Alwin C. Carus Research Grant
One or more research grants of up to $5,000 are awarded annually to individual(s) whose research in the Open Court Publishing company records or Hegeler-Carus papers will lead to a book, article, dissertation, or other substantive product. The recipient will make a presentation about his/her research to the Southern Illinois University community and to the Hegeler-Carus annual symposium in LaSalle, IL (virtually is a possibility).
The Open Court Publishing Company was founded in 1887 in LaSalle, Illinois, by Edward C. Hegeler, a zinc manufacturer. Dr. Paul Carus served as editor-in-chief from 1887 until his death in 1919. One of the first academic presses in the United States, Open Court provided a forum to discuss new ideas in philosophy, science, and religion, while making philosophical classics widely available by making them affordable. Hegeler and Carus were truly interested in the honest exchange of ideas whether or not they personally agreed with the contributing authors. The press also published the quarterly journals Open Court and The Monist; the latter continues today.
The Alwin C. Carus Research Grant honors Carus and his interests in all aspects of history, archeology, and astronomy. Carus was born Nov. 20, 1901, in LaSalle to Paul and Mary (Hegeler) Carus. He majored in chemistry and physics at the University of Chicago. He worked in the research laboratory at Carus Chemical Co. until he retired. He also owned and helped operate farms and ranches near Killdeer in the Badlands of North Dakota, in western Minnesota, in eastern Montana on the Tongue River, and 200 miles northwest of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, in the Peace River Valley. He traveled to Iraq and Turkey in the 1950s to visit ancient archeological sites with a graduate of the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago. He joined several expeditions with renowned astronomers to journey to the best places to view solar eclipses. In all, he witnessed over 12 total eclipses of the sun.
Faculty, graduate students, upper-level undergraduates and recognized independent scholars and artists are encouraged to apply.
To be considered for the 2012 Alwin C. Carus Research Grant, applicants should submit:
- An application
- A statement of intent explaining proposed research, including scholarly significance and relevance to archival holdings (250 words or less)
- A résumé
Applications for the research grant will be accepted on a rolling basis. The stipends must be used within one year of acceptance. Please submit all required materials as a single PDF and email it to Pam Hackbart-Dean (please indicate in the subject line that the e-mail is a Carus Research Grant application).
For more information, contact the Special Collections Research Center, Morris Library, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, 618-453-2516 or Pam Hackbart-Dean.