2025-26 Call for Research Fellows

Application Deadline:   Friday, December 6, 2024 

BACKGROUND 

A UW System Center of Excellence, UWM’s Center for 21st Century Studies (C21) builds a community of scholars to address the pressing issues of our time. Each year, C21 offers fellowships to UWM faculty and academic staff, as well as UW System faculty, that provide the time, space, and collegial support to generate new knowledge and ideas. C21 centers the humanities in its belief that innovation comes from diversity of opinions, disciplines, and experiences.    

THEME 

In dialogue with our advisory council and community partners, C21 has identified SLOW as the theme that will inform our offerings for three years (2024-2027). Slow movements—across food, cities, science, scholarship and beyond — call attention to embodied processes of building and maintaining collective life that resist the fast-paced efficiency models, rapid rewards, and short attention spans that increasingly dominate human responses to 21st century social, political, and ecological challenges. The theme is intentionally broad to capture a wide range of scholarship and practice while encouraging innovative methodologies.  

C21’s 2025-2026 programming focuses on SLOW CARE. Across health, climate, labor, technology and more, we ask how pacing affects the institutions, policies, cultural infrastructures, and social and political processes that support or disassemble an ethic of care. We welcome multiple interpretations of this open topic, including explorations of time, pace, and speed as they relate to pressing issues of our time and/or work inside and outside the university. Methodological, pedagogical, and research topical interests are all welcome in relation to this theme.   

RESEARCH PROJECTS 

Applicants should propose a research project related to this thematic area.  Projects can be individual or collaborative.  Examples of projects include:    

  • Researching / preparing material for public presentation in a wide variety of forms including (but not limited to) monographs, essays, podcasts, performances; art installation/exhibits, community programs; digital interfaces; archives or artifacts.    
  • Researching for / development of large-scale collaborative projects (grant proposals, building networks etc.).   
  • Researching / preparing syllabi for innovative, interdisciplinary team-teaching initiatives or credit-bearing programs such as certificates, minors, degrees. 

TERMS/ELIGIBILITY OF UWM FACULTY:  

UWM faculty in all departments who hold the rank of assistant, associate, or full professor may apply. Faculty Fellows receive a reduction in their teaching responsibilities by one course per semester and will be relieved of major committee work. C21 provides each Fellow with access to our inspiring office spaces on the ninth floor of Curtin Hall and with research support as our resources permit. Fellows are expected to participate in C21 Fellows’ research seminars and to attend C21 public programs throughout the year. No one may hold a C21 fellowship more than twice in a five-year period. Active C21 Fellows may not serve on the C21 Advisory Council in the same year.  

TERMS/ELIGIBILITY FOR UWM ACADEMIC STAFF: 

UWM academic staff in all departments may apply for a fellowship. In these cases, C21 will work with academic staff on a case-by-case basis to provide compensation equal to a 

reduction in one course per semester. C21 provides each Fellow with access to our inspiring office spaces on the ninth floor of Curtin Hall and with research support as our resources permit. Fellows are expected to participate in C21 Fellows’ research seminars and to attend C21 public programs throughout the year. No one may hold a C21 fellowship more than twice in a five-year period. Active C21 Fellows may not serve on the C21 Advisory Council in the same year.  

TERMS/ELIGIBILITY FOR UW SYSTEM FACULTY:  

Through generous UW System funding, C21 has the capacity for 2-4 UW System Faculty Fellows to join the UWM cohort. Faculty at the assistant, associate, or full professor levels across the comprehensive universities and branches of the UW-System are eligible for this opportunity.  

UW System Fellows may apply for a full year or one semester fellowship. Funding in the amount of $10,000 for a one-year fellowship and $5000 for a one-semester fellowship will be granted by UW System to the Fellow’s home institution. It is up to each department to determine how these funds will cover a reduction in a Fellow’s courseload as appropriate to each home institution, with research support provided by UW System as resources allow. C21 provides each Fellow with access to our inspiring office spaces on the ninth floor of Curtin Hall and with research support as our resources permit. Fellows are expected to participate in C21 Fellows’ research seminars and to attend C21 public programs throughout the year. No one may hold a C21 fellowship more than twice in a five-year period. Active C21 Fellows may not serve on the C21 Advisory Council in the same year.  

PROCEDURE FOR ALL APPLICANTS:  

Submit a single PDF including the following components as an email attachment to c21@uwm.edu:  

*NOTE: Your chair must sign this cover sheet to confirm that they are aware and willing to have your teaching load reduced and have you released from service.   

  • a four-page statement (roughly 1,000 words) that describes your research project and specifically addresses: 
  1. your project’s relation to C21’s theme
  2. how it fits into your past research (if applicable) and future research plans 
  3. how being part of a community of scholars addressing the pressing issues of our time will benefit you and the project  
  • a curriculum vitae/resume 
  • a recent offprint, manuscript (article length), or example of your work that best demonstrates your capacity to complete your proposed project. 

If you are applying in collaboration (two people), please follow these same guidelines (submit just one, four-page statement) and add cv/resumes and research/writing samples for each applicant. 

Emails should have the subject line “C21 Research Fellow Application – [LAST NAME]”. 

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