Fellowship Programme: Cultures and Practices of Democracy in the Indian Diaspora
Overview
The state of democracy, human rights, and free expression in many countries is increasingly influenced by interactions occuring in diaspora communities around the world. Places of migration and exile have become the site of vigorous contestation—and sometimes outright conflict—over policymaking, representation, discrimination, the limits of acceptable speech, and who merits membership in the national “community.”
Bard College and SOAS University of London are pleased to announce a new fellowship program designed to promote democracy and counteract the spread of authoritarianism and communalism within the Indian diaspora. The Bard/SOAS Fellowship will support individual practitioners from diverse backgrounds to serve as catalysts—coalition-builders, strategic communicators, high-level advocates, and influencers—in strengthening Indian diaspora communities as they face threats to civil society, democracy, and the rule of law.
Guidelines
This one-year grant will support senior and emerging practitioners from a variety of fields, including, among others:
Business
Tech and social-media
Journalism and documentary-filmmaking
Academic/scholarly
Activist/NGO and civil society
The Arts, including film, television, music, etc.
Law and justice
Fellows will pursue their own projects addressing the theme of the fellowship. In addition, they will be supported to collaborate with other members of the cohort in ways that advance the larger objective of promoting free speech and democracy in India and the diaspora. Though the fellowship is non-residential, fellows will be expected to meet with the cohort several times during their term. (Travel expenses are covered by the grant).
Fellowship applicants will be reviewed and selected in two tracks: Senior Practitioners (Senior Fellows) and Rising Stars (Junior Fellows), based on their level of experience. Senior Practitioners will be expected to have at least a decade of relevant experience—if not considerably more—while Rising Stars will be selected on the basis of their recent work and potential for future achievement.
Senior Fellowships are worth the GBP equivalent of $100,000 and Junior Fellowships $60,000 (based on full-time work) Fellows will have a research budget of up to $20,000. Applications will also be accepted from those only able to commit half-time or more to the fellowship; stipends and project budgets will be pro-rated accordingly.
The Fellowship will be administered by the South Asia Institute at SOAS and the Human Rights Project at Bard College.
Application Deadline: January 31, 2024
Applicants for the fellowship will be asked to submit a cv, cover letter, and a project proposal of up to 1,000 words, which includes a brief budget describing expected travel costs. Joint applications and applications for, at least, half time will also be considered (with pro-rated budget and stipend). All applications will be treated confidentially during the review and selection process. Inquiries for the SOAS/Bard Diaspora Fellowship can be sent to: diasporafellows@bard.edu or democracyfellows@soas.ac.uk
