Alice Drum Summer Research Award in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies (2018)

This award celebrates Alice Drum, who served as Vice President of the College;was instrumental in the founding of theWomen’s Center, now named in her honor; directed the Women’s and Gender Studies Program; and taught legendary classes on women writers. The “Athena Citation” honoring her at Commencement in 2008 reads, “An intellectual connection with women’s literature and her own life experience made her a fervent advocate for women’s rights in the academy and beyond. She served as a role model for those seeking to balance a demanding career with love of family.”

Description: The Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program announces the Alice Drum Award for up to $2000 for the summer of 2018. This award supports summer projects related to research, creative arts, or community and public service. Proposed projects must further knowledge of the roles of women, gender, and/or sexuality in society. Recipients must also show quality of character, personal and intellectual promise, and an enthusiasm for learning from the proposed experience. Please consult the Advice for Applicants tips below.

Eligibility: All students who will be enrolled at the College for at least one semester after receiving the award in the spring of 2018are eligible to apply. Requirements: Each winner must write a final report on his or her experiences, and present his or her project at the Research Fair; CPC Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Conference; or other appropriate venue.

How to Apply: Complete the items listed below and email the application to Maria Mitchell, Chair, Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program().

  • completed cover sheet
  • unofficial transcript
  • two letters of recommendation from professors
  • a statement of approximately 500 words in which you (1) explain your summer project and (2) explain how your coursework and activities have prepared you to pursue it
  • an F&M Summer Project Budget Formitemizing the expenses relating to this project (up to $2000)
  • if an off-campus project for credit, a pre-approval form from the Office of International and Off-Campus Study; you must attend a Starting Points meeting first

Deadline: Friday, March 9, 2018 (by 4:30 p.m.). The WGSS committee plans to announce the winner by March 22, 2019. Questions?
Cover Sheet/Alice Drum Summer Research Award 2018

Name:

Graduation Year:

F&M P.O. Box:

Cell Phone:

Email:

Permanent Address:

Current or Expected Major(s):

Current or Expected Minor (if applicable):

Cum GPA:

Relevant courses in which you are currently enrolled or have already completed:

Relevant extracurricular and community activities at F&M:

Names of two professors from whom you have requested letters of recommendation:

1.

2.

Have you applied for any other College grants for this project?

Alice Drum Summer Research Award – Advice for Applicants

Do you think it’s too difficult to design a research project

for the Alice Drum Summer Research Award?

If so, THINK AGAIN.

Here is some advice for writing a strong proposal.

Consult with one of your WGSS professors orProfessor Mitchell, WGSS Chair, for ideas.

Advice:

A strong proposal will explain your goal (what question are you trying to answer?), your methods and plan of study (explain how you will do your study), and the significance of the proposed project.

Show a professor early drafts of your proposal. We can help!

Notes:

Some proposals include research projects attached to an internship or volunteer experience, but others are exclusively research (oral histories, ethnographies, archival research, policy analysis, surveys, etc.).

Some students are WGSS majors or minors; others are not.

Some students propose topics that involve overseas or domestic travel; other projects are local.

Projects that involve interviews, ethnographies, or oral histories require Human Subjects approval. See the Human Subjects Policy web page:

Examples:

One student received funds to volunteer with a Sexual Assault Prevention and Education Program in rural China. She translated rape-prevention materials and, under the supervision of her director, planned and implemented educational programs about rape prevention. She did research assessing rape prevention programs in the United States and China and compared the prevalence of rape in each country. She presented this comparative research at the research fair.

Another successful proposal was to complete oral histories of the first generation of women who graduated from F&M in the early 1970s and write a research paper analyzing their experience. This proposal coincided with the 40th anniversary of co-education at the College.

A third past award winner studied the “living doll” fashion trend among young Japanese women. This student interviewed the women dressed as dolls and analyzed primary texts in Japanese culture, such as advertisements and editorials, to document the responses to this style of dress. This student also consulted archives at the Museum of Japanese Fashion in Kobe, Japan.