Kislak Short-Term Fellowship: Colonial History of Florida, the Caribbean, and Mesoamerica

The John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress offers two short-term fellowships annually for independent scholars, students, and college and university faculty to conduct research based on items from the Kislak Collection.

The Kislak Collection is a major collection of rare books, manuscripts, historic documents, maps and art of the Americas donated to the Library of Congress by the Jay I. Kislak Foundation of Miami Lakes, Fla. The collection contains some of the earliest records of indigenous peoples in North America and superb objects from the discovery, contact, and colonial periods, especially for Florida, the Caribbean, and Mesoamerica.

The Kislak Fellows Program supports scholarly research that contributes significantly to a greater understanding of the history and cultures of the Americas. It provides an opportunity for a period of 3 months of concentrated use of materials from the Kislak Collection and other collections of the Library of Congress, through full-time residency at the Library. The program supports research projects in the disciplines of archaeology, history, cartography, epigraphy, linguistics, ethno-history, ethnography, bibliography and sociology, with particular emphasis on Florida, the circum-Caribbean region and Mesoamerica. We encourage interdisciplinary projects that combine disciplines in novel and productive ways.

Eligibility

Independent scholars, students, and college and university faculty in all disciplines are eligible. There is no degree requirement for applicants for the short-term fellowship. Relevant educational information should be supplied in the application.

Tenure & Stipend

The Kislak Short-term Fellowship is for a period of 3 months, at a stipend of $4,200 per month, for residential research at the Library of Congress. Two Fellowships will be awarded annually. The Library of Congress will pay stipends monthly by means of electronic transfer to a U.S. bank account. Transportation arrangements, housing, and health care insurance and costs are the responsibility of the Fellow. The Library will provide Fellows with information on housing and can provide Fellows with contacts for commercial providers of health care insurance. The Library is required to ensure that nonresident alien visitors maintain minimum levels of medical insurance, and will provide information about insurers that offer qualifying policies to nonresident aliens.

Expectations

The Kislak Fellows are expected to develop research of a publishable quality. As a Library of Congress resident scholar, fellows are also expected to make at least one presentation about their research and to participate actively in Kluge Center events and programs as appropriate.