Internal Grants
The African Feminist Initiative awards seed grants of up to $1,500 to support the professional development of doctoral students and faculty members (tenure-track, tenured, and teaching faculty) who are engaged in research projects that advance knowledge about African feminisms.
These awards can be used to support research, as well as relevant travel, and are processed as a reimbursement for approved expenses. Joint proposals are welcome, although at least one applicant must have an appointment within the College of the Liberal Arts.
Recipients
2023 - 2024
Gabriel Pulido “MyDragView: Archival Research and Drag Artistry as a Feminist Pedagogy of Crossing for the Diaspora”
Eden Mekonen “But You Don’t Look Habesha?’ Assessing the Impact of Phenotypic Bias Among Eritrean and Ethiopian Diasporic Women and Femmes in Los Angeles”
Amy Omolo “Re-imagining Waithood: Narratives of Young Kenyans Negotiating Adulthood”
2022 - 2023
Tembi Charles, “The Phenomenology of Migration: Border Crossings in Zimbabwean Migrant Literature and Visual Art” $1250
Qiyu Chen, “East African Women Writers and Swahili Theater During the Cold War” $1250
Christina Sztajnkrycer, “Education of Alienation: How a Secular French Education Led to the Alienation of North African Jewish Women from Their Homes, Communities and Ancestral Identities” $1250
Eden Mekonen, “‘But You Don’t Look Habesha?’ Assessing the Impact of Phenotypic Bias Among Eritrean and Ethiopian Diasporic Women and Femmes in Los Angeles” $1250
2021 - 2022
Kaitlin Fischer, “Peanut Value Chain Development and the Welfare of Ghanaian Women Farmers,” $2000
Irene Momanyi, “Trauma, Testimony, and Memory in Narratives of the Genocide against the Tutsi ,” $2000
2020 - 2021
Halima Gbaguidi, “Exploring Rural Women and Girls’ Perceptions Toward Participating into Leadership Positions as a Vector of Empowerment in Niger,” $2500
Zinhle ka’Nobuhlaluse, “Bringing the Non-Subservient Black Women to South African Philosophy,” $1000
Abderrahim Ouarghidi, “Gendered Perception and Priorities for Water Use and Management in the Face of Growing Water Scarcity,” $2000
2019 - 2020
AnneMarie Mingo, “Black Churchwomen Education and Equipping for Transformative Political Impact,” $2500
Dani Buffa, “Boziky Lahiny/Boziky Vavy: Women’s Knowledge, Conservation Policy, and Shellfishing in Southwestern Madagascar,” $2500
Ebony Creswell, “Ecosocial Infectious Disease Dynamics of Southwestern Madagascar,” $1500
Ivana Ancic, “Thinking Outside the Archive: South African Women’s Technologies of Memory,” $2400
Nancy Luke, “Using Women’s Solidarity in Ghanaian Churches to Promote Breast Cancer Screening,” $2500
Paulina Rodis, “Online Fight or Offline Flight? Black and Asian Women’s Perceptions of and Responses to Cyber Aggression,” $1500
How to Apply
Dates for application materials for 2022-2023 cycle will be added when available. Applicants must submit a PDF with the following materials:
- Cover page with applicant’s name, contact information, PSU ID number, project title, and total grant amount requested. Faculty should note their academic rank and title. Graduate students should indicate when they expect to be (or became) ABD.
- Two-page (single-spaced) description of the project, including:
- Significance of the project and relevance to African feminisms and/or to the work of the AFI;
- Expected outcome; and timetable for project’s completion.
- Itemized budget describing how funds will be used. Please note other sources of funding received or solicited, along with the amounts.
- Curriculum vitae of most relevant work (2-page max).
- Graduate student applicants must include a confidential letter of support from their advisor, Department Head, or Graduate Director (can be sent directly by the referee).
Recipients of this award may be required to present their work at future AFI programming.