Small Grants for Course Development
in Performance and the Creative Transformation of Conflict
Application deadline: April 30, 2015
The Program in Peacebuilding and the Arts at Brandeis University is offering $500 grants to college and university educators to support efforts to incorporate the resources of the Acting Together project into curricula. The resources include a documentary film, a toolkit of resources for teaching and learning, and a two-volume anthology.
The Acting Together resources tell the stories of creative and courageous artists and peacebuilders working in zones of violent conflict, and demonstrate how performances of many kinds are used to support non-violent resistance to abuses of authority, re-humanization of enemies, and reconciliation in the aftermath of violent conflict. They link artist-based, community-based and ritual performances with concepts emerging from the field of conflict transformation, and propose new theoretical frameworks that address questions about both aesthetic excellence and socio-political efficacy. The Acting Together project is a collaboration between Brandeis University and Theatre Without Borders.
A condition of the grant is that institutions purchase a packet of the Acting Together documentary with full screening rights and the toolkit from ReCAST, Inc. This purchase may be made using some of the grant funds, or using existing institutional resources, or some combination. Grant recipients will also receive:
- a copy of the documentary with subtitles in Arabic, Hebrew, Japanese, Sinhala, Spanish and Tamil;
- the two-volume anthology.
Remaining funds may be used for other costs associated with teaching, learning and cultivating communities of inquiry such as:
- modest stipends for faculty engaged in research and course development;
- travel and fees for conferences or performances;
- receptions at film screenings;
- honoraria for guest presenters; etc.
In addition to funds, recipients of these small grants will welcome to join the Acting Together global network. Members of the network exchange knowledge and information with colleagues in related fields in the United States and internationally. They are informed about conferences, training opportunities and emerging resources.
Grant recipients must submit syllabi or descriptions of courses or workshops by December 1, 2015, and agree to share their submission on the websites of the Acting Together project.
Eligibility
Acting Together Course Development grants are earmarked for educators working in institutions that do not already own the Acting Together documentary and toolkit. Applications are welcome from faculty members teaching in Theater, Performance Studies, Community Art, or any of the creative arts; or in Peace and Justice studies, Development, Conflict Transformation, Trauma Studies, Foreign Relations, Global Studies, Politics, Sociology, Anthropology, etc. We are especially interested in receiving applications from members of the faculty of institutions with limited resources for media acquisition, including:
- Historically Black colleges and universities
- Institutions with high Hispanic enrollment
- Tribal colleges and universities
- Community Colleges
Application Process
By April 30, 2015, pleasesend a 1-2 page letter to Dr. Cynthia Cohen, with responses to the following questions:
1)Where do you teach and what is your role?
2)In what ways does your institution meet the eligibility guidelines?
3)In what classes, workshops or events do you intend to use the Acting Together resources?
4)What are the backgrounds and trajectories of the students you hope to reach with the Acting Together resources?
5)Can you commit to purchasing the Acting Together documentary and toolkit and making your syllabus or workshop outline available to us to share with other educators on our website?
6)What else would you like us to be aware of?
Please submit your letter online through the following form: