H+U+D Seeking Graduate Student Research Proposals for 2021-22

Deadline: May 31, 2021

The Project in Humanities, Urbanism, and Design (H+U+D), invites graduate students to submit research proposals for Academic Year 2021-22. Small grants will be awarded to support projects that align with the mission of the H+U+D project.

H+U+D is a joint effort among the Schools of Arts and Sciences (SAS) and Design (PennDesign), and the Penn Institute of Urban Research (Penn IUR) whose objective is to promote synergies among the humanities and design disciplines. Beginning in 2018, the initiative takes “The Inclusive City” as its theme, focusing on issues of inclusivity and diversity. For more information on the initiative see: http://www.humanitiesurbanismdesign.com/

Graduate Research

Small research grants will be awarded to support interdisciplinary design/humanities projects undertaken by graduate students in humanities and design disciplines that focus on the built environment. Eligible research must draw from both humanities and design disciplines. Examples of eligible work include master’s thesis projects, independent study projects, and doctoral dissertation research. Preference will be given to projects related to the “Inclusive City” theme. The maximum award is $2,000 per proposal. Allowable research expenses include travel, archival charges, photography, books, research supplies and equipment. Examples of previously funded student projects are available to review here: http://www.humanitiesurbanismdesign.com/publication_category/student-research-2/

Application Instructions

The application should include

• Research project proposal (maximum: 500 words)
• Short itemized budget
• Unofficial Penn transcript
• Letter or recommendation from sponsoring faculty member, requested by the applicant via the Letter of Recommendation Request Form

Submit your proposal no later than May 31, 2021, to the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CURF)via the student application:

https://www.curf.upenn.edu/content/project-humanities-urbanism-and-design.

A special awards sub-committee will review proposals, and funds will be transferred to successful applicants’ departments for disbursement. Questions? Contact Andrea Goulet (agoulet@sas.upenn.edu) or Daniel A. Barber (barberda@design.upenn.edu)

H+U+D Mellon Undergraduate Research Fellows, 2021-22

Application deadline: May 31, 2021

The initiative in Humanities, Urbanism, and Design (H+U+D) at the University of Pennsylvania is a ten-year project funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to foster critical and integrative consideration of the relationship between the humanities and the design professions in the analysis and shaping of the built environment. Under the renewed grant (beginning in 2108), the initiative takes “The Inclusive City” as its theme, focusing on issues of inclusivity and diversity. The program has a number of component parts, including a bi-weekly Faculty Colloquium, the sponsorship of graduate and undergraduate courses, student research funding, an Undergraduate Research Colloquium, special lectures, participation in conferences, a Doctoral Dissertation (ABD) Fellowship program, and a Junior (postdoc) Fellowship program. For more information on the initiative see: http://www.humanitiesurbanismdesign.com/

Undergraduate Research

Applications are now invited for the Mellon Undergraduate Research Fellowship program for Fall 2021. The renewed program places increased emphasis on the nurturing and mentoring of undergraduate researchers, ranging from sophomores to seniors. The program supports researchers who are working on topics dealing with the built environment of cities, landscapes, and architecture with attention to inclusivity and diversity and who wish to expand the inter-, trans-, and multidisciplinary character of their projects.

In addition to the pursuit of independent research on topics of their choosing under the sponsorship of a faculty advisor, awardees will be meet monthly in the fall semester in a non-credit workshop setting (the Mellon Undergraduate Research Colloquium) under the mentorship of two faculty members of the H+U+D Colloquium. The Colloquium will host speakers, make excursions, and share the work of its members. In the spring, Undergraduate Colloquium members will be invited to continue their research in the established, credit-bearing Undergraduate Urban Research Colloquium (UURC), which is sponsored by the Penn Institute for Urban Research (IUR).https://www.curf.upenn.edu/content/penn-undergraduate-urban-research-colloquium

For the Academic Year 2021-22, the H+U+D initiative will award 6-8 fellowships to students in the schools of Arts and Sciences, Design, Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nursing and Wharton. H+U+D will select the fellows on the basis of the applicant’s expressed research interests in design, humanities or humanistic social sciences. Each fellowship carries a research grant of up to $2,000.

The Mellon Undergraduate Research Fellowship program is also advertised through the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CURF) and in cooperation with the recruitment efforts of Penn’s Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship program, whose awards are made to “minority students and others with a demonstrated commitment to eradicating racial disparities” (https://www.vpul.upenn.edu/mmuf-about.php).

Eligibility

Rising sophomores, juniors and seniors in any major in SAS, Design, Nursing, SEAS and Wharton are eligible. The research project must deal with the built environment (cities, landscapes, and architecture), with preference for projects dealing with

• inclusivity and diversity
• inter-, trans-, and multidisciplinary study in design, the humanities, and humanistic social sciences.

Application Instructions

The Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CURF) administers the Mellon Undergraduate Research Colloquium. All applications are due by 4:00 PM on May 31, 2021, including letters of recommendation (see next section).

The application should include

• Research project proposal (maximum: 500 words)
• Short itemized budget
• Unofficial Penn transcript
• Letter of recommendation from sponsoring faculty member, requested by the applicant via the Letter of Recommendation Request Form

Mellon Doctoral Dissertation Fellows 2021-22

Application deadline: February 28, 2021

The initiative in Humanities, Urbanism, and Design (H+U+D) at the University of Pennsylvania is a ten-year project funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to foster critical and integrative consideration of the relationship between the humanities and the design professions in the analysis and shaping of the built environment. Under the renewed grant (which began in 2018), the initiative takes “The Inclusive City” as its theme, focusing on issues of inclusivity and diversity. The program has a number of component parts, including a bi-weekly Faculty Colloquium, the sponsorship of graduate and undergraduate courses, student research funding, an Undergraduate Colloquium, special lectures, participation in conferences, a Doctoral Dissertation (ABD) Fellowship program, and a Junior (postdoc) Fellowship program. For more information on the initiative see: http://www.humanitiesurbanismdesign.com/

Applications are now invited for two one-year Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships to be held in 2021-22. One fellow will be selected from humanities and humanistic social science graduate groups in the School of Arts and Sciences, and one will be selected from the School of Design.

Mellon Doctoral Dissertation Fellows will be selected on the basis of the excellence of their work and their ability to contribute to the mission of the initiative. Preference will be given to projects related to the “Inclusive City” theme.

Eligibility

Applications are invited from doctoral students in good standing at the University of Pennsylvania in all humanistic and design disciplines whose work deals with the built environment of cities, landscapes, and architecture and who wish to expand its inter-, trans-, and multidisciplinary character. Applicants must have completed three years of study and attained “ABD” (all-but-dissertation) status by May 31, 2021. Awards made prior to the attainment of ABD status are contingent on that attainment.

The University of Pennsylvania values diversity and seeks talented students, faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds. The University of Pennsylvania does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status or any other legally protected class status in the administration of its admissions, financial aid, educational or athletic programs, or other University-administered programs or in its employment practices.

Terms of appointment

The fellowship stipend is $30,300. Enrollment in the university’s graduate student health insurance program will be provided for the fellow, but not for family and dependents. Tuition and fees will be paid by the fellow’s school.

During the academic year of the award (August 31–May 10), fellows are required to be in residence in Philadelphia and work full time on their dissertation project. They must participate in the bi-weekly H+U+D Faculty Colloquium and present their research at one of its sessions.

Application Guidelines

Applications and letters of reference must be received by 11:59 P.M. EST on February 28, 2021. All materials should be sent to Ms. Alisa Chiles, H+U+D Program Manager (mellon-hud-initiative@groups.sas.upenn.edu).

Applications should be assembled as one PDF comprising:

1. cover sheet (Word document template available here: HUD Doctoral Fellow_Application Cover Sheet 2021-22)
2. curriculum vitae
3. unofficial Penn transcript
4. short dissertation proposal (1000 words maximum)

Your PDF and the email that conveys it should be titled <Your last name> HUD application; e.g., Applicantname HUD application

Also arrange for the following two supporting letters to be sent by the February 28 deadline:

5. a letter of endorsement from the chair of your Graduate Group, certifying your ABD status
6. a letter of reference from your dissertation advisor, discussing your research proposal

These must be sent directly to Ms. Chiles (mellon-hud-initiative@groups.sas.upenn.edu). The letters should be in the form of PDFs, and the PDFs and the emails that conveys them should be titled <applicant’s last name>_<Reference writer’s last name> HUD reference;

e.g., Applicantname_Advisorname HUD reference

Address Questions to

Daniel A. Barber  barberda@design.upenn.edu

and Andrea Goulet  agoulet@sas.upenn.edu

Download Application Cover Sheet

HUD Doctoral Fellow_Application Cover Sheet 2021-22

Spring 2021 H+U+D City Seminar

EALC 220/620: Tang China and Nara Japan

Nancy S. Steinhardt, Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations (School of Arts and Sciences), will be teaching a mixed undergraduate/graduate seminar called Tang China and Nara Japan in the spring semester. It focuses on the 7th-10th-century Chinese capital Chang’an and the 8th-century Japanese capital Nara, the cities as well as art and architecture around them. The seminar will be taught synchronously on Tuesday evenings from 7-10 p.m. and will include a guest lecture by Zhongjie Lin, City and Regional Planning (Design).

Click below for more info:

Tang-Nara_Seminar Prospectus

University of Pennsylvania Press has published Perspectives on Fair Housing (2020), a volume co-edited by H+U+D Fellow Vincent Reina, Penn Provost Wendell Pritchett, and Penn IUR co-director Susan Wachter.

Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, known as the Fair Housing Act, prohibited discrimination in the sale, rent, and financing of housing based on race, religion, and national origin. However, manifold historical and contemporary forces, driven by both governmental and private actors, have segregated these protected classes by denying them access to homeownership or housing options in high-performing neighborhoods. Perspectives on Fair Housing argues that meaningful government intervention continues to be required in order to achieve a housing market in which a person’s background does not arbitrarily restrict access.

The essays in this volume address how residential segregation did not emerge naturally from minority preference but rather how it was forced through legal, economic, social, and even violent measures. Contributors examine racial land use and zoning practices in the early 1900s in cities like Atlanta, Richmond, and Baltimore; the exclusionary effects of single-family zoning and its entanglement with racially motivated barriers to obtaining credit; and the continuing impact of mid-century “redlining” policies and practices on public and private investment levels in neighborhoods across American cities today. Perspectives on Fair Housing demonstrates that discrimination in the housing market results in unequal minority households that, in aggregate, diminish economic prosperity across the country.

Amended several times to expand the protected classes to include gender, families with children, and people with disabilities, the FHA’s power relies entirely on its consistent enforcement and on programs that further its goals. Perspectives on Fair Housing provides historical, sociological, economic, and legal perspectives on the critical and continuing problem of housing discrimination and offers a review of the tools that, if appropriately supported, can promote racial and economic equity in America.

In conjunction with the publication, Penn IUR is also hosting a related six-part Livestream series, “Perspectives on Fair Housing: Critical Discussions at a Critical Time,” led by Vincent Reina. The series will borrow its structure from the book and each event will feature a panel discussion with some of the nation’s top fair housing scholars, focusing on one aspect of fair housing.

The series will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. over three weeks beginning October 13.

H+U+D Junior Fellow Syantani Chatterjee has co-edited an online series with Natasha Raheja for the Political and Legal Anthropological Review (PoLAR). The series, which recently launched, focuses on the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act of 2019 (CAA) in India. The CAA was signed into law amid nationwide protests. This series was an attempt to capture that moment of immense civil mobilizations all over India that continued until the pandemic-induced emergency curfews shut them down. Through a set of 15 contributions, as editors, Syantani and Natasha tried to explore the possibilities of solidarity, and limits thereof, of civil mobilizations of this magnitude. They also explore the potential for questions of citizenship to persist as both an ideal of formal equality as well as a mechanism for the elaboration of social inequity.

Here is a link to the series:

• https://polarjournal.org/2020/09/07/indias-citizenship-amendment-act-caa/?fbclid=IwAR3rQj6VRE-18r5s1owZqbNoefo1oc2WcL4ScAvsyMvycMaKIlQt3tPr_7k

Protesters hold placards at a demonstration against Indias new citizenship law in Mumbai on December 19, 2019. – Indians defied bans on assembly on December 19 in cities nationwide as anger swells against a citizenship law seen as discriminatory against Muslims, following days of protests, clashes and riots that have left six dead. Photo by PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP via Getty Images.

The Mellon Humanities, Urbanism and Design Initiative at Penn (H+U+D) is pleased to announce the arrival of its two Junior Fellows and two Mellon Doctoral Dissertation Fellows for the 2020-21 academic year.

H+U+D Junior Fellows

Dr. Tyeshia Redden and Dr. Syantani Chatterjee have been named H+U+D Junior Fellows for 2020-21. They were selected from a highly competitive pool of applicants from the humanities and design disciplines. In keeping with the mission of H+U+D to bring together scholars and students to explore cities at the intersection of the humanities and design, Dr. Redden, a scholar of race studies and housing policy, is being hosted by the School of Arts and Sciences, and Dr. Chatterjee, an anthropologist, is hosted by the Stuart Weitzman School of Design. Both Junior Fellows will participate in the H+U+D Faculty Colloquium and teach interdisciplinary undergraduate seminars in their academic host departments in Spring 2020.

• Tyeshia Redden

Ty Redden joins the Mellon H+U+D Initiative from Gettysburg College, where she was Assistant Professor of Africana Studies. She is a graduate of Savannah State University and the University of Florida, having earned a Ph.D. in Design, Construction & Planning with specializations in race studies and housing policy. Her research explores development-forced displacement driven by mega-sporting events. Ty is a frequent presenter at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning and the Urban Affairs annual conferences, and is co-author of “Building the Foundation for Arnstein’s Ladder: Community Empowerment through a Participatory Neighborhood Narrative Process” in the forthcoming volume, Learning from Arnstein’s Ladder: From Citizen Participation to Public Engagement (co-edited by M. Lauria and C. Slotterback). She is appointed in the Department of Africana Studies (School of Arts and Sciences).

• Syantani Chatterjee

Syantani Chatterjee, who recently completed her PhD in Anthropology at Columbia University, is an anthropologist specializing in questions of urban citizenship and belonging in India. Her book project, which builds on her dissertation, examines the social worlds of the residents of Shivaji Nagar (Mumbai), also known as “Bombay’s Gas Chamber.” Her interest in exposure, and embodiment is reflected in her earlier field research among commercial gestational surrogates in India. In her award-winning Master’s Thesis at Columbia University, Caste in a New Mold: The rematerializing of caste in the biomedical universe of commercial surrogacy in India, she studied the emergence of new configurations of caste, and the endurance of earlier forms of the same in contemporary India, from within biomedical practices and discourses. Prior to pursuing doctoral studies, Chatterjee worked as a journalist for Reuters, the Associated Press and CNN.  Her scholarship has received generous support from the American Institute for Indian Studies, Columbia University’s Lindt Dissertation Fellowship, and other endowments. Her publications appear in the International Journal of Labor and Working Class History, and PoLAR. She is appointed in the Department of Landscape Architecture (Weitzman School of Design).

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