Two Cornell graduate students have been selected as , which will provide them with a stipend as well as funding for research and other activities to the fellowship year.
, a doctoral student in English language and literature, and , a doctoral student in music, were two of 45 fellows selected for the inaugural cohort from a pool of nearly 700 applicants.
鈥淎s a latecomer to the humanities, this fellowship is an especially heartening gesture of support from one of the world鈥檚 leading scholarly organizations,鈥 Vigilante said.
The fellowship, which supports doctoral students in humanities and interpretive social science programs, will provide a $50,000 award, comprising a $40,000 stipend for the fellowship year; $8,000 for project-related research, training, professional development, and travel expenses; and a $2,000 stipend to support external mentorship and advising.
鈥淲ith this fellowship, I can devote my time completely to my dissertation and other research projects,鈥 said Chijioke, whose dissertation focuses on the ecological violence of toxic waste and pollutants globally in African and Black communities. 鈥淲ith this freedom and the financial support of the fellowship and the Graduate School, I will also be able to do extra fieldwork in Nigeria and Ghana.鈥
Being selected as a member of the inaugural cohort of Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellows is an incredibly exciting opportunity to join a cohort of my peers from other universities across the U.S. who are working to push the boundaries of humanistic scholarship,鈥 said Vigilante, who researches the ways in which music, sound, and performance create spaces of 鈥渦nreality鈥 in virtual reality, augmented reality, and nightlife.
Both Vigilante and Chijioke look forward to the academic freedom provided by the funding.
The aims to promote research methodologies, project formats, and areas of inquiry that challenge traditional norms of doctoral education made possible by a grant from the Mellon Foundation.
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