Fellowship Opportunity at USCIRF

Former guest blogger, Elizabeth Cassidy, passes along the following fellowship announcement from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). This is a one-year funded fellowship, perfect for those who research religious freedom under international law and who might, in the future, be looking to join the academy:

USCIRF Announces 2009 Crapa Fellowship Program

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is proud to announce the establishment of the Joseph R. Crapa Fellowship Program in memory of Joe Crapa, who served as Executive Director of USCIRF from 2002-2007. Applications are due by June 15, 2009.
The funded fellowships are available to select individuals with exceptional records of accomplishment and/or outstanding records of academic achievement in relevant fields to the work of the Commission, including but not limited to, religious freedom and related human rights, foreign policy, international law, and security. Applicants from the Hill, government agencies (including the military and intelligence agencies), academia, the NGO community, think tanks, and other relevant backgrounds are welcome.
The term of each fellowship will be determined by the nature of the fellow’s project, but will not exceed 12 months. It is expected that fellows will spend a substantial portion of their fellowship in residence at the USCIRF offices in Washington, DC, though alternate arrangements may be made as necessary.
Applicants for a Crapa Fellowship should submit a proposal detailing the parameters of the project they intend to pursue during their time as a Crapa Fellow. This proposal should include a succinct statement of the area of intended study, the relevance of the study to the field of religious freedom, the format and timing of the product they propose to produce, and a brief overview of relevant existing work in the area of proposed study. In addition, applicants should send a cover letter, resume, writing sample, and the names of three professional references the Commission can contact directly. Applications should be submitted electronically to: crapafellows@uscirf.gov.
The following list provides examples of the areas the Commission is interested in further study on, but is not intended to be exhaustive:
• The role of religion and religious freedom in counterinsurgencies and in combating religious extremism
• The developing parameters of religious freedom under international law, including an analysis of significant trends and strategies to impact the development in positive directions
• The impact of religious freedom in advancing the rights of women
• Government-sponsored intolerant materials and its impact on religious freedom
• Utilizing U.S. assistance effectively to promote and advance religious freedom
• Employing public diplomacy tools to advance religious freedom
• Developing a curriculum on religion and religious freedom for the Foreign Service Institute