RSA–Virginia Fox Stern Center Fellowship Grant

RSA–Virginia Fox Stern Center Fellowship Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Renaissance Society Of America Inc
Amount: Up to US $3,750
Last Updated: August 04, 2025

Summary

The RSA–Virginia Fox Stern Center Fellowship offers a unique opportunity for scholars to conduct intensive research at the Johns Hopkins University Sheridan Libraries. This one-month fellowship focuses on pre-1800 rare book and manuscript collections, particularly the Women of the Book Collection and the Bibliotheca Fictiva Collection. It encourages innovative research that contributes to Renaissance studies, supporting scholars across all disciplines and career levels.

Overview

Renaissance Society of America Mission The Renaissance Society of America is the largest international organization devoted to the critical study of the world from 1300–1700 and its importance today. The RSA fosters initiatives that feature innovative, multidisciplinary research and pedagogical approaches together with well-established methodologies. It sponsors digital and print publications to disseminate knowledge, organizes in-person and virtual events to bring together diverse communities of inquiry and practice, and promotes the works of its members in the field of Renaissance studies. Vision The Renaissance Society of America envisions being home to a growing global membership working across disciplines and geographies to illuminate the relationships of past and present. We aspire to better develop and disseminate multidisciplinary and intersectional research and public-facing engagement within and beyond the U.S. Through discussion, research, publication, and teaching on Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania in the period 1300-1700, a successful RSA will re-envision what the term Renaissance means for our world today. RSA–Virginia Fox Stern Center Fellowship The RSA–Virginia Fox Stern Center Fellowship supports a one-month period of intensive research utilizing the rare book and manuscript collections of the Sheridan Libraries at Johns Hopkins University. This year’s fellowship is open to all early book and manuscript collections (pre-1800); applications are especially welcome from scholars interested to work in one of two signature collections at JHU: the Women of the Book Collection (WOTB) and the Bibliotheca Fictiva Collection. The WOTB collection constitutes the most extensive gathering of primary research materials dedicated entirely to the spiritual lives of early modern women: nuns, beate, women mystics, healers, female saints and confraternities, etc., of the Roman Catholic world, ca. 1450-1800. The Bibliotheca Fictiva constitutes the largest gathering of rare books, manuscripts, and ephemera dedicated entirely to historical and literary forgery, with particular strength in the invention, perpetuation, and demolition of fakes and forgeries of the premodern and early modern worlds. Selection Criteria Applications will be evaluated using the following criteria: The scholarly quality of the proposal (scope, theoretical framework, and grounding in the relevant scholarly literature) and the project’s potential to make a significant and original contribution to knowledge about the Renaissance.The scholarly record and achievements of the applicant.The demonstrated need for access to research materials and the feasibility of accomplishing this research in the given time frame. The Fellowships Committee reserves the right to award fewer or more fellowships in any one category, depending on the nature and size of the pool of applications, and on the financial position of the Society.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Location: Sheridan Libraries, Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, Maryland)The fellowship must be used for full-time onsite research during the period of residency at JHU.Length: 1 monthDiscipline: All disciplines.Career level: Open to scholars at all career levelsA project can receive only one fellowship – the same project can't win again, even if three years have passed. The RSA requests that fellowship winners remain members for three years following their year of application.Applicants will win at most one fellowship per year.Members can live or work in any country. You must be a member of this organization to apply for this award - become a member. All applicants must be members of the Renaissance Society of America at the time of application and during the award year. Please join RSA or renew your membership before applying for a fellowship. Beginning with the application cycle in fall 2025 (deadline: September 2025), applicants must have been an RSA member for at least 12 months immediately prior to application, in order to be eligible.

Ineligibility

Those who have received an RSA fellowship in the past will not be considered for further fellowships for three years after the award and must submit a 300- to 500-word narrative description of the accomplishments of the fellowship to be considered for future funding.RSA does not give multiple awards to the same individual in a single year.RSA does not accept applications in languages other than English.