The Mercurians, a Special Interest Group of the Society for
the History of Technology (SHOT), is offering the Pam Laird Research
Grant, a grant of US$1,000 to defray the cost of travel and housing to
use a research collection.
The Mercurians began meeting in 1986 for the purpose of generating
networks between people who share work and interests in the history of
communication technologies, defining the field broadly. Our activities
include publishing a semi-annual newsletter, Antenna, meeting during
annual SHOT conferences, organizing paper sessions for SHOT meetings, and
pursuing contacts between meetings via our Google Groups list. The
newsletter serves both as a clearing house for readers and an informal
forum for their ideas.
We have added this new initiative to encourage and reward
high-caliber research in the history of communication technologies. One
of the Mercurians’ missions is to encourage scholarship in the history of
communication technologies. There is no travel grant program (either
within or outside SHOT) that we are aware of dedicated to supporting
scholarship on the history of communication technologies. While the
history of communication technology literature is vast and always
growing, the quality of the research effort or resulting publication too
often falls short of scholarly expectations.
In general, the travel grant is awarded in alternating years.
We already have awarded two such travel grants during the 2011 SHOT
annual meeting in Cleveland. The next grant (or grants) will be
announced during the 2013 SHOT meeting in Portland, Maine.
Eligibility
The grant is intended for and limited to junior scholarsmeaning
either current graduate students or recent postgraduates (no more than
three years beyond the terminal degree in their field).
Requirements and Application
Only travel to an appropriate archival collection to carry out
research on an aspect of the history of communication technology, broadly
defined, will be supported. The archive can be open to the public,
private, or even closed, provided that necessary permissions have been
obtained from the archive.
Complete the application form (available at:
http://www.mercurians.org/grant-form.doc) and e-mail it and a
curriculum vitae (no longer than 3 pages) as attachments to the
Mercurians c/o
[log in to unmask] Your curriculum vitae should
include pertinent publications, fellowships, or accomplishments relevant
to your proposed research, and professional societies and affiliations.
The deadline for submitting an application for the inaugural grant
is May 1, 2013.
Andrew J. Butrica, Ph.D.
Research Historian
Voice: (301) 656-3486
Fax: (301) 656-3486 (please call first)
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
"Il faut cultiver nôtre jardin."
Voltaire, Candide.