Bridging Cultures: Implementation Grants for Public Programs on "Civility and Democracy" or "The Muslim World and the Humanities"
Grant: Bridging Cultures: Implementation Grants for Public Programs on “Civility and Democracy” or “The Muslim World and the Humanities”
Agency: National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
Deadline: August 2, 2011, for projects beginning January 2012.
Description: NEH’s Bridging Cultures initiative encourages projects that explore the ways in which cultures from around the globe, as well as the myriad subcultures within America’s borders, have influenced American society. With the aim of revitalizing intellectual and civic life through the humanities, NEH welcomes projects that expand both scholarly and public discussion of diverse countries, peoples, and cultural and intellectual traditions worldwide.
As part of its Bridging Cultures initiative, NEH welcomes proposals to implement a national or regional program for broad and diverse public audiences on one of two humanities themes: “Civility and Democracy” or “The Muslim World and the Humanities.”
Civility and Democracy
Civility has always served as a keystone in the American experiment, from George Washington’s “110 Rules of Civility,” to Abraham Lincoln’s appeal for “malice toward none” and “charity for all,” to Martin Luther King’s dream of the sons of former slaves and slave-owners being able “to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.” Civility involves our responsibilities to each other as citizens and as members of civil society. Drawing on diverse humanities disciplines such as political and cultural history, ethics and jurisprudence, civility might be examined in a variety of frameworks, including but not limited to the following:
- The relationship of civility to the common good.
- The relationship between civility and democracy, at various points in time and across cultures.
- The sociological and cultural foundations of civility, as well as the significance of dissent.
- The ways in which civility has served, historically, to bridge cultural divides, both domestic and international.
The Muslim World and the Humanities
The history of the Muslim world is as complex and varied as the diverse nations and regions in which Islam is practiced around the globe. Scholarly research and public interest have recently focused on cultural and political dynamics within Muslim countries. At the same time, many people are unfamiliar with the multifaceted history of centuries of Islamic intellectual, political and cultural traditions that have influenced civilizations throughout the world. A variety of humanities disciplines can bring new perspectives to the understanding of Islam and contribute to a broader public understanding of the Muslim world. Approaches to the subject might include, by way of example only, an examination of:
- The influence exerted by cultural developments originating in the Muslim world on the arts, the sciences and literature elsewhere in the world.
- The commonalities uniting and the differences dividing Islam, Christianity and Judaism, and the grounds for advancing mutual respect.
- The immigrant experiences of Muslims in the United States, spanning over two centuries of our nation’s history.
- In exploring these or other themes, programs should expand public knowledge of the Muslim world, while fostering avenues for cross-cultural understanding.
Grants from this program are intended to result in humanities programs that would appeal to a broad public. These programs should engage people in multiple communities across the nation or throughout a region in reflection on, and discussion of, the theme of “Civility and Democracy” or “The Muslim World and the Humanities.”
Implementation grants support the final preparation of a project for presentation to the public. Applicants for implementation grants should already have finished most of the planning for their projects, including the identification of the key humanities themes, relevant scholarship and program formats. Successful applicants will include program formats that provide opportunities for public dialogue and discussion. Applicants should have clear plans for implementing their projects for broad audiences in multiple venues across the nation or within a specified region. The number of venues is expected to be no fewer than six and may be as many as 30 or more.
All projects should:
- Build on sound humanities scholarship.
- Deepen public understanding of significant humanities questions.
- Involve humanities scholars in all phases of development and implementation.
- Appeal to broad audiences.
- Approach a subject analytically and interpretively through an appropriate variety of perspectives.
- Employ appealing and accessible program formats that will actively engage the general public in learning.
Fit for Public Broadcasting: Public media stations are eligible to apply for this program. Public media stations can be the lead or sole applicants, and they can also apply in a group of other organizations and institutions. Website development and the creation of interactive program components, interpretive programs and educational materials can all be funded by this grant, and public media stations have expertise in creating all of these. Stations with particular interest in this program’s topics, Civility and Democracy and The Muslim World and the Humanities, will find a good source of funding for public programs in this grant program.
Eligibility: Any U.S. nonprofit organization with IRS 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status is eligible, as are state and local governmental agencies and federally recognized Indian tribal governments. When two or more institutions or organizations collaborate on a project, one of them must serve as the lead applicant and administer the grant on behalf of the others.
Anticipated funding: Awards will usually be made for a period of 18 to 36 months. Awards will not exceed $500,000. Subject to the level of funding available to NEH in Fiscal Year 2012, NEH will make up to four awards under this grant opportunity. Although cost sharing is not required, NEH is rarely able to support the full costs of projects approved for funding. In most cases, NEH grants cover no more than 50 to 60 percent of project costs.
How to apply: Applicants are encouraged to contact program officers, who can answer questions about the review process, supply samples of funded applications and review preliminary drafts. NEH recommends that drafts be submitted at least six weeks before the deadline, so that staff will have adequate time to respond. Drafts should be submitted via email.
Final applications for this program must be submitted at Grants.gov. Online submission requires registration, a process that usually takes three to five business days but can take as long as four weeks. Be sure to visit Grants.gov and begin registering well in advance of the deadline.
Resources:
Program Notice
Frequently Asked Questions
Sample applications: Humanities at the Heart of Health Care, Lincoln, Louisa May Alcott
