop/ conversations, attending the Adams Symposium in the spring, and developing the public project and the grad student network events. Uhlman Fellows will also receive an additional $250 stipend upon submission of a final project report. There are no fees for meals or reading materials; and there are no required papers or written projects.

Application Requirements 2024-2025:

Deadline to apply: February 26, 2024, 5:00pm.

Applications: Uhlman Fellows applicants must have completed at least one year of graduate study at Carolina and must be working in a subfield of Jewish studies at Carolina. A preference will be given to students that are active with the Graduate Student Network at the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies. Students are eligible to apply for both the Uhlman Fellowship and the Adams Fellowship but cannot be awarded both Fellowships in the same academic year.

The following application materials are required:

1. A statement from the applicant (maximum of two pages, double spaced, 12-pt. Times Roman font) that describes your interest in the link between the humanities and public issues/needs, why and how you think scholars should engage with public audiences, and how you plan to pursue a career that includes public humanities responsibilities. The statement should reflect your focus on Jewish studies. In addition to this summary of interests, the two-page application statement should also briefly describe an outreach activity or event for a possible in-person or on-line public humanities project. This description could become the framework for a project in the coming year (including, for example, a collaboration with a community college, public school, museum or other institution). Applicants are encouraged to consider innovative approaches and new formats for public outreach. Again, the connection to Jewish studies should be very clear. The student should note current/past participation with the Center’s graduate student network, if any.

2. The applicant’s current CV.

3. A one-page letter from the applicant’s graduate advisor, explaining why the Uhlman Fellowship in Jewish Studies Public Humanities would be valuable for the candidate and how this applicant might contribute to the workshop’s activities. The advisor should comment on the applicant’s interest in Jewish studies and public humanities.

The applicant’s CV and statement of interest should be emailed as a single PDF attachment to Karen Gajewski, executive director, Carolina Center for Jewish Studies (grants_jewishstudies@unc.edu).  The letter from the faculty advisor should be submitted separately by the professor as a pdf attachment to the same email address.

Applicant Selection Process: The Uhlman Fellowship Selection Committee will include faculty and staff from various departments. Please contact Karen Gajewski (kgajewski@unc.edu) with any questions regarding the program or application process.

The Carolina Center for Jewish Studies promotes a deeper understanding of Jewish history, culture and thought through its teaching, research and community outreach initiatives.

Carolina Public Humanities serves our University and state by strengthening public engagement with humanistic knowledge, connecting the faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill with people outside the University, and supporting public education.