NEH is an independent grant-making agency of the United States government dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. Fellowships support individuals pursuing advanced research that is of value to scholars and general audiences in the humanities. Recipients usually produce articles, monographs, books, digital materials, archaeological site reports, translations, editions, and other scholarly tools. Fellowships support continuous full-time work for a period of six to twelve months. Fellowships may not be used for: curricular or pedagogical methods, theories, or surveys; preparation or revision of textbooks; projects that seek to promote a particular political, philosophical, religious, or ideological point of view; projects that advocate a particular program of social action; works in the creative and performing arts, i.e., painting, writing fiction or poetry, dance performance, etc.; or doctoral dissertations or theses.