First, please review the eligibility criteria for participation in NEH Seminars and Institutes for School Teachers: http://www.neh.gov/files/divisions/education/eligibility/school_teacher_eligibility_criteria.pdf.

Our anticipated audience for this summer seminar is primarily middle and high school English Language Arts, Social Studies, and Art instructors with a pedagogical interest in ethnic literature/film and contemporary issues around multiculturalism, racial diversity, immigration, citizenship, and national identity, as well as people who are involved in curriculum development around these lines.

We are particularly eager to welcome participants from states with limited or very concentrated Asian American populations, as well as those whose student populations may reflect these demographic shifts in ways that the curriculum simply cannot yet keep up with. In short, we will consider both teachers who work with immigrant (not necessarily Asian) and/or indigenous student populations, as well as those who don’t.

We suggest potential applicants from all levels and disciplines make their case for inclusion in the seminar. In the application essay, we encourage applicants to discuss the specific questions which are raised for them around Asian American culture and communities in their home state, and the kinds of challenges and opportunities which they are faced with. We intend to create a cohort with great regional diversity, and one which can learn from within, and across America, as it well as from the social laboratory of New York City.

A selection committee will read and evaluate all properly completed applications in order to select the most promising applicants and to identify a number of alternates. Seminar selection committees typically consist of the seminar director, a school teacher who is usually a participant in a previous NEH seminar, and a colleague of the director. Institute selection committees typically consist of three to five members, usually drawn from the institute faculty and staff members.

The most important consideration in the selection of participants is the likelihood that an
applicant will benefit professionally and personally. Committee members consider several factors, each of which should be addressed in the application essay. These factors include:

1. effectiveness and commitment as a teacher/educator;
2. intellectual interests, in general and as they relate to the work of the project;
3. special perspectives, skills, or experiences that would contribute to the seminar or institute;
4. commitment to participate fully in the formal and informal collegial life of the project;
and
5. the likelihood that the experience will enhance the applicant’s teaching.

Recent participants are eligible to apply, but project selection committees are charged to give first consideration to applicants who have not participated in an NEH-supported Seminar, Institute or Landmarks Workshop in the last three years (2012, 2013, 2014). When choices must be made among equally qualified candidates, several additional factors are considered.

Preference is given to applicants who have not previously participated in an NEH
Summer Seminar, Institute, or Landmarks Workshop, or who significantly
contribute to the diversity of the seminar or institute.

A complete application consists of three copies of the following collated items:

1. The completed application cover sheet
2. A résumé or brief biography
3. Contact information for two professional references
4. An application essay

Additional information about the application materials is found on the application page.

Application Deadline: March 2, 2015
Notification: Applicants will be notified of their acceptance via email on March 30, 2015
Offer Acceptance Deadline: Accepted applicants will have until Friday, April 3, 2015 to decline or accept the offer.

Some frequently asked questions are addressed on the FAQ page.

An individual may apply to up to two projects (NEH Summer Seminars, Institutes or Landmarks Workshops), but may participate in only one. Once you have accepted an offer to attend any NEH Summer Program (NEH Summer Seminar, Institute or Landmarks Workshop), you may not accept an additional offer or withdraw in order to accept a different offer.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT: Endowment programs do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age. For further information, write to NEH Equal Opportunity Officer, 400 7th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20024. TDD: 202/606-8282 (this is a special telephone device for the Deaf).