Application Information

With support from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Kroc Institute invites applications for Visiting Fellowships in its Program in Religion, Conflict and Peacebuilding (PRCP). The PRCP explores the complex role of religion in contemporary conflicts, ranging from the legitimation or sacralization of violence, to participation in conflict mediation and reconciliation, to the advocacy and practice of nonviolent resistance as a religious imperative. For the class of 2005-06, the program encourages applications addressing program themes in the context of the Middle East.

The program understands religious traditions as evolving, internally diverse sets of beliefs, narratives, practices and laws. It explores the phenomenon of "lived religion" by examining how religious traditions move from sacred scripture or traditional norm to the practical principles which guide specific decisions and actions taken in the context of violent conflict. Research focuses on three dimensions of this process: the relationship between religious ethics, human rights, and attitudes of tolerance and intolerance toward the other; religious roles in conflict resolution, including conflict within and between religious traditions; and the contributions of religious actors to post-conflict reconciliation, justice and peacebuilding.

Rockefeller Visiting Fellowships are open to senior and junior scholars in the humanities and social sciences, as well as religious leaders and peacebuilding practitioners, of any nationality. The PRCP seeks to include research by scholars and practitioners with expertise in Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Sikh, or Christian traditions and movements.

Visiting fellows are expected to present a public lecture on their research, participate in the ongoing PRCP seminar series, participate on current events panels related to their research, and provide guest lectures in appropriate classes. Visiting Fellows are expected to produce a chapter suitable for publication in a volume emerging from a PRCP conference.

The fellowships will ordinarily be for one year. Stipends begin at $35,000 per year. Visiting Fellows will also be provided with an apartment in the Hesburgh Center's residential quarters, an office in the Hesburgh Center for International Studies, a computer, an email account, access to the internet, and photocopying, faxing and communication facilities. Visiting Fellows will also receive full privileges at the Hesburgh Library.

To be considered for a Rockefeller Visiting Fellowship, prospective candidates should submit:

• a complete CV or resume, including a list of publications
• a one-paragraph biography (approximately 150 words)
• a research proposal of no more than 7 double-spaced pages which includes a project summary of no more than 1 page, a project description, a description of the research methodology to be employed, and a timetable for completion of the project
• three letters of reference

The CV and research proposal may be submitted by regular mail or as an email attachment in a standard word processing format. Letters of reference should be sent directly to the Institute by the person providing the reference, and may be sent by regular mail or email. All application materials or inquiries about the program should be directed to:

Rashied Omar, PRCP Coordinator
Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies
100 Hesburgh Center for International Studies
P.O. Box 639
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556
telephone: (574) 631-7740 fax: (574) 631-6973
email: omar.1@nd.edu

Applications must be postmarked by November 15, 2004.