-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Summer 2012 NEH Institute : Spatial Narrative and Deep Maps:
Explorations in the Spatial Humanities
Date: Tue, 13 Dec 2011 00:47:12 +0000


From: Trevor Harris [[log in to unmask]]
Date sent: 7 Dec 2011


Summer 2012 NEH Institute for Advanced Topics in the Digital Humanities
Spatial Narrative and Deep Maps: Explorations in the Spatial Humanities

June 18-29, 2012
Call for Proposals:  Applications due Friday, February 3, 2012
The Virtual Center for Spatial Humanities (VCSH), a multidisciplinary
collaboration among Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis
(IUPUI), Florida State University, and West Virginia University, is
pleased to announce an NEH Advanced Institute for summer 2012 designed
to advance exploration of key topics in the spatial humanities. The
institute will offer scholars the opportunity to discover the benefits
of a spatial-analytical approach to humanities scholarship and to
explore how to bend geo-spatial technologies, including GIS and Web 2.0
tools, to the needs of the humanities.  Two areas of emphasis will be
spatial narratives and deep maps.  Fellows participating in the program
will learn both by engaging with a variety of existing projects as well
as through the production of a prototype project in collaboration with
the VCSH team. Fellows also will have an opportunity to present their
own work and to contribute to scholarly and Web products that result
from the institute.
The institute will meet in Indianapolis from June 18 to 29, 2012 and
will be administered by IUPUI's Polis Center. It will draw upon a
multidisciplinary faculty from the three collaborating institutions, as
well as leading scholars in the field of spatial humanities from the US
and UK, and will be supported technically by the advanced technology
group of the Polis Center. The institute schedule will allow time for
fellows to interact with the staff and to seek advice for their own
projects or project ideas, but the primary focus will be on how to use
geo-spatial technologies to enhance the narrative and analytical
traditions of the humanities. The fellows will work with project staff
to develop a prototype deep map to support multi-scalar and contingent
analysis of problems of interests to humanists. To focus this work, the
institute will explore the spatial contexts of American religion, using
the Digital Atlas of American Religion, an NEH-supported project of
VCSH, and the multi-faceted evidence from the Polis Center's six-year
study of the intersection of religion and urban culture in a mid-sized
American city.

About the fellowships:
Up to 12 fellowships will be awarded to individuals or teams who
demonstrate serious interest in the application of geo-spatial
technologies to problems in the humanities. While scholars in all
humanities disciplines are eligible to apply, we are especially
interested in collaborating with those who have experience in one or
more geo-spatial technologies as well as scholars who have thought about
the spatial dimensions of American religion.

During the institute, fellows will explore central issues in the spatial
humanities, including such topics as database structures and information
architectures, interactive design, and collaborative research, while
situating these concerns within the fields of American history and
religious studies. Guest lecturers during the summer include Ian Gregory
(historical GIS and digital humanities, Lancaster University), Anne
Knowles (historical geography, Middlebury College), Katy Börner
(informatics and advanced visualization, Indiana University), and Art
Farnsley (sociology of religion, IUPUI), among others. Institute leaders
are David Bodenhamer (history, IUPUI), John Corrigan (religious studies,
Florida State), and Trevor Harris (geography, West Virginia University).

All fellows will participate in a two-week residency June 18-29 at
IUPUI. The residency will include colloquia and working sessions in
which participants collectively will develop project foundations and
address relevant issues in spatial humanities. Fellows also will be
provided the opportunity to present their own projects. Applicants need
not be proficient with geo-spatial technologies but must demonstrate
some level of engagement with them as well as with spatial questions and
analyses. Evidence of the capacity for successful collaboration and for
scholarly innovation is required. Fellowship awards will include a
stipend of $3,000 for each participant, as well as a travel allowance.
Accommodation and meal costs will be the responsibility of each fellow,
but the institute will seek to arrange low-cost housing for
participants. We welcome scholars from all career levels, from advanced
graduate student to full professor.
About the proposals:
Proposals should include the following:
.         Two to three-page statement of how participation in the
institute will fit the scholarly and professional goals of the applicant.
.         One-page description of the applicant's experience with
geo-spatial technologies and spatial analysis.
.         Brief CV (maximum of three pages).
.         Letter of support from department chair for non-tenured
faculty or from dissertation advisor for doctoral candidates.
Projects that articulate a clear understanding of the potential of
spatial humanities and the problems associated with the use of
geo-spatial technologies in humanities scholarship will be regarded
favorably.
Electronic applications are required.  Submit to [log in to unmask]

Deadline for applications: Friday, February 3, 2012. Fellowship
recipients will be notified in mid April, 2012.

Questions may be directed to [log in to unmask]


Trevor M. Harris PhD.
Eberly Distinguished Professor of Geography
Department of Geology and Geography