Overview: The purpose of the Robinson Archive Visiting Scholar Fellowship is to support scholars (faculty; graduate students; independent researchers; artists; filmmakers; community organizers) who are not currently affiliated with the University of California Santa Barbara and are seeking to conduct research in the Cedric J. and Elizabeth P. Robinson Archives at UCSB. We will fund two researchers to visit the archives for a minimum of one week between April 1, 2026- December 31, 2021. While our hope is the fellows will be able to visit in-person, we understand that applicants may require virtual residency options due to visa restrictions, childcare or eldercare constraints, or other reasons. 

About the Collection: A deeply influential educator, Cedric Robinson (1940-2016) was a well-known scholar of racial capitalism and the Black radical tradition, and an active participant in political movements, both at home and internationally. For more than 30 years, Elizabeth Robinson has been an educator, social worker, former associate director for media at KCSB-FM radio, activist, and community media producer. Reflecting the geographical and topical range of the Robinsons’ lifework, the collection includes textual, audio, and video materials related to major social movements of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, political theory, human rights, popular culture, community media, theatre and performance, and world history. More information about the collection can be found here and in the finding aids below. 

• Cedric J. Robinson Archive Finding Aid

• Elizabeth P. Robinson Finding Aid

With the 2024 acquisition of the Robinson Archive from Elizabeth Robinson and the Robinsons’ daughter Najda Ife Robinson-Mayer, the Library launched the Post-Custodial, Community-based and Participatory Archives Project. This initiative aims to establish a living archive at UCSB centered on the Black Radical Tradition and the broader field of Black Studies. The Robinson Archive serves as an important anchor for the larger project, and will enable global research, teaching, scholarship, and sociopolitical and cultural activism for future generations. 

Terms: The Fellowship of $5,000 will be distributed in advance of travel and is intended to contribute to the following expenses:

• Travel to Santa Barbara

• Room and boar

• Local transportation

• Meals (with the exception of sponsored meals with graduate students and faculty which the Archive Project will plan and cover)

Expectations: Visiting Scholars will be expected to:

• Conduct research in the Archives that will contribute to academic publication, artistic creation, or activist practice in some form: work toward a book or article; creation of visual or other media; incorporation into an organizing project; etc.

• Recipients should acknowledge the Robinson Archive Visiting Scholar Fellowship in any publications that emerge from this research

• Visit UCSB for at least one week while conducting this research between April 1, 2026 and December 31, 2026

• Provide a brief, informal presentation at UCSB at or near the end of their time in the Archive in order to discuss initial findings, reflections, etc.

• Schedules permitting, attend a lunch with graduate students to discuss archival work, artistic practice, etc.

• After the visit, write a short blog post for the Archive Project

• Optionally, give a talk at UCSB about their work more generally - whether it is past academic work; a discussion of pedagogy and teaching methods; organizing work; artistic practice; or otherwise.