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2025-26 Application opens June 1 and closes June 30, 2025.
SUMMARY
The University of California, Irvine (UCI) Program in Religious Studies supports promising PhD students or recent graduates (within 5 years* of graduating with PhD and in an teaching or independent research position of some kind) to pursue targeted scholarship in Process-relational philosophy in substantive dialog with any aspect of South Asian traditions and praxis. Projects that engage the Jain tradition are particularly welcome. The PhD Process Studies and South Asia Research Award comes with a stipend of $1500 to be used at the awardee's discretion for support during the award period. An additional $500 can be offered to support a presentation at a conference or other public forum.
Applicants can be affiliated with any university or organization.
*applicants whose graduation year exceeds 5 years will be considered on a case-by-case basis based on the strength of the application and the likelihood that the award will result in a published contribution to the field.
DESCRIPTION
This 3-quarter (September-June) award is meant to engage the work of Alfred North Whitehead or other significant process philosophers or process theologians (including, but not limited to: C.S. Peirce, William James, Friedrich Nietzsche, Samuel Alexander, Henri Bergson, John Dewey, Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari, George Herbert Mead, Charles Hartshorne, John Cobb, Marjorie Suchocki, Carol Christ, Rosemary Radford Reuther, among many others, including contemporary voices). This work should be put into dialog with any aspect of South Asian thought or praxis such as violence/nonviolence, literature, poetry, political philosophy, sociology, religion, arts, education, economics, healthcare, environment, plants, animals, gender, materialism, mysticism, duality, constructive metaphysics, transreligious futures, post/secularism, post/coloniality, race or casteism, yoga, self-rule, or other topics. Projects that engage the Jain tradition are particularly welcome.
“South Asia” can be interpreted broadly to include recognized traditions within the Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Muslim, or Sikh spheres among other minority Indian traditions (Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism) as well as diaspora movements and perspectives/philosophies/practices originating in South Asia (even if no longer centered there) or overlapping South Asia historically, conceptually, or in praxis. Training in relevant languages is preferred though not required, depending on the project.
The award is a 1-quarter (10 week) commitment starting after September 15, 2025 for intensive mentored scholarship with Professor Brianne Donaldson (UCI), either virtually or in person depending on context, followed by up to two additional 10-week quarters of virtual mentorship to support scholarship completion. The expectation is that the end of the award period corresponds with submission of the completed article (or other relevant output) to at least one peer-reviewed journal.
Funding offered through the UCI Shri Parshvanath Presidential Chair in Jain Studies. This grant is co-sponsored by the Center for Process Studies.
APPLICATION
Application requirements:
1 Applicant's letter of intent/research proposal describing:
2.5-3-page single-spaced scholarship proposal with the potential to advance the field of Process Studies and South Asia. Proposal should include the following five items: (a) how you meet eligibility requirements (<10% of proposal), (b) your topic of interest, (c) articulate current gaps in knowledge, problematic issues, or constructive opportunities within the topic of interest, (d) your proposal to address the gap or issue, including a brief description of your methods, sources, or approach, and (e) 2-3 possible target journals for your research.
2 Applications also require a letter of support from the applicant’s institution (preferably from applicant’s department Chair, Director of Graduate Studies, or Dean) attesting to the ability of the candidate to fulfill award expectations in line with any/all applicant institution policies. This letter should be sent directly from writer to administrator Kayla Ratliff kyratlif@ad.uci.edu.
3 Applicant's current CV
SELECTION CRITERIA AND TIMELINE
Selection criteria:
Feasibility of proposal to be completed within the proposed time frame (up to a total of three 10-week quarters or one academic calendar year)
Novelty and/or rigor of the proposal in enlivening topics of interest in Process Philosophy and South Asia.
Timeline
Application opens June 1, 2025
Application closes June 30, 2025
Awardee notification by July 28, 2024
SELECTION COMMITTEE
Associate Professor, Religious Studies & Shri Parshvanath Presidential Chair in Jain Studies
University of California, Irvine
Carl W. Zeigler Professor of Religion, Philosophy & Asian Studies
Elizabethtown College
PAST WINNERS
2024–25
Pragya Jain
Pragya Jain
Mohanlal Sukhadia University, India
Role of Meditation in the Becoming of the Jina / A comparative analysis with Charles Hartshorne's account of Ultimate Reality & the qualities of Jinahood
Summary report here.
Daniel Siakel, PhD
Daniel Siakel, PhD
University of California, Irvine
Buddhism and Process Philosophy: Affinities without Identity / An examination of Process thought and the Shentong Buddhist school
Summary report here.
QUESTIONS? Contact Michelle Spivey spiveym@uci.edu
UCI Program in Religious Studies
200 Murray Krieger Hall
Irvine, CA 92697
(949) 824-6735
Co-sponsored by The Center for Process Studies
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