Research
Research Projects
The Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture was established in 1994 under the direction of Professor Michael Dawson. From its inception, faculty, students, and staff who have been involved with the Center have been committed to establishing a new type of research institute devoted to the study of race and ethnicity, one that seeks to expand the study of race beyond the black/white paradigm while exploring social and identity cleavages within racialized communities. Scholars affiliated with the Center have also endeavored to make race and ethnicity central topics of intellectual investigation at the University of Chicago by fostering interdisciplinary research, teaching, and public debate among students and faculty. Fundamentally, the Center is committed to producing engaged scholarship that rejects the false dichotomy between rigorous intellectual work and community activism. We seek, instead, to contribute intellectually challenging and innovative scholarship that can help people transform their thinking and their lives. Towards those goals, the Center has provided funding and other types of support for a number of projects initiated by faculty affiliated with the Center, graduate students, and visiting fellows. Click here to see a few examples of those projects.
Workshop on the Reproduction of Race and Racial Ideologies
With the conviction that intellectuals have a responsibility to help clarify discourses of racial difference, we convened this workshop to provide a forum for faculty and graduate students at the University of Chicago and area institutions to explore the problematics of race and racial ideologies in the modern era. The issues we examine cut across academic and policy divisions as well as across disciplinary and national boundaries. Click here for more information on the workshop.
Provost's Career Enhancement Postdoctoral Scholarships
As part of an effort to promote a diversity of backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences among its faculty, the University of Chicago established the Provost’s Career Enhancement Postdoctoral Scholarship (PCEPS) (http://provostpostdoc.uchicago.edu/index.shtml). Successful candidates will be selected on the basis of academic achievement; scholarly promise; a demonstrable commitment to the ideals set forth in the University of Chicago Diversity Statement; and the likelihood that the individual may become a qualified and competitive candidate for a faculty position at the University of Chicago upon the completion of the Scholarship. Each cohort of PCEPS holders will include at least one scholar whose research furthers the mission of the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture.
Dissertation Fellow:
The dissertation fellow is awarded to an exceptional University of Chicago doctoral student at the advanced stage whose research is devoted to the study of race and ethnicity. Funding for a full year and office space are provided to make it possible for the student to devote his or her full energies to the completion of the dissertation. Click here for more information on the fellowship.
Graduate Research & Travel Fellows:
Graduate research fellows are outstanding University of Chicago graduate students whose research focuses on race and ethnicity. Fellows are awarded small grants to cover expenses associated with a clearly defined research project. Funded activities include travel-related expenses associated with field research, primary archival research, conference presentation as well as transcription costs and duplication services. Click here for more information on the graduate research and travel grant.
