Eligibility and Application Procedures

Applicants should also consult the eligibility guidelines provided NEH (available for download by clicking here). Our seminar does not have any additional specific eligibility requirements. We hope that this seminar will draw applicants from many different fields. English, Foreign Languages, Classics, Religion, Art, History and Social Studies are some of the obvious fields, since in them a knowledge of Dante and his world can be directly helpful in the classroom. But we hope that anyone genuinely interested in studying this text will apply. Teachers of mathematics, science, vocational subjects--indeed any subject--should feel encouraged to apply as long as they can demonstrate interest in the text. And interest does not necessarily mean prior experience. Our previous NEH seminars on Dante have been made up more or less equally of participants who had and who had not studied the text before, and both groups were able to learn from each other.

The most important part of the application is your four page (double spaced) “Description of Objectives.” This essay, as the NEH guidelines put it, should “address reasons for applying; the applicant's interest, both academic and personal, in the subject to be studied; qualifications and experience that equip the applicant to do the work of the seminar and to make a contribution to a learning community; a statement of what the applicant wants to accomplish by participating; and the relation of the project to the applicant's professional responsibilities.” We would ask that in thinking about this essay you also address the question “Why this particular seminar?” In other words, it is important that the question you answer is not why you would benefit from the program in general, but why you would benefit from, and what would you bring to, the Dante seminar. You may want to answer this question in terms of your own teaching, or in terms of your general intellectual development, but the more specific your answer, the better your application.

You will also note that the application calls for two letters of recommendation. It is important that you ask people who know you and your teaching well. What a person has to say about you is more important than the position that person holds. Referees will send their letters to you in sealed envelopes with their signatures over the seal. You will then submit these sealed envelopes as part of your application. It will be essential, therefore, for you to receive these letters in advance of the deadline for your submission of the application. In addition to these two letters of reference, the completed application will consist of three collated copies each of the cover sheet, your resumé (two-page maximum), and your application essay.

To begin your application, go to the online application cover sheet located on the NEH web site: (http://www.neh.gov/online/education/participants/). Complete the on-line cover sheet for Seminars and Institutes and then print it. We cannot accept any application material via fax, e-mail, or as an attachment to e-mail.

Please send completed applications to:

Ron Herzman
Department of English
SUNY Geneseo
1 College Circle
Geneseo, NY 14454

Applications must be postmarked by March 1, 2011.

As the NEH application guidelines state, successful applicants will be notified of their selection on Friday, April 1, 2011.  You need to let us know where you will be on this date if it is different from the contact information you give on your application.