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The Renewal of the Ford Grant

The Ford Foundation has renewed its grant to the Forum on Contemporary Theory for a period of four years beginning October 1, 2009.

The specific activities to be undertaken under this grant are as follows:

  • Academic events which include (a) an annual international conference, a four-day event typically held in a non-metropolitan campus (b) an annual national workshop held in Vadodara for a period of four-six days (c) an annual Theory/Praxis course for students, and (d) occasional lectures by visiting scholars throughout the course of the year.  The thematic areas that the Forum will focus on in the next four years are the study of violence, media, and contemporary challenges to higher education.   

  • A Fellow program which will bring five senior scholars and ten junior scholars each year from disadvantaged communities to Vadodara to interact with the faculty and students of the Forum as well as M.S. University

  • A "South Asia Scholars-in-Residence" program which will bring 10 distinguished scholars each year from the neighboring countries of the South Asia region

  • A Publications program which will include the bi-annual Journal of Contemporary Thought, a bi-annual Newsletter, and the proceedings of the annual conference.

  • A Translation Fellowships program where five scholars will be selected each year to promote the translation of theoretical materials in regional languages such as Gujarati, Marathi and Hindi.

  • A Library Fellowships program where 10 one-month-long fellowships will be awarded annually to enable researchers to use the library collection.

Given below are the anticipated outcomes of this grant:

  • Increased use of the Center's library collection by academics and researchers.

  • Increased capacity of scholars to use theoretical frameworks in their publications and pedagogy.

  • Provision of research opportunities and mentorship for students from disadvantaged communities in Gujarat (and neighboring states)

  • Continued development of a country-wide and South Asia-wide network of humanists and social scientists engaging with interdisciplinary theory.

  • Successful leveraging of funds from other donors for the long-term sustainability of the orgainzation.

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