Law and Social Science Fellowship and Mentoring Program on Law & Inequality

法律和社会科学学者正在研究一些重要的问题，这些问题突出了法律规定与法律运作之间的差异，特别是那些加剧了社会内部既定不平等的差异。然而，尽管这项工作至关重要，但仍有一些障碍阻碍了新学者进入这个相对较小的领域。其中一个障碍是，进入法律和社会科学领域需要跨越传统的学科界限。但由于该领域相对较小，只有少数几个研究机构集中了专家。这使得研究生或刚获得博士学位的学生在没有建立跨学科项目的机构从事这类工作即使不是不可能，也是有风险的。他们往往缺乏训练或支持来完成这项关键的工作。法律和社会科学奖学金和法律与不平等指导计划旨在通过伊利诺伊州芝加哥美国律师基金会强大的知识分子社区的重要和专业支持，培养两名精心挑选的博士学者和一名博士后学者，专注于法律和不平等问题。申请将广泛开放，跨学科，任何高级博士生或最近完成博士学位的人。选择将基于候选人在法律和社会科学领域的学术潜力，对法律和不平等进行研究的承诺，学术成就以及对该领域多样性的贡献。在此期间，他们将能够专注于他们的研究和专业发展。美国律师基金会和法律与社会协会研究社区的成员将为这些年轻学者提供建议和指导，帮助他们应对学术空间和挑战。有效的指导和成为跨学科学术团体的一部分可以拓宽研究生和最近的博士学位持有者的视野，并为他们提供必要的培训和支持，使他们成为成功的学者。一套财政支持使受奖人能够充分利用作为该计划核心的教育、培训和指导。一旦成立，这些研究员很快不仅会对该领域做出重大贡献，而且还会成为自己学生的导师。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Law and social science scholars are studying important questions that highlight the difference between what the law says and how it works, particularly those differences that worsen established inequalities within society. However, while the work is critical, there are obstacles that discourage new scholars from entering this relatively small field. One such obstacle is that entering the field of law and social science requires crossing traditional disciplinary boundaries. But because the field is relatively small, there are only a few research institutions with a concentration of specialists. This can make it risky if not impossible for graduate students or recent Ph.D. holders who are not at institutions with established interdisciplinary programs to pursue this kind of work. They often lack either the training or support to undergo this critical work.The Law and Social Science Fellowship and Mentoring Program on Law & Inequality aims to develop a small cohort of two carefully chosen doctoral scholars and one postdoctoral scholar focused on law and inequality through critically important and specialized support from a robust intellectual community within the American Bar Foundation in Chicago, IL. Applications will be open broadly and across disciplines to any advanced Ph.D. student or those who have recently completed their Ph.Ds. Selections will be based on candidate’s scholarly potential in the field of law and social science, commitment to conducting research on law and inequality, academic achievement, and contribution to diversity of the field. During this time, they will be able to focus on their research and professional development. Members of both the American Bar Foundation and the Law and Society Association research communities will provide advice and guidance to these young scholars as they navigate academic spaces and challenges. Effective mentoring and being part of an interdisciplinary academic community can broaden the perspectives of graduate students and recent Ph.D. holders and provide them with the necessary training and support to succeed as scholars. A package of financial support permits fellows to take full advantage of the education, training, and mentoring at the heart of this program. Once established, these fellows will soon not only make significant contributions to the field, but they will also become mentors to their own students.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.