Academy Leaders:   

Fabian Klose (Leibniz Institute of European History Mainz)

Johannes Paulmann (Leibniz Institute of European History Mainz)

Andrew Thompson (University of Exeter)

in co-operation with the International Committee of the Red Cross (Geneva)

and with support by the German Historical Institute London

Venues:                  

Leibniz Institute of European History Mainz

and Archives of the International Committee of Red Cross Geneva

Date:                            13-24 July 2015

Deadline:                   31 December 2014

Information on:      http://hhr.hypotheses.org/ and http://imperialglobalexeter.com/

In July 2015, the Global Humanitarianism | Research Academy will first meet for one week in Mainz for academic sessions of lectures, class meetings and discussions, including study time. In the following year this meeting will take place in Exeter. PhD students will have the chance to sharpen the methodological and theoretical focus of their thesis through an intense exchange with peers, postdocs, and established scholars working in the same or related field of humanitarianism. The postdocs will benefit from discussing their research design and publication strategy with established scholars.

The academic session at Mainz and Exeter is each year followed by a one week archival session at Geneva. Here the archives of the ICRC offer a unique insight into humanitarian action during the past 150 years. The holdings provide rich material, including visual material, for the history of international affairs in the ages of nation states, empires and global governance, particularly the study of humanitarianism, humanitarian law, conflicts studies as well as related issues such as human rights. Under the guidance of the experienced staff from the archive, the members of the Research Academy will study primary sources related to the previous discussions at Mainz as well as to their own research projects if applicable. Opportunities will also be provided for intensive discussions with active members of the ICRC staff and other Geneva based humanitarian organisations.

The Research Academy invites applications for the 2015 Global Humanitarianism | Research Academy (GHRA) from PhD students and early postdocs. The Steering Committee will select up to 12 participants. Applicants must be able to certify that they are fluent in both written and spoken English, the Academy’s working language. For researching the ICRC archives a fair command of reading French is desirable in order to use the finding aids as well as the material.

Participants of the international Global Humanitarianism | Research Academy will be chosen by the Steering Committee on the basis of

• a cover letter (of not more than 350 words) setting out the applicant’s reasons for wanting to participate in the academy and indicating the anticipated outcome of their research;
• a draft article (of not more than 1,000 words) on a key term, concept, or event in the history of humanitarianism of the applicant’s own choice;
• a statement (of no more than 1,000 words) summarizing their research project;
• a brief curriculum vitae;
• two supporting letters.

Each selected academy fellow receives the cost of travel to Mainz and Geneva. The Leibniz Institute of European History, the University of Exeter and the International Committee of the Red Cross will arrange accommodation for each fellow for the duration of the Research Academy.

If you are interested in participating at the research academy please send your application consisting of one pdf-document under the heading “Global Humanitarianism | Research Academy” to the organizers at the following e-mail address not later than December 31, 2014:

E-MAIL: [email protected]