Hmm, what are the odds?

I'm wondering if it's worth my while to try applying for an NEH Fellowship. After all the work of an application, what would the odds even be of my winning a fellowship? I'd assume that the odds would be very, very slim. On the other hand, I kind of think that the odds of the St. Martyr's president allowing me a sabbatical in 2007-08 are also not 100%. So I need to be thinking about various ways of getting research time if I want to write this book.

NEH estimates the time to complete an online application is 15 hours, but I don't know whether that includes the time it would take to write a three-page single-spaced description of my project. And that project narrative is, of course, the only part of the application that would be difficult to write; the rest sounds pretty easy. Here are some of the things that the narrative is supposed to include:

"The narrative should convey the ideas, objectives, and methods of the project. It should also communicate the project's substance and potential contribution to the humanities.... What are the basic ideas, problems, or questions examined by the study? Explain the planned approach or line of thought. If the area is a new area of research, explain the reasons for working in it.... How will the project complement, challenge, or expand relevant studies in the field? Explain what makes the study distinctive.What contribution will the project make to the humanities?"

These are all really good questions ... and I don't really know what the answers are for my project! I know that these are the sorts of things that one should really think about before starting a book project, but honestly I just thought, "I'm totally interested in this topic, and I bet other folks would be also." So perhaps I've put the cart way before the horse, but I don't think I have the kind of mind that can decide what's important about a project before I've actually done the project. And I'm not sure that I can decide what's "distinctive" and "making a contribution" even once I've finished; I may have a little inferiority process when it comes to my research. Or maybe I'm just lazy and am unwilling to do the hard thinking that these questions require. Or maybe both.

And that, right there, may be part of the explanation for my troubles on the job market a few years ago! I don't think I could ever make a compelling argument about what was so darned important about my dissertation as compared to anyone else's. But if I'm (1) wanting to write this current book and am hoping to, you know, actually get it published, and (2) thinking about going on the job market in the next year or so, I'm going to need to suck it up and do some hard thinking. So is this spring  perhaps the time for that kind of thinking? Or would my time be better spent in continuing to write my analyses of primary texts, which might in turn help me do that thinking at the higher level. I always worry about arriving at my thesis too soon, before I have all the data. On the other hand, I also worry that I sometimes just wind up collecting lots and lots of data and never quite arriving at an argument.

The deadline is May 1. But of course I'd need to ask for the two letters of rec right away. And I'd have to decide whom to ask for letters; plus those letter-writers could very reasonably ask for my project narrative as part of their preparation to write the letter.

What to do, what to do? I'd certainly appreciate any feedback from anyone who's applied for an NEH grant before. And I think that playing around with such a project narrative will be my spring break project (week after this -- hurrah!); even if I don't end up applying this year, a week of playing around with these ideas can't hurt.

In the meantime, I went ahead and set up an account with NEH so that, when the applications go online on Wednesday, I could at least take a look at it; I guess further information never hurt anyone.

Comments

[Ancarett]

I used to work as a reviewer for the NEH in history. Really? It's worth a shot.

One good plan is to have a very clearly defined segment of the project you can do in the time period and not make it sound like you're just doing a chapter of a larger work on their dollar (i.e., they usually want to see something that you'll punch out with clear credit to the NEH). It can still end up as part of a bigger project, but, say, an article first or the like.

[New Kid on the Hallway]

I've applied for 2 NEH Summer Stipends - and didn't get either, so take whatever I say with a grain of salt! But I'd definitely say it's worth a shot. I know it's hard to think about the significance of the project before it's done, but I think that's a really important part of the process - everytime I write a proposal like this, I learn something valuable about what I'm trying to do and how to talk about it. I think one of the important things to remember is that whatever you write in a proposal, although it has to be convincing and reasonable, doesn't tie you to a future argument. You can still change your mind! So you're not really arriving at your thesis before you should be - you're just expressing your beliefs at that particular time.

I know that from what I've heard, letters are pretty important (though Ancarett can obviously speak to this more directly than I can). Depending on who you plan to ask for a letter, can you sit down and have a conversation with them (if only virtual) about your topic and what does make it different/significant/distinctive? Someone in a very different place in the profession may be able to give you a new perspective and help you think of a framework for how your work is important.

(My problem is not so much deciding why *I* think my work is important, as effectively explaining that to others! I remember, long ago, doing a Fulbright interview, and explaining what I thought was the significance of the project, and a sociologist leaning forward and saying earnestly, "Yes, but what makes this project important?" Damn social scientists!)

[Another Damned Medievalist]

when I got my DAAD, it was via the Fulbright interview. I really focused on where the project fit into the field.

[meg]

Funny that all the medievalists are answering. (Okay, not all of them.)

I've been trying to decide about whether to spend all that time applying too. I have guaranteed leave that year, but the feather in my cap will be considerably bigger if I get NEH funding.

But what are the chances they'll give an NEH to the likes of me? Fat and slim, from what I can tell.

[Pilgrim/Heretic]

I'd echo New Kid's point about the process being valuable whether you get one or not. Also, don't feel like you have to understand absolutely every element of the project and its significance (and then remain fully committed to that for the next several years). Projects change, as you know, and it's okay to let them; the proposal is just your best guess right now as to what it's going to contribute. (Write it with confidence, of course, but you don't have to feel all the confidence that you express. My guess is that nobody does.)

[Ancarett]

Yes, letters can matter but not so incredibly much as in "Oh, look at the big name" but more as to whether the reviewer really knows about your project and is behind it as an important contribution to the discipline. I've seen some big name reviewers just write a glowing, generic reference and those have generally fallen rather flat. So if you ask someone to support your application, make sure they see the entire proposal (or, better yet, a snappy summary!) and also make sure to follow up that they actually send in the letter. The number of applicants whose proposals languished for lack of supporting letters arriving in time? Scandalous!

[peripateticpolarbear]

(o)

[Jeannette]

(ha,ha--another medievalist chiming in...)

I'm just a foundering grad student, so whatever...maybe I shouldn't flaunt my ignorance, but for what's it worth:

Sometimes the process of doing something, even if the end goal isn't achieved (i.e. not getting the NEH grant), makes it worth doing. Perhaps the application process will help you personally find some clarity as a scholar at this particular point in yr life, and that will make it worth it no matter the outcome.

Though not nearly up there with NEH grants, I decided to apply for new PhD programs last fall, after ending last year with comps standing between me and ABD at my old school. But I wasn't happy with where I was (personally, not necessarily the school) at the moment and felt totally directionless, even though, by all accounts I was making progress, getting past appropriate milestones. And due to several factors changing in my life, decided to take the plunge, applying at two big league schools in the area. At the end of the application process, I realized that though I may end up $200 poorer in fees and with no PhD program in the fall, writing those applications was the best thing I did. I found clarity. I was able to define who I was and what I wanted to do, because I forced to with high stakes. So, maybe I've blathered on too much and it doesn't really bear on your question. I guess all I'm trying to say is that sometimes the process makes it worth it even if you don't get the grant in the end.

*shrug*

[ArticulateDad]

Boy, WhatNow?,

I don't know about you, but all these comments are quite inspiring to me. Maybe I'll take a look at the NEH grants. As much work as they are, I've found the process of writing up proposals quite rewarding, in that they help me focus and clarify my ideas. Forge on!

[What Now?]

As ArticulateDad says, I do find this very inspiring! Dadgumit, I'm going to apply for an NEH grant! Watch me go!

Yesterday I asked my chair (who himself got an NEH grant at about the same stage of his career) if he'd write me a letter, and he encouraged me to apply and said he'd be happy to write a letter. So now I just need to decide if I should ask my dissertation director for the second letter; after all, she hasn't actually been involved in this particular project, and she's certainly a Big Name, but she's also a retired Big Name whose scholarly activity is slightly waning (and deservedly so; let the poor woman enjoy retirement already!).

Spring Break starts Friday afternoon (hurrah!), and I'm going to spend part of my break "leisure" to think about my project narrative. Exciting!

[academic coach]

Go for it!
The advice from your virtual friends is superb -- perhaps a couple of these experienced academibloggers - esp. Ancarett - might be willing to take a quick editorial peek at the meat of your proposal.

When you ask for letters of recommendation, I think that a pithy summary of the project is best.

[Kath]

Absolutely it is worth it. I applied for and received a NEH Summer Stipend in 1998 and it was so worth it! I got the first sabbatical in our university's history so combined one quarter off of classes and the summer stipend and had 5.5 months to write my book. Had just 1 chapter to go by the time fall term came. But yes, you need to really think through their questions. For me, I applied the year before and didn't get it. But write for the comments -- they helped me to revise and the 2nd time, it was successful. And I was writing about talk shows, no less. But I took their questions/ideas seriously, grounded my chapters in history as well as sociology (my field). So absolutely, try. I haven't applied online, but just do it!