Pam Laird Research Grant
The Mercurians, a Special Interest Group of the Society
for the History of Technology (SHOT), is offering the Pam Laird Research Grant,
a grant of
US$1,000 to defray the cost of travel and housing to use
a research collection.
The Mercurians began meeting in 1986 for the purpose of
generating networks between people who share work and interests in the history
of communication technologies, defining the field broadly. Our activities
include publishing a semi-annual newsletter, Antenna, meeting during annual
SHOT conferences, organizing paper sessions for SHOT meetings, and pursuing
contacts between meetings via our Google Groups list. The newsletter serves
both as a clearing house for readers and an informal forum for their ideas.
We have added this new initiative to encourage and reward
high-caliber research in the history of communication technologies. One of the
Mercurians' missions is to encourage scholarship in the history of
communication technologies.
There is no travel grant program (either within or
outside SHOT) that we are aware of dedicated to supporting scholarship on the
history of communication technologies. While the history of communication
technology literature is vast and always growing, the quality of the research
effort or resulting publication too often falls short of scholarly
expectations.
In general, the travel grant is awarded in alternating
years. We already have awarded two such
travel grants during the 2011 SHOT annual meeting in Cleveland. The next grant (or grants) will be announced
during the 2013 SHOT meeting in Portland, Maine.
Eligibility
The grant is intended for and limited to junior
scholars-meaning either current graduate students or recent postgraduates (no
more than three years beyond the terminal degree in their field).
Requirements and Application
Only travel to an appropriate archival collection to
carry out research on an aspect of the history of communication technology,
broadly defined, will be supported. The archive can be open to the public,
private, or even closed, provided that necessary permissions have been obtained
from the archive.
Complete the application form (available at:
http://www.mercurians.org/grant-form.doc)
and e-mail it and a curriculum vitae (no longer than
3 pages) as attachments to the Mercurians c/o abutrica@earthlink.net Your curriculum
vitae should include pertinent publications, fellowships, or accomplishments
relevant to your proposed research, and professional societies and
affiliations.
The deadline for submitting an application for the grant
is May 1, 2013.
For further information or questions, please contact
Andrew Butrica at abutrica@earthlink.net
or visit our website: www.mercurians.org
Andrew J. Butrica
MERCURIANS
ANTENNA Newsletter