The Ann Johnson Institute (AJI) for Science, Technology and Society at the University of South Carolina welcomes applications for a one-day book manuscript workshop for the Winter/Spring term of 2024.

This workshop is targeted toward individuals at any career stage who have not previously published a monograph. We are happy to consider individuals with or without publishing contracts. The successful applicant will have a first-time book manuscript near completion at the time of applying. He or she will invite, and the AJI will fund, up to three senior experts in the author’s field. A small group of relevant experts within the South Carolina community may also attend.

The purpose of this workshop is to support stronger and more rigorous manuscripts from first-time STS authors. Equally, it is geared toward developing communities of colleagues from different disciplines and geographical locations. The AJI is committed to building such communities from the bottom up, seeding them, and positioning them to question and reframe complex problems. The AJI takes a broad approach to STS, envisioning it in partnership with historical, philosophical, scientific, engineering, and medical approaches because at the AJI community is the method.

Workshop format

• The successful applicant will be expected to deliver a full draft of their manuscript to all workshop participants no later than one month before the workshop convenes
• During the workshop, five hours will be devoted to a chapter-level discussion of the manuscript, with a break in the middle for lunch
• There will be a notetaker and moderator for the duration of the workshop
• The workshop includes a dinner in the evening
• Invited experts will provide written feedback to the author after the workshop, this feedback will take the form of a manuscript review from a university press

Application
Applications will require:

• Short CV
• One-page description of the book project, including its current stage of development (please do not include your name or other identifying information on in this document)
• Four to five names of senior experts to invite, please include their rank, University or home department, their field/specialty, and briefly why you would like to invite them (two sentences)

Typical Timeline for Applications:

• Applications open October 1, 2022
• Applications close March 1, 2023
• Winners are notified between April 1 and April 15, 2023.

Call for Proposals: Writer’s Retreat Theme: Medicine, Technology and Marginalized Populations

The Ann Johnson Institute (AJI) for Science, Technology and Society at the University of South Carolina welcomes applications for a one-week writing retreat at The Wooden Duck Inn in Newton, New Jersey 17-23 June 2023. Suman Seth (Cornell), Leah McClimans (University of South Carolina) and Allison Marsh (University of South Carolina) will be your hosts. The retreat offers five full days of writing in a country inn surrounded by acres of woodland.

The theme of the 2023 AJI Writing Retreat is Medicine, Technology and Marginalized Populations. We welcome applications from any scholar with a PhD across the Science, Technology and Society disciplines with projects fitting this theme. The goal of this year’s retreat is project completion. We are seeking scholars with one or more projects that can reasonably be completed within a week of concentrated writing time. Such projects include but are not limited to the completion of an article, chapter, grant proposal, or final revisions of a book manuscript.

The AJI will select approximately eight participants for the 2023 retreat. Selection will be based on two criteria 1) the project’s fit with the theme Medicine, Technology and Marginalized Populations and 2) the likelihood of completing (or substantially completing) the project in the given period.

If selected, the AJI will reimburse participants for economy air or ground transportation to the event venue; accommodation and meals while in residence will also be covered.

Guide for authors
The call for proposals opens October 15, 2022; the deadline to submit proposals is December 1, 2022.

The application requires the following materials:

• Short CV: 2 pages
• How your proposed projects reflect the theme: 1 page
• Description of what you will finish during the week: ½ page

Typical Timeline for Applications:

Proposals accepted beginning: October 15, 2022
Deadline for submission: December 1, 2022
Short interviews for semi-finalists: December 1-December 15, 2022
Notification of acceptance: January 15, 2022

Organizing committee:
Leah McClimans, University of South Carolina; Allison Marsh, University of South Carolina; Suman Seth, Cornell University. For any questions regarding this program or for any other general inquiries, please contact: aji4sts@mail.edu.

The next round of applications will open in October of 2023.

The AJI recognizes that attending cross-disciplinary conferences and meetings is often vital to the development of interdisciplinary collaborations, as well as the foundational work of understanding and integrating into a second discipline. Yet funding for cross-disciplinary conferences may be difficult to source. The AJI supports both humanists and scientists who wish to attend a cross-disciplinary conference. We support cross-disciplinary conferences and meetings broadly with the STS disciplines. For instance, a graduate student in history may wish to attend an engineering conference; a philosophy graduate student may be invited to present a paper at a public health meeting.

• Funding is offered on a competitive basis
  • We prioritize graduate students applying from University of South Carolina
  • We also prioritize graduate students from anywhere whose travel is associated with an AJI-sponsored conference event .
  • All other applications are considered on a discretionary basis 
    Applications are accepted on a rolling basis
    • Applications should be made no less than one month before anticipated travel 
      Funding for cross-disciplinary travel grants are offered on a competitive basis at any time during the year. To apply please email the below information to aji4sts@sc.edu with “Graduate Travel Grant” in the subject heading.
    • Short CV
    • One-page description of how the conference will support your interdisciplinary work. We are particularly interested in how attending this conference or meeting may build or sustain an interdisciplinary community or lay the groundwork for one by helping you integrate yourself into this discipline. Please include the name of the conference, location, and dates.
    • Budget 

Call for Applications: if you’d like more information on how to partner with the AJI on a conference, symposium or another relevant event, or if you have an art project you would like us to consider, please email us as aji4sts@mail.edu