Support the Mission of ASECS by Contributing to an Endowed Fund
The primary mission of the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies is to advance the study and teaching of the eighteenth century and encourage scholarly work that crosses the boundaries between academic disciplines.
This mission is supported by endowed and other funds that enable members to travel to special collections and research libraries, that recognize achievements in scholarship and teaching, and that support the participation of graduate students and contingent faculty in the Annual Meeting. Other funds underwrite arts programming at the Annual Meeting and pay for special projects for Eighteenth-Century Studies.
These programs are not funded through your membership dues. They are made possible by the generosity of our members, past and present, and by support from grants including The National Endowment for the Humanities,
If your residency at a library or your travel to the Annual Meeting has been supported by an ASECS fellowship, if your teaching has been influenced by the Innovative Course Design presentations or pedagogy sessions at the Annual Meeting, if your scholarship has been recognized by an ASECS award, please ensure that other scholars have the same opportunity by donating to one or more of the funds described below.
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Endowed Travel and Research Funds
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The Founders Fund supports the Society’s 17 joint fellowships with research libraries.
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Aubrey Williams Fund supports the research of a U.S.-based doctoral student at work on a dissertation in the field of eighteenth-century English literature.
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Irish-American Fund supports travel for scholars researching eighteenth-century Irish topics. The fund helps a North American scholar consult primary research materials in Ireland and, in alternate years, enables an Ireland-based scholar to travel to North America to consult materials or to present findings at the ASECS Annual Meeting.
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Robert R. Palmer Fund provides a travel grant to an ASECS member who wishes to study, conduct research, or perform professional duties related primarily to the history and culture of France.
Gwin J. and Ruth Kolb Fund assists early career eighteenth-century scholars with travel to distant collections in North America and abroad.
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Theodore E. D. Braun Research Travel Fellowship Fund provides a travel grant to support documentary research in French literary studies.
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Richard H. Popkin Research Travel Fellowship Fund provides a travel grant to support research travel to collections in North America and abroad.
Paula Backscheider Archival Fellowship Fund supports researchers whose projects necessitate work in archives, repositories, and special collections (public and private) in the U.S. and/or abroad.
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Mary D. Sheriff Research and Travel Award Fund supports research in feminist topics in eighteenth-century art history and visual culture.
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Non-Tenure Track Faculty Now and Later Fund (NTTF) provides travel grants for contingent faculty presenting at the Annual Meeting.
Endowed Prize Funds
Louis A. Gottschalk Fund recognizes annually the ASECS member who writes the best book-length study in any field related to the eighteenth century.
James L. Clifford Fund supports an annual prize for the best article on an eighteenth-century subject published during the preceding year. In addition, the fund supports the Clifford Lecture, which is presented each year at the Annual Meeting.
Annibel Jenkins Fund supports a biannual prize for the best book-length biography of a Restoration or eighteenth-century subject.
Shirley Bill Fund supports the annual Innovative Course Design Competition. Contributions to the fund are made in Honor or in Memory of a teacher, whose name is thereafter listed in the Annual Meeting Program. A minimum contribution of $300 (from an individual or a group) is required.
Women’s Caucus Fund supports the Catharine Macaulay Graduate Student Conference Paper Award, the Émilie Du Châtelet Award, and Women’s Caucus Translation/ Editing Award.
Hans Turley Fund supports a biennial award for the best paper on a topic in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, or Queer Studies delivered at the Annual Meeting by a graduate student, an untenured faculty member, or an independent scholar.
Srinivas Aravamudan Prize supports a prize for an article published in the previous year that pushes the boundaries, geographical and conceptual, of eighteenth-century studies, especially by using a transnational, comparative, or cosmopolitan approach.
Other Funds
ECS Enrichment Fund supplements Eighteenth-Century Studies for special projects.
Art, Theater and Music Fund supports presentations in the visual and performing arts at Annual Meetings.
Traveling Jam Pot provides a travel stipend and free registration to graduate students who are presenting at the Annual Meeting. Donations to this fund are spent annually and the first $2,500 in contributions each year are matched by ASECS.
Sponsor a Student provides free one-year memberships to graduate students. Donations are $45.
President’s and Executive Board Fund supports special needs in programs and operations as they arise from year to year. At present it also supports the Graduate Student Research Paper Award and the Graduate Student Conference Paper Competition.
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How to Donate to ASECS
Please help to secure the future of eighteenth-century studies by contributing by contributing to one or more of the funds listed below. For information on the goals of individual funds, visit https://www.asecs.org/awards-information.
Donations by credit card may be made by visiting our membership site: https://asecs.press.jhu.edu/membership/contribute. JHUP does not charge a processing fee for donations made through their website.
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Donations by check or money order (payable to ASECS) should be sent to: ASECS, 982 Main Street, Ste. 4-262, Fishkill, NY 12524 Please be sure to note the fund(s) you wish to support.
For information on Sponsor a Student or the Shirley Bill Fund Honoring Teachers, contact the ASECS Business Office at asecsoffice@gmail.com.
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ASECS is a 501(c)3 organization and all contributions are tax deductible.
If you would like to learn more about any of these funds or would like to discuss other options for giving to ASECS, please contact Executive Director Benita Blessing per email (director@asecs.org) or by mail or phone (information below). Thank you for helping ASECS continue to fulfill its mission for years to come.