C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience
The Starr Center’s unique location makes it an ideal place to study and write about the American past.
Washington College offers the intellectual energy and friendly intimacy of a small liberal-arts institution,
where students and faculty often share ideas over meals as well as in the classroom.
Larger cities such as Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Annapolis are
all within easy day-trip range, giving convenient access to major national libraries,
museums, and archives.
Through its fellowship programs, the Starr Center supports innovative and interdisciplinary approaches to the American past – especially by fostering the art of written history. Visiting fellows find a place where they can retreat from daily responsibilities and focus on their writing projects – but also where they are stimulated by interactions with students, faculty, and distinguished visitors.
The Center’s Patrick Henry Writing Fellowship supports outstanding writing on American history and culture by both scholars and nonacademic authors; it offers a $45,000 stipend for the academic year, plus living arrangements and other benefits. The deadline for the 2020-2021 Fellowship is November 15, 2019.
The Hodson Trust-John Carter Brown Library Fellowship is open to applicants from a wide range of disciplines who are pursuing projects on the literature, history, culture, or art of the Americas before 1830. The award supports two months of research and two months of writing. The stipend is $5,000 per month for a total of $20,000, plus housing and university privileges. The deadline for the 2020-2021 Fellowship is March 15, 2020.
The Chesapeake Heartland is a new collaboration between the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), Washington College, and a diverse array of local organizations including churches, schools, youth groups, non-profits, and public institutions. Its mission is to preserve, digitize, interpret, and make accessible materials related to African American history and culture in Kent County, MD and beyond. To help make this a reality, Washington College will be awarding fellowships for community members and faculty/staff over the next three years that collaborate with others to preserve and interpret African American history and culture in the Kent County region. The deadline for the 2020-2021 fellowship is January 10, 2020.
The Center also offers other short term fellowships in Chestertown, as well as special student research fellowships for Washington College undergraduates.