This workshop will help prepare early doctoral students interested in the Holocaust in the Soviet Union for successful academic careers. Participants from North America and the former Soviet Union, with the guidance of Jeffrey Veidlinger (Joseph Brodsky Collegiate Professor of History and Judaic Studies, University of Michigan) and Mandel Center staff, will discuss pre-circulated project proposals and research strategies. Participants also will attend sessions devoted to historiography and central career development issues. In addition, participants will have ample opportunity to conduct research in the Museum’s extensive library and archival collections, which include more than 200 million pages of material in physical and digital formats.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

In addition to scholars from North American institutions of higher education, the Museum welcomes applications from early Ph.D. students enrolled at universities in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Applicants should clearly articulate a potential dissertation topic focusing on the Holocaust as it occurred in the former Soviet Union, but should not yet have conducted significant archival research or have started writing.

Applications must include: (1) the application form available here; (2) a current curriculum vitae; (3) a maximum 1000-word summary of a proposed dissertation topic; and (4) a confidential recommendation letter from the applicant’s advisor that addresses the applicant’s potential and relevant interests, background, training, and qualifications. Recommendation letters may be in English, Russian, or Ukrainian; all other application materials must be in English.

Participants must be in attendance each day of the workshop. Workshop sessions will be conducted in English. Participants will be required to submit a dissertation proposal of eight to ten pages in English for pre-circulation by Friday, June 17.

The Museum will accept a maximum of 16 participants. Awards include (1) a stipend toward the cost of direct travel to and from each participant’s home institution and Washington, D.C.; (2) shared lodging for the workshop’s duration; and (3) a stipend toward the cost of meals, local transit, luggage surcharges, and other incidental expenses, which will be distributed after the workshop’s conclusion via direct deposit or international wire transfer. It is the sole responsibility of each participant to acquire the appropriate visa to enter the United States and to pay for any costs associated with securing that visa.

TO APPLY

Complete the online application form.

Additional application materials may be sent by e-mail attachment or fax to Dr. Elana Jakel of the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum:

E-mail: ejakel@ushmm.org
Fax: +1.202.479.9726

To preserve the confidentiality of recommendation letters, faculty recommenders must send their letters directly to Dr. Jakel.  Applicants cannot submit recommendation letters. All application materials must be received by Thursday, March 31, 2016. We will notify applicants of our decision by April 15.