Title:            School of Social Science Fellowships

Sponsor:          Institute for Advanced Study

SYNOPSIS:
  The School of Social Science each year invites as 
Members up to twenty scholars from a large applicant pool. 
Visiting Members are expected to pursue their own 
research, but the School organizes a seminar on the year’s 
focus and a weekly lunch at which Members as well as 
invited guests present their on-going work. The School is 
not wedded to any particular intellectual or disciplinary 
approach. It welcomes applications in economics, political 
science, law, psychology, sociology, and anthropology. It 
encourages social scientific work with an historical and 
humanistic bent and also entertains applications in 
history, philosophy, literary criticism, literature, and 
linguistics.

Deadline(s):      11/01/2009
Established Date: 10/07/2009
Follow-Up Date:   08/01/2010
Review Date:      10/07/2009

Address:          School of Social Science
                   Einstein Drive
                   Princeton, NJ 08540
                   U.S.A.
E-mail:           applications@ias.edu 
  
Program URL: 
http://www.sss.ias.edu/applications/announcement 
Tel:              609-734-8000
Fax:
Deadline Ind:     Receipt
Deadline Open:    No

Award Type(s):    Fellowship

Citizenship/Country of Applying Institution:  Any/No 
Restrictions

Locations Tenable:    U.S.A. Institution (including U.S. 
Territories)

Appl Type(s):     Predoctoral-Non-Student, Postdoctoral

Target Group(s):  NONE
Funding Limit:    $65,000   MAXIMUM
Duration:         1 ACAD YR
Indirect Costs:   Unspecified
Cost Sharing:     No
Sponsor Type:     Non-Profit Organizations

Geo. Restricted:  NO RESTRICTIONS

OBJECTIVES:
  The theme for 2010-11 is Secularism. In the light of 
what, for many, is being defined as a world-wide 
resurgence of religiosity both as a spiritual and 
political force, attention has been drawn to the
question of the secular. For those who take secularism to 
be one of the foundational principles of modernity, the 
appearance of religious-based movements constitutes a 
critical challenge to the established ways of life 
associated with liberalism and democracy.  Those skeptical 
of the universalist claims of liberalism argue that sharp 
oppositions between the secular and the religious, 
modernity and traditionalism, obscure historical and 
political processes of state-building, colonial 
domination, and post-colonial negotiation.  Although the 
question of secularism is a broad one, recent discussions 
have focused on Islam, on its compatibility with the 
practice of state religious neutrality; on the 
assimilability of Muslim minorities in the nominally 
secular nations of Western Europe; on the relationship 
between democratic elections and the coming to power of 
Islamic religious parties in North Africa and the Middle 
East.
  The sponsor approaches the theme with the following 
questions: what has been the history of secularization in 
different places in the world? What are the forms 
secularism has taken? How has secularism been defined and 
by whom? Is religion the opposite of secularism? Are there 
characteristics that define ours as a "secular age?" Can 
we say that there are secular subjects whose very 
constitution differs from those who are non-secular? Is 
secularism synonymous with liberal values of equality and 
emancipation? Does secularism promote economic development 
while religion discourages it? What about gender equality? 
 Can we detect a universal principle of secularism amidst 
the many particular instances of it?

ELIGIBILITY
  Applicants must possess a Ph.D. or equivalent (for 
example, in some fields the terminal degree may be an 
M.F.A., or the applicant may possess a foreign degree, or 
have achieved a level of professional reputation that 
would merit consideration) by the deadline of November 1, 
2009. Former Members in the School of Social Science 
should note that one can only be a Member once.

FUNDING
  Each year Membership stipends vary, depending on 
available funds, the needs of individual Members, and the 
support they can get from outside agencies. Stipend 
support will not exceed $65,000, and since funds are 
always limited, the sponsor is rarely able to meet current 
salary levels. The sponsor therefore strongly encourages 
the applicant to apply for outside support as part of this 
application process, and to find out in advance about 
their institution’s policies on matching fellowship 
awards.