The Bibliographical Society of the University of Virginia invites applications for its inaugural round of Battestin Fellowships, a program of summer fellowships in bibliographical and textual studies, named in honor of Martin and Ruthe Battestin.The fellowships are intended to support UVA graduate students engaged in bibliographical research in the collections of the UVA Library, with an emphasis on physical or textual bibliography. The Society is prepared to award up to three fellowships of $3500 each for the summer of 2014.
Proposals may concern books and documents in any field as long as the primary focus is the physical object (in whatever form) as historical evidence. Potential fellowship topics include studies in the history of book production, publication, distribution, reception, or reading; the history of collecting or bibliographical scholarship; and the tracing of a work’s textual history or the establishment of its text from the extant witnesses. Projects that incorporate the application of digital methodologies to the study of books and documents, and their texts, are also encouraged.
Proposals are evaluated on a competitive basis, and only students whose proposals demonstrate a need for extensive use of UVA Library collections will be considered for these awards.
The awards are limited to current UVA graduate students, that is, those who will be continuing their graduate studies at UVA in the following fall semester.
All awarded fellows are expected to spend a considerable amount of time throughout the fellowship period doing research in the UVA Library collections. At the end of the research period, fellows are also asked to submit a very brief final project report to the BSUVA Council indicating how this fellowship support was used to accomplish their research goals.
Application Guidelines
Applications are due February 1, 2014. We regret that we cannot consider late or incomplete submissions. The application should include the following components:
1) Application form
2) Project proposal of no more than 1,000 words
3) Applicant Curriculum Vitae
4) Two (2) signed letters of recommendation on official letterhead submitted independently by referees, one of whom should be the applicant’s dissertation or other graduate faculty advisor. Applicants are advised to request recommendation letters well in advance and to direct referees to the BSUVA website (www.bsuva.org) for guidance.
Submitting the application and letters of recommendation
Postal submissions:
Print the application form and complete it. Attach your Project Description and Curriculum Vitae, and send all three documents to:
Bibliographical Society of the University of Virginia ATTN: Battestin Fellowships Committee Alderman Library PO Box 400152 Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4152Electronic submissions:
To submit electronically, print the application form, complete it, scan the completed form, and save as a PDF. Send an email to the Society Secretary at bibsoc@virginia.edu, attaching the application form and Microsoft Word or PDF (preferable) files of your Project Description and Curriculum Vitae. Please use the subject line “[Applicant Name]: Battestin Fellowships,” that is, “Thomas Jefferson: Battestin Fellowships.”
The application package and two supporting letters of recommendation (which are to be sent directly to the Society by the referees) must be received by February 1, 2014. No other documentation will be considered by the committee.