American Examples is a collaborative working group for early career scholars who study religion in America, broadly conceived, from a variety of disciplines. The program is generously funded by the Henry Luce Foundation. American Examples engages the study of religion in America across the three areas of research, teaching, and public scholarship. Drawing on expertise from across the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Alabama, American Examples’ training and mentoring produces scholars whose work exceeds the intellectual and geographic boundaries of “American religion” or “American religious history.”

American Examples seeks applications for participants in its newly expanded 2020 program. AE consists of three two-day workshops, each with its own focus: research, public scholarship,  and teaching. The workshops are hosted at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa and led by mentors drawn from the faculty of the Department of Religious. Travel, lodging, and meals in Tuscaloosa for participants are paid for by American Examples.

The Workshops

Research- March 5-8, 2020: A collaborative discussion of chapter length works in progress that will lead to the publication of an edited anthology of participants’ chapters.

Public Scholarship- May 7-10 2020: An introduction to a number of digital tools for building public digital projects and presenting research to larger publics through digital platforms.

Teaching- Oct 1-4, 2020: A collaborative and engaging series of discussions and activities that will equip participants with new methods and pedagogy for teaching courses on religion in America.

 For more information on the workshops see http://americanexamples.ua.edu/about.

 Participant Qualifications

American Examples seeks applications for participants from any untenured scholar who studies “religion in America”, very broadly conceived. Applicants must have a Ph.D. or reached Ph.D. candidacy (i.e. ABD) in their Ph.D. program. Ph.D candidates, non-TT instructors, adjuncts, scholars in libraries and alt-ac careers, and independent scholars are especially encouraged to apply. Thus, applicants can range from ABD Ph.D. students to tenure-track Assistant Professors. Likewise, scholars from a variety of disciplines including (but not limited to) religious studies, history, sociology, anthropology, English, and literature are encouraged to apply. Priority will be given to applicants who have not published a monograph.

Participant Requirements

Participants in the program are required to have a chapter length research project prepared to pre-circulate to the other workshop participants in early 2020. They should also be prepared to do light preparatory reading or writing before and after the other two workshops. After the teaching workshop, for example, participants should submit a syllabus for a class on religion in America that will be added to our public AE syllabus database.

Application Materials

Applicants to participate should send the following to AE Director Michael Altman via email at michael.altman@ua.edu. Applications are due October 15, 2019.

• 2-page CV
• Abstract of research project (no more than 1 page)
• A cover letter that expresses your interest in American Examples and answers the following question: Why would someone who studies religion in a geographical space outside of “America” be interested in your work? What would they find useful or interesting about your project?

Applicants who are ABD should have their advisor email the AE director a brief note verifying their ABD status.

For more information about American Examples see the AE website: americanexamples.ua.edu.