Applications are now open for the 2027 Fellowship Cohort! Apply by October 16.
The Underground Fire fellowship supports SWANA and Global South critical lenses on Zionism and builds intellectual connections among CZS researchers in the US and the Global South. Specifically, the fellowship supports scholarly research/writing works in progress by faculty in Palestine, the Global South, and the United States who are also mentoring student researchers (undergrad or grad) in CZS. Fellowships will be geographically distributed to form a cohort of scholars thinking together across contexts.
Underground Fire fellows are funded to work on their own research over a 3-month fellowship period. Additionally, they are asked to:
- Join 2 remote meetings with other fellows and ICSZ collective/AB members to discuss fellowship projects and think through research problems together
- Invite students working in CZS as observers to these working meetings
- Scholars and organizers in the ICSZ collective are available to discuss work throughout and after the fellowship.
- Applicants are encouraged to submit a short written work or full paper drawn from their fellowship research to the Journal for the Critical Study of Zionism (whether on the journal’s blog or in an issue, at the editors’ discretion.)
- Present final drafts in an online session open to the ICSZ community.
- Consider presenting their work at a later ICSZ conference (remote or, if in person, with travel funding)
- Fellows join a growing community of CZS scholars and fellowship alumni.
Funding: $2500 each
Review Committee:
Alex Aviña, Arizona State University
Stacy Farenthold, UC Davis
Maura Finkelstein
Emmaia Gelman, Institute for the Critical Study of Zionism
Yulia Gilichinskaya, University College Dublin
Bassam Haddad, Arab Studies Institute, George Mason University
Alana Lentin, University of Western Sydney
Abdeljawad Omar, Birzeit University
Shahnaaz Suffla, University of South Africa
To apply:
- Curriculum Vitae
- Abstract of research project already underway, which the fellowship will be used to support.
- Short scholarly writing sample
- Name, affiliation, and email for two recommenders: one academic peer/colleague and one student working in CZS under your mentorship. (Only after finalists are selected, recommenders will be asked to submit short endorsements of the project and your scholarship.)
Questions? Email catie@criticalzionismstudies.org