2015 Summer Institute on Conducting Archival Research

Applications are now being accepted for the 2015 Summer Institute on Conducting Archival Research.

The Summer Institute on Conducting Archival Research (SICAR) is a four-day seminar in which Ph.D. students receive training in conducting archival research from world-class faculty, researchers, archivists, and publishers. Although archival research is an integral part of many academic disciplines, it is virtually never taught at the graduate level. In an effort to address this deficiency, the George Washington University began the Summer Institute in 2003.

In 2015, SICAR is being organized jointly by the Wilson Center’s History and Public Policy Program and the George Washington University’s Cold War Group.

The Wilson Center and George Washington University now welcome applications from Ph.D. students from the US and abroad working on international relations and modern history in a variety of disciplines, including history, government and politics, international relations, sociology, anthropology, and public policy, as well as area and regional studies. Preference will be given to students who have defended their dissertation proposal and who are about to embark on archival research.

Pending the receipt of funding, the 2015 workshop will be held Tuesday, May 26, through Friday, May 29, 2015 (participants are required to arrive in Washington by Monday, May 25). All sessions of SICAR will be held at the Wilson Center in downtown Washington, DC.

The deadline for applications is February 27, 2015.

Applications should include the application cover sheet, curriculum vitae, and a one to two page (12 pt. font, double spaced, 1” margins) proposal outlining how your dissertation research would benefit from participation in SICAR. One letter of recommendation should also be submitted directly by the recommender. All application materials should be submitted via e-mail to sicar@wilsoncenter.org. The Wilson Center will make an effort to confirm receipt of all application materials.

The Wilson Center and the George Washington University will provide hotel accommodations in Washington for participants and may be able to offer modest transportation subsidies (pending the availability of funding). Applicants are encouraged to request additional funding from their home institution. For further information, please contact sicar@wilsoncenter.org.

The Wilson Center’s History and Public Policy Programfocuses on the relationship between history and policy making and seeks to foster open, informed and non-partisan dialogue on historically relevant issues. Its many activities and projects include the Cold War International History Project (CWIHP). The History and Public Policy Program also manages the award-winning Digital Archive (www.DigitalArchive.org), which contains over 7,000 documents from international archives on contemporary history.

The George Washington Cold War Group works closely with the National Security Archive and the History and Public Policy Program to build a community of faculty, scholars, and graduate students dedicated to encouraging a multilingual, multi-disciplinary and multi-national exploration of the Cold War experience and its implications for understanding current policy issues.