Calls for Applications, Papers, and Other Submissions

 

Call for Fellowship Applications

Horatio Alger Research Fellowship for the Study of American Popular Culture

The NIU Libraries, with funding provided by the Horatio Alger Society, offers a fellowship to scholars who wish to come to NIU to conduct research using the Libraries’ major holdings in American popular culture. These holdings include the nation’s preeminent collections related to Horatio Alger, Jr. and Edward Stratemeyer. The Albert Johannsen and Edward T. LeBlanc Collections of more than 50,000 dime novels, as well as the complementary Merriwell Collection, are also eligible for research under this fellowship. The fellowship provides up to $2,000 to a visiting scholar. Travel arrangements will be made by the recipient. They will submit a budget as part of the application. They will be reimbursed after the fellowship is completed.

Fellowship Terms and Expectations
  • Fellows will present a talk for NIU, either in person or virtually, on the results of their research within 1 year of completing the fellowship.
  • Fellows will be encouraged to deposit scholarship resulting from the fellowship into the Huskie Commons institutional repository (https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/).
  • Fellows will credit the Endowment and NIU Libraries in publications resulting from their research
  • NIU Libraries will provide a workspace in the library
  • Library faculty and staff will provide research assistance to the fellows

Eligibility: Faculty members, independent scholars, graduate students, and librarians currently based in or outside the United States are eligible to apply. NIU Libraries will provide a letter of invitation that the visiting scholar may use to apply for visa to travel to the United States. It is the responsibility of the scholar to obtain the visa, including paying for visa fees in advance.

Timeline: Applications are accepted January-April for the fellowship in the following July–June. Applicants will be informed of the decision by June 15. Fellows can work at NIU for up to 30 days.

To Apply: Complete and submit this linked form and email a current CV and two (2) letters of recommendation to [email protected] no later than May 15, 2025. Applicants or interested parties can contact us at [email protected] with further inquiries. 

 

Call for Papers

Please check back for updates!

Call for Chapters

Unsettling the Heartland: Black Americans and the Making of the Midwest

Edited by: Dr. Sara Gallagher, PhD

Description: The Midwest has long been a pivotal yet underexplored region in the history and cultural expression of Black Americans. From Black homesteading communities that shaped the rural landscape to the literary voices that captured the complexities of migration, labor, and identity, the Midwest holds a unique place in the Black American experience. This edited volume seeks to explore the intersection of history and literature, focusing on Black homesteading, migration, and cultural production in the Midwest. We invite scholars, historians, and literary critics to contribute original essays that examine the Black Midwest through historical, cultural, and literary lenses. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Black Homesteading and Rurality: The role of Black farmers and settlers in building self-sufficient communities in the Midwest, including case studies of all-Black towns and agricultural practices.
  • Migration and Urbanization: How the Great Migration reshaped Black Midwestern communities and how literature reflects these transitions.
  • Black Women’s Voices: The contributions of Black Midwestern women in literature, journalism, and activism, from the 19th century to the present.
  • Popular Culture and the Black Midwest: The influence of Black Midwestern culture on music, film, and other forms of artistic expression.
  • Regional Identity in Black Literature: How authors such as Toni Morrison, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Colson Whitehead depict the Midwest in their works.
  • Canadian Connections: The history and cultural contributions of Black settlers in the Canadian Prairies.
  • Contemporary Reclamations of the Black Midwest: Modern literature, activism, and cultural movements that revisit or reinterpret Black Midwestern history.

Key Questions: This collection seeks to answer a range of questions, including but not limited to:

  • How did Black homesteaders shape the economic and cultural landscapes of the Midwest?
  • What role did the Great Migration play in the cultural and historical representation of Black Midwestern identity?
  • How have Black Midwestern women contributed to cultural and historical narratives?
  • In what ways does popular culture reflect or distort the realities of Black life in the Midwest?
  • How do contemporary writers and activists engage with the legacy of Black settlement and migration in the region?
  • What connections can be drawn between historical Black Midwestern communities and present-day social and political movements?

Target Audience: This collection is intended for scholars, researchers, and students in the fields of African American Studies, American History, Literary Studies, Cultural Studies, and Midwest Studies. It will also be valuable to educators, writers, and general readers interested in Black history and literature.

Chapter Submissions: We seek well-researched and original chapters between 6,000 and 8,000 words. Submissions should be grounded in historical and/or literary analysis and should align with the themes outlined above.

Details for Abstract Submissions: Interested contributors should submit a 300–500-word abstract outlining their proposed chapter, along with a brief biography (150 words), by April 27, 2025.

Important Dates:

  • Abstract Submission Deadline: April 27, 2025
  • Full Chapter Submission Deadline: August 10, 2025
  • Final Revisions Due: September 29, 2025
  • Tentative Publication Date: Spring 2026

Editor information/Biography: Dr. Sara Gallagher is a scholar and professor at Durham College in Canada, specializing in the Black American West and Western Studies broadly. She earned her PhD from the University of Waterloo in 2022. Her research focuses on Black literature and cultural production in the Midwest and West. She is the author of Black Wests: Reshaping Race and Place in Popular Culture (forthcoming from OU Press in Spring 2025) and has published widely on Black Western narratives in literature and film.

Contact/For all inquiries please email: [email protected]