The Program in Writing and Rhetoric (PWR) and
the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate
Education (VPUE) invite applications for the
Stanford Undergraduate Sustainability Scholars
Program (SUSS). Sustainability Scholars will:
receive a $2,000 stipend; explore issues of
sustainability and the environment as related to the
Stanford campus; and carry out ambitious writing
projects that make their findings public. All written
projects will entail an explicit research component
and a public reading in the Writing Focus House in
Spring 2012.
Why a focus on sustainability?
Sustainability and environmental issues are pressing contemporary challenges that demand innovative
approaches. We hope that the SUSS program can contribute to raising awareness and to articulating
persuasive visions for a more sustainable Stanford. We understand both sustainability and the
environment broadly and you are not expected to take a particular political, ideological, or aesthetic
stance. We hope to foster a diverse range of creative and rigorous written work.
Why a focus on writing and speaking?
Writing in its various forms facilitates thinking and can reinvigorate public discourse, especially for
charged topics such as the environment. Writing and the oral presentation of research are central to the
undergraduate experience at Stanford. We understand writing broadly: the writing produced could be
fiction or non-fiction; journalistic or academic; poetry or prose. All written projects will entail an
explicit research component. If you are proposing a series of poems you will still need to detail a
research agenda. You are encouraged to imagine a public venue or purpose for your writing.
What will Sustainability Scholars do?
Scholars will carry out an ambitious writing and research project that spans the academic year. Scholars
will meet regularly with the co-directors of SUSS, Mark Feldman and Kimberly Moekle. In these
meetings you will plan your project, discuss research, and work with writing in progress. The codirectors can also connect you to varied campus resources.
Application Guidelines
Applications are due via email by June 1, 2011. Please send your application to both Mark Feldman
([email protected]) and Kimberly Moekle ([email protected]). Feel free to address
questions to Mark and Kimberly. Applications will be read by an interdisciplinary committee.
Applicants should be in residence for at least two quarters during the 2011-2012 academic year; if you
will be away for one quarter explain how that will affect your ability to complete your project.
Your project proposal should be between 1,500 and 2,000 words, and describe what you hope to
accomplish, why those objectives are important, and how you intend to achieve them. Your writing
project can assume just about any form. We welcome projects that engage with fields ranging across the
sciences, social sciences, and humanities – although your project need not be conventionally academic.
Regardless, your proposal should situate your project in a larger context of sustainability. It should offer
very specific details about the objectives, process, and final products.
Please structure your proposal so that it includes the following sections:
1) Synopsis
• Provide a brief, focused statement of the project objectives, methods and impact on you as a writer and
on the Stanford campus.
2) Objectives and Significance
• Describe the goals of the project. What specific questions or themes will be addressed?
• Why are your questions important?
• In addition to your public reading do you envision your work being presented in other ways?
• How will this project further your interests, skills, and intellectual or career trajectory?
3) Positioning Your Project
• Critique similar work to illustrate what others have done in relation to your central questions.
• Are there particular works that have inspired your project?
• How will your project contribute to the literature surrounding your topic?
4) Methodology
• Describe in detail the work you intend to accomplish.
• What form will your final product take?
• What will you do to answer the question you are posing? Be specific.
• What steps will you take to achieve your goal and what obstacles do you anticipate?
5) Resources & Preparation
• How will your project draw on the expertise of potential partners on the Stanford campus?
• What has prepared you for this project? (courses, training, work, other experiences)
Thank you for applying. We very much look forward to giving your project careful consideration.