WFU Humanities Institute call for proposals

March 9, 2015

The Humanities Institute invites proposals for the following programs:

• New or Continuing Interdisciplinary Faculty Seminars
• Summer Humanities Writing Grants (NEW!)
• *Faculty-student Reading Groups in the Humanities
• *Faculty-student Collaborative Humanities Research Grants
• *Humanities Matters: Problem-Focused Faculty-Student Research
• Summer 2015 New Course Planning Grants for the Interdisciplinary Humanities Minor
• *Emeriti Faculty Grants
• *Winston-Salem Partners in the Humanities
• Guest Speakers and Interdisciplinary Symposia
• *Innovations in Digital Humanities

* funding available for summer 2015 and during the regular academic year.

All proposal forms and an FAQ are posted at humanitiesinstitute.wfu.edu under “Forms.” This CFP is posted under “Programming,” along with additional programs. Please submit proposals to Director Mary Foskett (foskettm@wfu.edu).

New or Continuing Interdisciplinary Faculty Seminars

The interdisciplinary Faculty Seminars harness the intellectual energies of the Wake Forest humanities and arts faculty to promote and support interdisciplinary collaboration and research that represents the leading edge of humanities scholarship and creates exciting bridges between different disciplines and units within the University. These groups, which meet regularly over the course of a semester or academic year, receive modest project funds.

Successful proposals will identify the topic that the prospective seminar plans to research, how the members will benefit from each other’s participation, the specific aims and goals of the proposed collaboration, the names of all participating faculty as well as their academic disciplines and units within the University, and a brief description of each faculty member’s research interests. Proposals for continuing seminars should also state specifically how their work in the new academic year will advance beyond the previous collaboration and what particular outcomes the seminar anticipates as a result. Proposal forms are posted at http://humanitiesinstitute.wfu.edu under “Forms.” Priority consideration for AY 2015-2016 seminars will be given to proposals submitted by May 15th. These seminars are not funded in the summer.

Summer Humanities Writing Grants (NEW!)

The Humanities Institute will fund up to two $4,000 Summer Writing Grants grant for university faculty working in the humanities to complete or make significant progress on a MS for a monograph that is either under contract or in which a publisher has indicated written interest. Applications would be open to all full-time faculty, with priority given to proposals submitted by tenure-track humanities faculty working on a first monograph. Typically the grant cannot be paired with a leave taken during the preceding or subsequent semester, nor can it be combined with another writing grant.

Successful proposals will include: (1) a description and outline of the book and the writing progress that has been made to-date; (2) a feasible timetable showing the applicant’s plan to devote at least 8+ weeks of full-time effort to the writing that the grant is intended to support; (3) a copy of either the book contract or written expression of a publisher’s serious interest; and (4) a letter of support from the applicant’s department Chair or Dean. Proposals will be evaluated according to the intellectual merit and significance of the monograph, as well as how far along it is at the time of application. Proposal forms are posted at http://humanitiesinstitute.wfu.edu under “Forms.” Proposals must be submitted by April 1^st.

Faculty-student Reading Groups in the Humanities

The Humanities Institute supports Faculty-student co-curricular reading groups in order to give small groups of faculty and students (undergraduates, or a combination of graduates and undergraduates) the opportunity to engage in co-curricular study of select topics in the humanities. Formerly called Collegiate Seminars, the groups are informal, noncredit reading or activity groups comprised of a faculty member and a core group of four or more students who agree to meet at least three times over the course of a semester or summer. Topics vary and can be related to a campus event. The Institute provides faculty a modest stipend in recognition of their involvement as well as funding to defray the cost of materials. Proposal forms are posted at http://humanitiesinstitute.wfu.edu under “Forms.” Proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis as funding allows, with priority given to those received by April 1^st for Summer 2015.

Faculty-student Collaborative Humanities Research Grants

The Humanities Institute funds faculty-student research, scholarship, or larger scale endeavors or creative activity in the humanities, including but not limited to co-authoring essays, conducting archival research, co-translating primary texts for publication, and collaborating on digital humanities projects. Formerly called College Collaborations, projects may involve individual students or teams of students. Awards can cover the cost of materials (except for hardware), consultations with other scholars, expenses related to publication, travel to conferences, and other kinds of activities. Faculty collaborating with students who are receiving URECA or other student funding are eligible and encouraged to apply for Humanities Institute co-funding. Eligible research projects may be co-curricular or paired with independent studies. Priority is given to undergraduate student-faculty projects. Proposal forms are posted at http://humanitiesinstitute.wfu.edu under “Forms.” Proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis as funding allows, with priority given to those received by April 1^st for Summer 2015.

Humanities Matters: Problem-Focused Faculty-Student Research

The Humanities Institute supports problem-focused faculty-student collaborative research, scholarship, and other creative activity in the humanities that addresses particular social problems or public needs. Topics may be drawn from an array of interdisciplinary areas in the humanities, including humanities and the environment, food and hunger, humanities and human rights, wealth and poverty, humanities and medicine, etc. Awards will be given to faculty-student projects led by individual humanities faculty or interdisciplinary faculty teams that include at least one faculty in a humanities disciplines. Eligible research projects may be course-generated, co-curricular, or paired with independent studies, and they may involve individual students or a team of students. Funds can cover the cost of materials (except for hardware), consultations with other scholars, expenses related to publication, travel to conferences, and other kinds of activities. Proposal forms are posted at http://humanitiesinstitute.wfu.edu under “Forms.” Proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis as funding allows, with priority given to those received by April 1^st for Summer 2015 and by May 15^th for AY 2015-2016.

Summer New Course Planning Grants for the Interdisciplinary Humanities Minor

The Humanities Institute provides up to two $1,000 summer planning grants to university faculty seeking to develop a proposal for an interdisciplinary course in the Interdisciplinary Humanities minor. Grant recipients are required to submit completed course proposals to the Humanities Program on or before September 1 of the grant year. Recipients are strongly encouraged to consult with the Teaching and Learning Center to plan a teaching design (pedagogy, method) that supports the interdisciplinary content of the proposed course. Faculty proposing a co-taught class will share the grant.   Note that the proposal requires an accompanying statement from the Department Chair acknowledging that the applicant can teach the new course, if approved, at least twice over a four-year period either as a stand-alone course in the Interdisciplinary Humanities Minor or as a course that is cross-listed in the minor and the faculty member’s department. Proposal forms are posted at http://humanitiesinstitute.wfu.edu under “Forms.” Proposals must be submitted by April 1, 2015.

Emeriti Faculty Grants

The Humanities Institute provides research grants to Emeriti faculty working on projects in the humanities that were begun during the faculty’s tenure at WFU. A limited number of awards of up to $1,000 may be used to support project expenses, including travel and publication-related costs. Successful proposals will include a detailed budget, a brief description of progress made on the project while at WFU, a timetable for the work that will be conducted during the grant year, and anticipated outcomes. Proposal forms are posted at http://humanitiesinstitute.wfu.edu under “Forms.” Proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis as funding allows.

Winston-Salem Partners in the Humanities

The Humanities Institute fosters and encourages the development of partnerships that demonstrate how the humanities contribute to the common good, illumine and inform social issues, and help link classroom learning to the larger world. Funding or co-funding for collaborative community research will provide the means for establishing links with community partners and will be used for a wide range of endeavors including research on local topics, cultural projects, digital humanities projects, and humanities symposia that bring together scholars and community partners. Proposal forms are posted at http://humanitiesinstitute.wfu.edu under “Forms.” Proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis as funding allows, with priority given to those received by April 1^st for Summer 2015 and by May 15^th for AY 2015-2016.

Guest Speakers and Interdisciplinary Symposia

• Humanities Institute Guest Speakers. The Humanities Institute sponsors and co-sponsors university-wide guest speakers and supports the Humanities Institute’s goal of bringing leading scholars in the humanities to the campus and community. Priority consideration will be given to guest speakers whose scope or methods span more than one discipline, and whose topics are of interest to faculty and students across the humanities. Proposal forms are posted at http://humanitiesinstitute.wfu.edu under “Forms.” Proposals are reviewed on a rolling basis as funding allows, with priority consideration given to proposals submitted by May 15^th for AY 2015-2016.
• Interdisciplinary Symposia in the Humanities. This program fosters inter-departmental and inter-unit collaboration by co-funding interdisciplinary symposia on topics in the humanities, especially those that are coordinated with collaborative faculty seminars or other research, collaborative student research, or interdisciplinary course design. Support may include funding for a work-study student to assist with planning and implementation. Proposal forms are posted at http://humanitiesinstitute.wfu.edu under “Forms.” Proposals are reviewed on a rolling basis as funding allows, with priority consideration given to proposals submitted by May 15^th for AY 2015-2016.

Innovations in Digital Humanities The Humanities Institute

Innovations in Digital Humanities supports faculty who are: (1) working on digital humanities projects that are independent of other institute programming; or (2) seeking support for training in the digital humanities. Grants can be used to help defray a range of costs including software (not hardware), attendance at Digital Humanities workshops and other training opportunities, and consultation with other scholars working in related areas in the digital humanities. Proposal forms are posted at http://humanitiesinstitute.wfu.edu under “Forms.” Proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis as funding allows, with priority given to those received by April 1^st for Summer 2015.