2011 Charlton Oral History Research Award Announced

BUIOH (The Baylor University Institute for Oral History) is pleased to announce that Velma E. Love, Ph.D., is the recipient of its first annual Charlton Oral History Research Award. Dr. Love, who holds a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Claremont Graduate University and the M.Div. from Union Seminary, is an assistant professor of religious studies at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. where she teaches a variety of topics in religion and ethnography. She has presented her scholarship at a number of professional meetings and has published journal articles and book chapters. Her works in progress include a book manuscript under contract with Penn State University Press titled "Unveiling the Saints: Discovering the African Self" and research on Africana spiritual narratives for an anthology of religious autobiographies from the African Diaspora. Dr. Love received training in oral history methodology at Columbia University and has fourteen years of experience in oral history interviewing.

With assistance from the Charlton Award, Dr. Love will focus her research on an oral history project titled "Oyotunji Landscape Narratives: Stories of Place, Space, and Spirit." As Dr. Love explains in her proposal, "The project is designed to produce a photographic essay and narrative presentation of the grounds of Oyotunji African Village in Sheldon, South Carolina." The Village lies on ten acres converted in 1970 by a group of African American Yoruba practitioners from swampland into an historically significant landscape that expresses Black Arts Nationalism and Yoruba sacred worldview. Dr. Love's project is a continuation of earlier interviews with some of the founders of the Village to document the meaning and uses of the unwritten sacred texts of West African origin.

 The current project will encompass the sacred meaning and use of the landscape and built environment of the Village. Dr. Love states, "Using oral history and photography as research methods, the final product will provide the general audience reader with a clear visual image of the current landscape architecture of the residential dwellings, as well as the shrines, altars, tombs, and spaces designated for ritual, ceremony and communal events, along with the story of how the land was transformed. This interdisciplinary project will make a contribution to several areas of study, including oral history, spirituality and landscape architecture, visual anthropology, religious studies, and African American religions. It points to the importance of 'learning to see' and of recognizing the significance of personal narrative, material culture, space, and place in the study of religion.

The goal of the Charlton Oral History Research Award is to bring the strengths of oral history to new topics of investigation, create partnerships with scholars doing noteworthy fieldwork with oral history, build a substantial research collection at Baylor University through the work of a skilled oral historian, and provide long-term scholarly access to significant applications of oral history methodology that model best practices.

About the Charlton Award:

The Baylor University Institute for Oral History invites individual scholars with training and experience in oral history research who are conducting oral history interviews to apply for support of up to $3,000 for the academic year 2011–2012. With this award, the Institute seeks to partner with one scholar who is using oral history to address new questions and offer fresh perspectives on a subject area in which the research method has not yet been extensively applied. Interdisciplinary, cross-cultural research on local, national, or international subjects is welcome.

The goal of the Charlton Oral History Research Award is to bring the strengths of oral history to new topics of investigation, create partnerships with scholars doing noteworthy fieldwork with oral history, build a substantial research collection at Baylor University through the work of a skilled oral historian, and provide long-term scholarly access to significant applications of oral history methodology that model best practices.

CRITERIA
All grantees will agree to follow the principles of the Oral History Association; adhere to the established procedures of the Institute for Oral History; and obtain signed consent and transfer of copyright from interviewees, using the Institute's Deed of Gift form. In addition, grantees will agree to deposit recordings and transcripts created under the award in the Baylor University Libraries and submit a brief report about the work accomplished under the grant no later than one year from the date of the award. Grantees will also agree to propose a paper based on the funded research for presentation at the 2012 or 2013 Oral History Association meeting. If the grantee's submission is accepted by OHA for 2012 or 2013, the Institute will pay the grantee's basic registration fee to attend the meeting.

FUNDING
Grantees may use the funds for expenses related to oral history interviews, including the interviewer's time, travel, lodging expenses, and incidental research expenses. Funds may be used to purchase digital audio recording equipment, but not video recording equipment. All equipment and recording media must conform to the current standards of the Institute. If necessary, the Institute will furnish audio recording equipment and media to ensure quality. Applicants need not include transcription costs in their expense plans. In addition to funding the interviews, the Institute will fund all expenses for processing, transcribing, and preserving the recordings, which will be accomplished in-house by Institute staff. Grantees will receive up to $3,000 in funding, payable in three installments, over the 2011-2012 academic year.

ELIGIBILITY
Non-US citizens are eligible but should contact the Institute regarding visas and other required paperwork before applying. Interviews in languages other than English are not eligible for the award.

EVALUATION
Applications will be evaluated on the significance of the research for providing a fresh approach to the subject and its potential for advancing knowledge; the originality, clarity, and precision of the project proposal; the applicant's past record of producing high-quality oral history research; the potential for successful completion of the project within the contract period; the anticipated use of the interviews in a publication, presentation, or other public outcome.

DEADLINES
Applications must be received by June 24, 2011.
Awards will be announced by July 1, 2011.
Interviews will be completed by April 30, 2012.

REQUIRED APPLICATION MATERIALS
Each application must include 1) the Charlton Award Cover Sheet; 2) a project description of 4–6 pages indicating the purpose of the research, the applicant's previous research of the topic, a description of any prior interviews conducted on the topic, the names of the persons to be interviewed, planned arrangements for conducting the interviews, and proposed public outcomes for the interview materials; 3) a curriculum vitae or résumé, including the applicant's previous oral history research and interviewing experience; 4) the names of two references who have agreed to send a supporting letter directly to the Institute by June 24, 2011; and 5) a proposed budget indicating how the requested funds will be spent.

Send all application materials and reference letters by e-mail attachment to stephen_sloan@baylor.edu by June 24, 2011.

To ask questions about the award, contact the Institute for Oral History via e-mail at BUIOH@baylor.edu.

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The Charlton Oral History Research Award honors Dr. Thomas L. Charlton, founder of the Institute for Oral History, whose vision for innovative oral history research still inspires our mission. Tom Charlton has devoted his career to opening doors for both beginning and advanced oral historians, always encouraging us to stretch further, dig deeper, and think bigger.

The Institute for Oral History is an interdisciplinary research entity of Baylor University administered through the provost's office. Since 1970, the Institute has gathered and preserved oral history, while providing leadership and service for the profession. Search the Institute's oral history collection and learn more the Institute's service at baylor.edu/oralhistory.

As an Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, Baylor encourages minorities, women, veterans, and persons with disabilities to apply.