Button Menu

The Granito Fund - Latin American and Caribbean Studies

The Granito Fund

The purpose of the Granito Fund is to provide supplemental travel and logistical stipends for DePauw students and/or faculty, and recent DePauw graduates who are seeking to do meaningful community-based research or fieldwork in Latin America.   This fund is a project of the US-Mexico Solidarity Network (MSN).  Proposals are reviewed by a Subcommittee comprised of MSN representatives and DePauw University faculty members.  Currently, Professors Alejandro Puga and Glen Kuecker serve on the Subcommittee.

Candidates will propose concrete roles in projects such as the following:

  1. Ongoing MSN projects, initiatives, and study abroad or study away programs.  Parts of the fund will be reserved for candidates from under-represented groups who seek to participate in MSN programs.  In addition, frequent flyer miles may be made available to candidates who seek to work in MSN programs.
  2. WTIS projects in Latin America with a long-term community-based research or fieldwork component, such as the Committee of Political Prisoners of El Salvador (COPPES) oral history project during Winter Term in Service (WTIS) in El Salvador.  NOTE: this is not a fund to simply participate in a WTIS experience.  The candidate must have a role in the WTIS experience beyond team participation.
  3. Work in other projects approved by the Subcommittee, such as DESGUA/ Café Red (Guatemala) or Pueblo y Palabra (Intag region).
  4. A project similar to those above, where it does not contradict MSN by-laws and principles, and that meets with the approval of the Subcommittee.

To qualify for the Fund, the candidate must provide the following information in a 3-5 page proposal:

  1. A contextualization of the work, its validity as a community-based research or fieldwork project in Latin America.  The candidate must demonstrate a familiarity with the work that is more than speculative.
  2. An explanation of how the project will work in accordance with by-laws and principles of the Mexico Solidarity Network.  For more information on MSN, please visit http://www.mexicosolidarity.org/
  3. A description of what kind of capstone project or document will result from this work.
  4. A description of what kind of follow-up work the candidate will be doing upon return to campus.*  This may include, but is not limited to:
    1. Work with a local community that is as directly related as possible to the on-site work.
    2. Assisting in generating funds and organizing a visit by a relevant speaker, or by a scheduled MSN speaker.
    3. Formal presentation of research and on-site fieldwork in an appropriate and relevant venue.
    4. Fundraising for the Granito Fund itself.

*NOTE: If the candidate is not a current DePauw student, they may seek to do follow-up work at an alternative venue that is approved by MSN.

An estimated 2-4 stipends will be awarded in 2015.  Applicants must send the proposal as it is described above to Alejandro Puga or Glen Kuecker by Monday, March 16, 2015.   Please contact either Alejandro Puga (apuga@depauw.edu) or Glen Kuecker (gkuecker@depauw.edu) for more information about the fund.