South Asia Course Module Development Grants for MSI Faculty (Greater Philadelphia Region)

South Asia Course Module Development Grants for MSI Faculty

Ever wanted to teach more in your course about a South Asian country – India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, or Sri Lanka?   Apply for a South Asia Course Module Development Grant! Improving capacity to produce South Asia expertise in Minority-Serving Institutions in the Philadelphia region is one of the South Asia Center's major goals for 2014-18.

As part an effort to reach our goal, the Center will provide support for the development of new and significant South Asia course content in courses taught at MSIs through awarding two $2000 course module development grants to a full-time MSI faculty member each year*. 

Applications for South Asia Course Module Development Grants are reviewed once each year in March. Applications are now being accepted from full-time faculty members from any MSI in the Philadelphia region.  The application deadline is May 30, 2015.  Awardees will be notified by June 15, 2015.

*Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka

 

 

WHO IS ELIGIBLE to apply?

Applicants must be full-time faculty members of a Minority-Serving Institution within 100 miles of Philadelphia, teaching in any discipline.  

 

 

 

WHAT KINDS OF Course Modules will the SAC Development Grant support?

Any new and significant course component relating to a South Asian country (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka) will be considered. For example, a course on International Development Ethics might choose to introduce a set of case studies on microfinance outcomes in India. Other examples of new modules: the Bhopal disaster & Engineering ethics, case studies on building hydroelectric dams in India, etc.  All proposals will be evaluated on the potential impact of the proposed module to expose students to South Asia in a meaningful way.  Preference will be given to courses taught in regular rotation (not occasional electives).

 

 

 

WHAT KINDS OF SUPPORT can the SAC Development Grant provide? 

We can support your project in two ways, with guidance and with funding:

 

Specific guidance will be provided by Penn South Asia faculty specialists as well as faculty working in various disciplines. Our input and advice may take the following forms:  

identifying the people and resources at Penn best positioned to contribute to your course module, and helping you to collaborate with them

arranging for guest lecturers on South Asia topics to visit your class

suggesting possible funding sources for further study of South Asia by faculty and students

 

Funding. We will award small grants of $2,000 to successful faculty applicants.  Applications are reviewed and selections made by the South Asia Center’s Academic Advisory Committee, who will also review the final course syllabus upon completion of the new course module.

 

 

How to Apply

For proposals, please email the following in a single PDF file to Jody Chavez, Managing Director, at jchavez@sas.upenn.edu, no later than May 30, 2015:

 

1.

A project title and 1-2 sentence description of the proposed new course module.

2.

A CV for the faculty instructor.

3.

A 500-or-less word narrative describing the proposed course module on South Asia, its intended audience, source materials, and end-products.  Please address how the course fits into the overall school or university curriculum (i.e., how often it is taught, what requirements it meets, etc.)

4.

A rough timeline and budget ($2,000 or less).