American Antiquarian Society

OVERVIEW: AAS funds fellowships that support research on American history, arts and culture through the year 1876.

IP TAKE: The American Antiquarian Society’s fellowships are limited to research that involves the holdings of the society, which is located in Worcester, Massachusetts, and which consists mainly of historical materials up until 1876. A broad array of opportunities support researchers at every level, as well as those who may not be affiliated with a university. While many fellowships consist of short- or long-term access to the collections, other are accompanied by modest stipends. Eligibility and guidelines vary by program, but the society appears to be very accessible, providing an email address and phone number to its director of fellowships.

PROFILE: Based in Worcester, Massachusetts, the American Antiquarian Society (AAS) was created in 1812 by Isaiah Thomas, a newspaper publisher and author who performed the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. The society is a “national research library of American history and culture through 1876.” Its collection includes books, pamphlets, broadsides, newspapers, periodicals, music and graphic arts materials. It seeks to preserve and expand “the library’s unmatched collections of Americana,” and serve “the people who use them.” AAS fellowships support research on American history, arts and culture that involve the society’s holdings, which pertain to American history up to the year 1876.

Grants for Humanities Research and Arts and Culture

The American Antiquarian Society runs four separate fellowship programs for historical research and projects in the visual and performing arts that are informed by historical research.

The Long-Term Visiting Academic Research Fellowship support the work of researchers “beyond the doctorate” for a period of four to twelve months and that involves the use of the society’s archival and other resources. Specific long-term awards include:

  • The Hench Post-Dissertation Fellowship, which supports enables postdoctoral researchers to “extend research and/or revise the dissertation for publication”” and includes a stipend of $35,000. Applications are due each year on October 15.

  • AAS-National Endowment for the Humanities Long-Term Fellowships support the work of researchers who “have already completed their formal professional training” and prioritize those who “have not held long-term fellowships during the three years preceding the period for which the application is being made.” Fellows must maintain residence at the society for the duration of the fellowship and may not accept teaching assignments or “other major activities” during their tenure at AAS. Applications are due each year on January 15.

  • AAS also hosts one of thirteen Frederick Burkhardt Fellowships awarded by the American Council of Learned Societies. This is a one-year fellowship. Applicants should apply via the council’s fellowship program page.

AAS’s Short Term Visiting Academic Research Fellowships are generally for one- to two-months of research and are geared toward researchers all levels of study, including those working on doctoral dissertations or masters’ degrees in relevant fields. Applications are generally due on the 15th of January each year. Opportunities include:

  • The AAS-American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies Fellowships support research on 18th-century American history. Degree candidates are not eligible for this award, and recipients must become members of ASECS.

  • The Alstott Morgan Fellowship supports “research on the history of education in nineteenth-century America, drawing on AAS’s unmatched collection of early educational materials.” The fellowship is geared toward “scholarly research and writing—including doctoral dissertations—in any field of American history and culture through 1876.”

  • Stephen Botein Fellowships support “research in the history of the book in American culture.” Doctoral candidates are eligible for this award.

  • The Jenny d'Héricourt Fellowship is awarded in collaboration with the French Association for American Studies. The award supports any research topic conducted at AAS and provides recipients with a € 1800 stipend.

  • The Drawn to Art Fellowship supports “research on American art, visual culture, or other projects that will make substantial use of graphihc materials as primary sources.”

  • The Christoph Daniel Ebeling Fellowship is awarded in collaboration with the German Association for American Studies and supports “German citizens or permanent residents at the post-graduate or postdoctoral stages of their careers.”

  • The David Jaffe Fellowship in Visual and Material Culture supports postdoctoral scholars and graduate students with research that uses “visual material and culture in the pursuit of research on all aspects of American history before 1900.”

  • The Kate Van Winkle Keller Fellowship for Research in Early American Music and Dance supports the research of “individuals affiliated with academic institutions as well as independent scholars” studying aspects of American music or dance that relevant to the AAS collections.

  • The Lapides Fellowship in Pre-1865 Juvenile Literature and Ephemera supports research on “printed and manuscript material produced in America through 1865 for (or by) children and youth.” This award is open to postdoctoral scholars and graduate students working on dissertations.

  • Jay and Deborah Last Fellowships support researchers who study “American art, visual culture, or other projects that will make substantial use of graphic materials as primary sources.”

  • The Legacy Fellowship, which is funded by “the gifts of former fellows and research associates” supports “an individual engaged in scholarly research and writing—including doctoral dissertations—in any field of American history and culture through 1876.”

  • The Barbara L. Packer Fellowship supports the research of “Ph.d. candidates, pre-tenure faculty, and independent scholars” conducting research on Trancendentalist though, especially those studying the works of Emerson, Fuller and Thoreau.

  • The Kate B. and Hall J. Peterson Fellowships broadly support research at AAS “in any field of American history and culture through 1867.”

  • The Reese Fellowship is geared toward researchers working in the area of “American bibliography and projects in the history of the book in America.”

  • The Joyce Tracy Fellowship supports research on American periodicals or research that uses periodicals as its primary sources.

  • Fellowships for Creative and Performing Artists and Writers support the work of “creative and performing artists, writers, film makers, journalists and other persons whose goals are to produce imaginative works dealing with pre-twentieth-century American history, literature, and culture. Fellowships consist of four weeks of “uninterrupted research, reading, and collegial discussion at the Society” and a $2,000 stipend.

AAS recently launched a new fellowship program for short-term virtual research. The Diana Korzenik Virtual Fellowship aims to “address the equity and access issues faced by a range of scholars” and will “be offered as a bridge to assist those scholars who cannot work on site at AAS in moving forward with their work.” In addition to broad virtual access to the society’s collections, the fellowship includes at $3,000 stipend and a $500 allowance for JPEG scans.

Important Grant Details:

The American Antiquarian Society’s fellowship programs are mainly made through collaborations with other foundations and nonprofit groups and are generally awarded in set amounts per program. Eligibility, guidelines and due dates vary significantly by program, so it is imperative that applicants consult program pages before applying. Questions about fellowships may be directed to Nan Wolverton, Director of Fellowships, via email or telephone .

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