Date: May 7th 2009

*The Gale Dissertation Research Fellowship in 19th-Century Media*

The Research Society for Victorian Periodicals (RSVP) is pleased to 
announce a new fellowship for 2009, made possible by the generosity of 
publisher Gale, part of Cengage Learning, in support of dissertation 
research that makes substantial use of full-text digitized collections 
of 19th-century British magazines and newspapers.   A prize of $1500 
will be awarded, together with one year's subscription to selected 
digital collections from Gale, including "19th Century UK Periodicals" 
and "19th Century British Library Newspapers."

Purpose: The purpose of the Gale Dissertation Research Fellowship is 
two-fold: (1) to support historical and literary research that deepens 
our understanding of the 19th-century British press in all its rich 
variety, and (2) to encourage the scholarly use of full-text digitized 
collections of these primary sources in aid of that research.

Eligibility: Eligible for this award is any currently enrolled 
postgraduate student, in any academic discipline, who by the end of 2009

will have embarked on a doctoral dissertation or thesis that centrally 
involves investigation into one or more aspects of the British magazine 
and newspaper press of the 19th century.  Preference will be given to 
projects that are interdisciplinary in approach, and that propose to use

methods of exploration that online collections uniquely make possible. 
The digitized collections used in this research may include those 
created by any publishers or projects, whether commercial or
non-commercial.

Applications: Applicants should send a c.v., and the names and contact 
information of two scholars who are familiar with the applicant and his 
or her dissertation project; it is expected that one of these will be 
the student's dissertation director. The project description (approx. 
500-800 words) is the key element of the application. That description 
should concisely explain the aims of the proposed research and the 
expected role of full-text digitized collections in that research.

Applications for the Gale Fellowship for dissertation research to be 
undertaken in 2009-10 must be submitted in electronic form and sent to 
galefellowship@rs4vp.org by September 1, 2009.  Any queries about the 
application may be sent to the same address. Applicants will be notified

by November 1, 2009. The successful applicant will be expected to submit

a brief report to RSVP at the conclusion of the funded portion of the 
project, describing the results of the research.

For a PDF of this announcement, and for more information about the 
Research Society for Victorian Periodicals, please visit the Society's 
website at http://www.rs4vp.org