The Coleman Dissertation Fellowship in the History of Science for 2013-2014
The Department of the History of Science and the Institute for Research in the Humanities invite applications for the 2013-14 Coleman Dissertation Fellowship in the History of Science. IRH dissertation fellows are expected to participate fully in the interdisciplinary dialogue of the Institute by attending the weekly Monday afternoon seminars (3:00-5:00 p.m.) and by presenting a seminar based upon their dissertation project. Dissertation fellows are also welcome to participate in the Institute’s daily informal lunches and in various other IRH events throughout the year.
The Coleman Dissertation Fellowship offers a one-semester stipend (currently $9,378 plus tuition waiver plus benefits) to be awarded to an outstanding graduate student, at an advanced stage of writing a dissertation that is being supervised by a faculty member in the Department of the History of Science. Fellows will have email, fax, and photocopying privileges. If available, office space may be provided.
Applications should include the Institute application form, a CV, graduate-school transcript (unofficial OK), and a proposal of not more than 1,500 words. A letter of recommendation from the dissertation director is also required. The proposal should provide a description of the dissertation project, a summary of work accomplished to date, and a plan of work to be undertaken during the term of the Coleman Fellowship. Applications should be sent by email to chair@histsci.wisc.edu as a single PDF document. The letter of recommendation from the dissertation advisor should be sent separately to chair@histsci.wisc.edu. The deadline for applications and the letter of recommendation is Monday, January 28, 2013. The History of Science Department will select a nominee to send to the Institute Director for final approva1. The deadline for sending the nominee application materials to the Institute is Tuesday, March 1, 2013. Results should be announced by the end of March.
Coleman fellows should notify the Institute Director of which semester they would like to be at the Institute. Coleman fellows are encouraged to meet informally with the Institute Director at the beginning of their fellowship for guidance on integration into the Institute’s intellectual community.
Professor William Coleman (1934-1988) was a distinguished historian of science who taught at UW-Madison from 1978 to 1988. He had previously taught at Johns Hopkins (1961-78) where he rose to the rank of Professor of History of Science and Humanistic Studies. His association with UW - Madison began in 1970-71 when he spent the year at the Institute for Research in the Humanities while on a fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies. He returned to the Institute for Research in the Humanities in 1977-78 while on a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities. In 1978 he was appointed Professor of the History of Science and History of Medicine and in 1984 was named Carol-Dickson Bascom Professor in the Humanities.
His original interests were in the history of zoology and evolutionary theory. He wrote two books in this area: Georges Cuvier, Zoologist: A Study in the History of Evolutionary Theory (1964); and Biology in the Nineteenth Century: Problems of Form, Function and Transformation (1971). His interests then shifted toward the connection of science with social and political thought. He also wrote two books on this subject: Death is A Social Disease: Public health and political economy in early industrial France (1982); and Yellow Fever in the North (1987). He served as President of the History of Science Society and was elected to the American Philosophical Society.
We are grateful to his widow, Louise Coleman, for establishing this Dissertation Fellowship.