HCPC Research Fellowship and Travel Award
About the Hawaiʻi Congressional Papers Collection
The Hawaiʻi Congressional Papers Collection (HCPC), established in 1998, encompasses the papers of many of Hawaiʻi’s post-statehood members of Congress. Collections that are currently open for research are the papers of Representative Neil Abercrombie, Senator Hiram Fong, Representative Thomas Gill, Senator Daniel Inouye, Senator Spark Matsunaga, Representative Patricia Saiki, and Representative Mark Takai. In addition to documenting significant national and international events, these collections are critical to understanding the development of Hawaiʻi from statehood to the present day.
About the Hawaiʻi Congressional Papers Collection Research Fellowship and Travel Award
The Hawaiʻi Congressional Papers Collection Graduate Student Research Fellowship is an annual $5,000 award intended to support continuing UH Mānoa graduate students conducting research in one or more congressional papers collections held by HCPC. Research must be conducted within one year of receiving the fellowship.
The Hawaiʻi Congressional Papers Collection Travel Award is an annual $5,000 award intended to subsidize travel and lodging expenses for non-Oʻahu-based individuals conducting research in one or more congressional papers collections held by HCPC. Research must be conducted within one year of receiving the award. Please note that the travel award payment cannot be advanced. Travel award recipients will be paid when they arrive onsite to conduct their research.
All recipients will be asked to
- give an informal talk about their research to librarians, students, and other interested parties within one year of receiving the fellowship
- compile a set of annotated primary source documents and supporting material (for use by students) relating to their area of inquiry within one year of receiving the fellowship
- write a guest post on the archives blog within one year of receiving the fellowship
- acknowledge the support of the archives and the fellowship in publications resulting from the fellowship research
- provide the archives with a courtesy copy of publications resulting from the fellowship research
Recipients may also be asked to participate in a focus group or survey to help us improve these programs.
Eligibility
Continuing UH Mānoa graduate students, including international students, are eligible for the research fellowship.
Non-Oʻahu-based researchers, including faculty, graduate students and non-academic researchers, are eligible for the travel award.
Deadline
Wednesday, March 20, 2024.
Application
Applications must be submitted to archives@hawaii.edu from your hawaii.edu email address. A complete application should include the following:
- A letter of interest including your name, contact information, and project title
- A one-page proposal a) describing your research topic and its significance to the current body of research in your discipline, and b) addressing how materials in the Hawaiʻi Congressional Papers Collection will support your research
- A preliminary list of specific boxes and/or folders within HCPC collections that you would like to consult*
- E.g., Senator Inouye Papers, Legislative files, Bills, Senator’s own bills, 95th Congress, S.J.Res. 4; Box LF63-64, folders 5-9, 1-4
- E.g., Senator Hiram Fong Papers, Committees, Judiciary, Immigration, Immigration and Nationality Act amendments, Box 46
- A CV or resume
- For graduate student applicants: A faculty letter of reference
* The Hawaiʻi Congressional Papers Collection website contains links to the finding aids for the congressional collections. Research proposals should be strongly supported by the congressional collections. Applicants are highly encouraged to review our guide to Hawaiʻi congressional papers research, and discuss their topics with Congressional Papers Archivist Dawn Sueoka (sueokad@hawaii.edu) prior to applying.
Notification
Friday, April 5, 2024.
Questions
If you have questions about the award, or would like assistance navigating the collections and finding aids, please contact Congressional Papers Archivist Dawn Sueoka (sueokad@hawaii.edu).
Past Recipients
2024-2025
Ciera ʻIhilani Lasconia, PhD candidate, UH Mānoa Political Science, “(Re) Mapping the Political Legacies of Daniel K. Inouye in Hawaiʻi and Israel.”
James Zarsadiaz, Associate Professor of History, University of San Francisco, “The Asian American Conservative.”
2023-2024
Kenji Cataldo, MA candidate, UH Mānoa Center for Pacific Islands Studies, “Looking to the Past to Guide Our Future: Reexamining the Negotiation of U.S. Military Leases in Hawaiʻi, 1959-1964.” (primary source set, blog)
Martha S. Cheng, Professor of Rhetoric and Writing, Rollins College Department of English, “After ʻSorryʻ: The Effects of U.S. Legislative Apologies on Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Communities.” (primary source set, blog, talk)
2022-2023
Meagan Harden, PhD candidate, UH Mānoa Department of Geography and Environment, “Beyond Sea to Shining Sea: Reconfiguring American Empire in ‘Micronesia.ʻ” (primary source set, blog, talk)
