Karen Chambers Fellowship
About Fellowship
The Avery Research Center for African American History & Culture is honored to announce the Karen Chambers Fellowship. In 2020, the Avery Research Center received a generous donation from the friends and family of Mrs. Karen Chambers to honor her passion in African American history. The resulting fellowship is designed to cultivate emerging Public History professionals who focus on African American and African Diaspora history and culture. The fellowship is open to graduate students in the Public History Concentration of the History MA program at the College of Charleston.
The gift fortifies a partnership between the Avery Research Center, the Department of History, the Graduate School, and professional organizations, as the selection commitment will consist of representatives from each entity.
Recipients of the Karen Chambers Fellowship will receive:
- A $1,000 research stipend (to be used to purchase materials or research-related travel)
Upon completion of the fellowship, recipients will share their research and reflections via a blog post to the Avery Research Center’s website and a public presentation.
Qualifications
- MA student at the College; studying Af-Am/African Diaspora public history
- Must be in good academic standing (3.0 GPA or higher)
- Complete application
Submit your updated curriculum vitae (CV) or resume; and
Please describe your commitment to the “collection, promotion or preservation” of Af-Am/African Diaspora public history by responding to the following questions:
- Describe your current research project (1 paragraph/250-300 words)
- Describe how you will use the funding to collect, promote and/or preserve (You will need to discuss 2 of 3):
- Collect: Identify research project needs. This includes consultants/interviewees, research sites (archives, libraries, community and/or community organizations) and/or resources (list of books, films, etc.),
- Promote: Identify strategies you would use to share this project widely. This includes, but is not limited to: conference presentations, website construction, printed or digital materials for community members, social media, etc.
- Preserve: Describe how your project preserves an aspect of Af-Am/African Diaspora History and Culture
- Budget
Currently not accepting applications.
About Karen Chambers
Karen Chambers was a beloved wife, mother of 4, grandmother of 5, sister, daughter, aunt, niece and a best friend to many. She joined the ancestors in September 2020. Honestly, anyone that met her was immediately enamored with her thoughtfulness, compassion, love and her beautiful spirit.
Karen visited Charleston on several occasions and every trip included a visit to a Black historical place. She had a passion to never stop learning and sharing her experiences with anyone who would listen. The enjoyment and smile on her face as she retold the stories was so fulfilling for her and our family.
Karen believed in the mission of The Avery Research Center—commitment to creating a place so generations of people could come see and identify the struggles of enslaved persons in the United States firsthand. Donating to a worthy cause as The Avery has always been her personal goal and we know it would bring her such a sense of satisfaction.
We know this gift will make a difference in The Avery being able to recruit and financially support talented students majoring in Black Public History to complete their educational goals, as well as continuing to improve the historical content of the school. We are hoping that as a recipient of this Fellowship, you will embrace the mission, vision and values of The Avery Research Center, and educate generations to come just as Karen would have wanted.