Documenting the history of slavery at UGA, 1785-1865

The University of Georgia seeks to learn more about the role of slavery in the institution’s early development and is soliciting proposals from faculty to conduct scholarly research on this topic. Successful proposals should be focused specifically on documenting the role of slavery and enslaved people in the institution’s development from its founding in 1785 through the end of the Civil War in 1865, to culminate in one or more definitive, publishable histories on the subject.

Previous institutional histories have contributed important scholarship, but have not examined in detail the role of slavery and the contributions of enslaved individuals to the University’s early development. Therefore, faculty are invited to submit proposals to complement the existing scholarship and advance this important component of the institution’s history.

Call for proposals

Faculty of all ranks from multiple disciplines are invited to apply, and interdisciplinary teams are encouraged. The engagement of student researchers at both the graduate and undergraduate level is also encouraged. Research funds should be used to directly support research activities of the UGA faculty/teams submitting proposals. Funds must be spent at UGA and may be used to buy out faculty time, compensate students working on the project, secure or develop research materials, or cover the cost of publication. Funds may not be used to pay for research already completed.

The research initiative is being funded by up to $100,000 in private discretionary funds from the Office of the President. Funds will be made available as soon as possible after selection of the winning proposal(s), and should be expended by June 30, 2021. It is an expectation that the resulting research will generate one or more scholarly publications.

Proposal submission

Proposals should be submitted to the Office of Research via the Proposal Submission Form no later than Monday, Sept. 30. Late proposals will not be considered. Proposals, submitted as a single PDF, should include:

1. Title page, listing: (1) Project title; (2) Name, affiliation, and email address of the contact faculty member; (3) Name, affiliation, and email address of all other UGA faculty members (if a team), as well as external experts (if relevant)
2. Description of the research project, including how the work will be accomplished and by whom, not to exceed three single-spaced pages with a minimum 11-point font and 1-inch margins
3. An itemized budget using this form

Questions? Email alexaspley1@uga.edu.