Research Opportunities

GRANTS-IN-AID from the MESOAMERICAN ETHNOHISTORY FUND

The Department of Anthropology of Tulane University is pleased to announce a competition for grants-in-aid from The Mesoamerican Ethnohistory Fund . The purpose of the Fund, established in October 1994, is to support research and publication in the field of Mesoamerican ethnohistory by faculty and students of the Department of Anthropology, Tulane University . Ethnohistory is here defined as the use of documentary sources of evidence to reconstruct and follow over time past societies and cultures, with a view to resolving questions of concern to the discipline. Documentary sources are defined to include 1) colonial Spanish records; 2) colonial records composed by indigenous peoples; 3) preconquest indigenous texts including codices and inscriptions.

Awards from the Fund, which may not exceed $2000, are intended primarily to support research and publication activities on a limited scale, examples of which include 1) self-contained research projects of limited scale such as undergraduate honors research; 2) "seed money" for preliminary research that may culminate in a larger program of research also funded entirely or in part by other sources; 3) supplementary funding for a larger program or research also funded by other sources. Activities considered appropriate for funding include but are not necessarily limited to the following:

• Travel to conduct field or archival research
• Photocopying of documents
• Photographic supplies and services
• Manuscript preparation and drafting services
• Research aids (e.g., acquisition of reference books, microfilm)
• Translation services
• Publication subvention
• Clerical, archival, or other services conducted by individuals on behalf of the grantee

Applications for grants to support eligible research during the summer of 2005 are invited from students pursuing a B.A. or B.S. degree with a major in anthropology at Tulane, students pursuing an M.A. or Ph.D. degree in anthropology at Tulane, and faculty holding regular full time appointments in the Department of Anthropology at Tulane. Applications should be made in writing and should include the following:

1. A research design or other description of the proposed use of the funds requested. Description should be concise (maximum of five double-spaced pages) and link the proposed activities to a methodological or substantive problem.
2. A timetable of proposed activities.
3. An itemized budget showing how requested funds would be spent.

Applications should be addressed to The Mesoamerican Ethnohistory Fund Awards Committee, c/o Susan Chevalier, Administrative Secretary, Department of Anthropology, Tulane University. The deadline for receipt of applications is 4:00 p.m. , Wednesday, March 16, 2005.

Students are advised to consult with faculty advisors about the preparation of applications. Applications from undergraduate students should include a letter of endorsement from a departmental faculty member acting as advisor for the proposed research. To the extent permitted by the financial condition of the Fund, there will be two competitions for grants-in-aid during each academic year. A fall competition would support research done during the fall semester and the intersemester break, whereas a spring competition would support activities conducted during the spring semester and the following summer.