Funding projects that help push dialogue, critical engagement, and scholarly projects forward is the highest priority of the Institute."

Alexis Boylan, UCHI Director of Academic Affairs

Speaker, Workshop, Conference, and Research Funding

UCHI is committed to supporting humanities (broadly defined) dialogue and research on campus. To that end, UCHI encourages departments and faculty wishing to bring speakers to campus, to plan workshops, or to program scholarly, interdisciplinary conferences to seek funding support. We also encourage faculty to apply for funding to support their research projects. These funds can be combined with departmental or other funds to support speaker travel, research-related expenses, and other fees. UCHI will promptly address each proposal. No award will be made without a written proposal and projected budget. UCHI awards are provided through a fund transfer to the program leader’s home department. Project leaders then collaborate with departmental administrative staff to access these funds to pay for conference or research expenses. As noted above, research funding is for UConn faculty (tenure track, in residence, or research faculty) only.

UCHI is committed to diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. Please take accessibility into account when planning and budgeting events and ensure that you are able to offer accommodations as needed. See UConn’s policy on event accessibility for more information.

Funding for the 2022–23 academic year has been depleted and applications are now closed. Applications will reopen on July 1, 2023.

Maximum funding amounts:

Speakers/workshops: $1500
Conferences: $3500
Research: $4500

2021–2022 Speaker, Conference, and Research Funding

Andrew Kahrl, “The Struggle to Reclaim Connecticut’s Coastal Commons”; Robert Thorson (Geosciences)
Sophie Maríñez’s two-week residency at UConn; Sam Martínez (El Instituto)
Virtual talk of Emily Sun; Shuyu Guo (LCL)
Speakers for Tradition and Transformation: Mithila Art of India; Kathryn Myers (Art and Art History)
Publication of Cargo Rebellion: Those Who Chose Freedom; Jason Chang and Alexis Dudden (History)
Kinds of Expression Conference; Dorit Bar-on (Philosophy)
Mark Twain writer-in-residence program; Sean Forbes (English)
Humanities Undergraduate Research Symposium (HURS)
Afghanistan and the Course of U.S. Empire; Christopher Vials (English)
Reading of Love War Stories with Ivelisse Rodriguez; Katerina Seligmann (El Instituto & LCL)
Talk by Esther Dischereit, “Voices of Survivors: How a Racist Attack in Germany Created an Unexpected Jewish-Muslim Alliance”; Sebastian Wogenstein and Avinoam Patt (Judaic Studies)
Candela Review; Eilyn Lombard Cabera (LCL)
Body, Medicine, and Feminism: The Life and Work of Nawal El Saadawi Conference; Hind Ahmed Zaki (Political Science)
Plant Humanities project; Elizabeth Athens (Art and Art History)
lecture/visit by Prof. Sigrid Koehler, University of Tuebingen, Germany; Sebastian Wogenstein (LCL)
Ray Guns, Dames, and the Guilty Gaze: Feminism and the Golden Age of Pulp Fiction; Alison Paul (Art and Art History) and Barbara Gurr (WGSS)
Misinformation: Creating a Misfire for American Gun Policy; Gun Violence Prevention Research Interest Group

2020–2021 Colloquia and Conference Funding

Design and Research for Healthy Communities and Healthcare Facilities Project; Françoise Dussart (Anthropology)

ECOM Programming; Dorit Bar-On (Philosophy)

Visit of Laura Splan; Paul Michael and Barry Rosenberg (Art and Art History)

Alejandro de la Guerra’s participatory mural project; Samuel Martinez (Anthropology)

Radical Futures Symposium; Anke Finger (Literatures, Cultures, and Languages)

CLAS Activist-in-Residence funding; Jason Oliver Chang (Asian and Asian American Studies Institute & History)

Support for a special issue of postmedieval; Breann Leake (English)

Teach In: The Egyptian Revolution 10 Years On; Hind Ahmed Zaki (Political Science)

Maroon Archives; Jason Oliver Chang (Asian and Asian American Studies Institute & History)

UConn Reads panel on Climate Denialism; Tom Bontly (Philosophy)

Funding for Book Project, Erasing Identity, Restricting Opportunity; Rebecca Campbell (Neag School of Education)

Funding for Candela Review; Eilyn Lombard Cabrera (Literatures, Cultures, and Languages)

Talk by Emily Bivens; Anna Lindemann (Digital Media and Design)

“Bl(x)ck Rhizomes: A Digital Public History Praxis” with Dr. Aleia Brown; Clarissa Ceglio (Digital Media and Design)

Racism in the Margins Conference; Kathleen Tonry and Gabe Morrison (English)

2019–2020 Colloquia and Conference Funding

ATTENTION: Because of the impact of COVID-19 on national and international travel, some of the following upcoming events may be postponed or cancelled. These events will be marked by three stars, followed by further information (e.g. *** POSTPONED). Please visit this page for regular updates on the status of our events.

"Abstractionism 2.0" Conference; Marcus Rossberg (Philosophy)
"Al-Andalus: a Musical Journey" featuring Oscar Herrero; Nicola Carpentrieri (LCL)
Art and Technology Working Group; Kelly Dennis (Art & Art History)
Book Traces with Kristin Jensen and Michael Rodriguez Yohei Igarashi (English) ***CANCELLED
CinemAGEnder: How Hispanic Cinemas Visualize Sexuality and Memory in Old Age; Ana María Díaz-Marcos (LCL)
Conference on the Teaching of Writing; Brenda Brueggemann (English)
"Creativity and Composition" event and visit by Koyko Kitamura; Scott Campbell (English)
"Documenting the Spontaneous: Puerto Rico's Summer of Protests" Conference; Marisol Ramos (UConn Library)
EoC: Summit of Programmed and Unprogrammed Asian American Studies; Jason Chang (History)
ECOM 10th Anniversary and the "Expression, Language, and Music” Conference; Dorit Bar-On (Philosophy)
"Race, Rights and Rebels: Alternatives to Human Rights and Development" Reading and Event; Evelyn Simien (Political Science)
The Connecticut Digital Humanities Conference; Anke Finger (LCL)
The Future of Reading; Rachel Gabriel (Education) & Yohei Igarashi (English) ***CANCELLED
The Humanities and Science Speaker's Series, 2019–20; Helen Rozwadowski (History), Debapriya Sarkar (English), & Alexis Boylan (AAH)
The 32nd North American Conference on Chinese Language (NACCL-32) annual meeting; Chunsheng Yang (LCL)
"The Translation of Letters and Ideas in Cuba's Republic" Conference; Jacqueline Loss & Reynaldo Lastre (LCL) ***POSTPONED TO FALL 2020
UConn Spring Puppet Form with a presentation by Dr. Jane Bennett; John Bell (Dramatic Arts)
Vagantes Conference on Medieval Studies; Casey Smedberg (English)
Visit and lecture by Andrew Kahrl; Robert Thorson (Geosciences) *** POSTPONED TO FALL 2020
Visit and lecture by Annette Vee; Yohei Igarashi (English)
Visit and lecture by Aruna D’Souza, Independent Art Critic and Scholar; Elizabeth Athens (AAH)
Visit and lecture by Bonnitta Roy; Ray DiCapua (AAH)
Visit and lecture by Colson Whitehead; Melina Pappademos (History & Africana Studies)
Visit and lecture by David Gooblar; Leah Begg (English) & Yohei Igarashi (English)
Visit and lecture by Grand Prix littéraire d'Afrique noire winner Sami Tchak; Hassanaly Ladha (LCL)
Visit and lecture by Hal Roberts; Yohei Igarashi (English) ***CANCELLED
Visit and lecture by James Young; Christine Sylvester (Political Science) ***CANCELLED
Visit and lecture by Jeffrey Peterson; Richard Sosis (Anthropology)
Visit and lecture by Jenny Spinner; Tom Deans (English) (LCL)
Visit and lecture by Johannes Heil, President of the Hochschule für jüdische Studien Heidelberg (Academy for Jewish Studies); Sebastian Wogenstein (LCL)
Visit and lecture by Laura Splan; Michael Shawn & Barry Rosenberg (AAH)
Visit and lecture by Kate Brown; Shirley Roe (History) ***CANCELLED
Visit and lecture by Mab Segrest; Jane Gordon (Political Science)
Visit and lecture by Nicholas Smith; Tracy llaerna (Philosophy)
Visit and lecture by Rebecca Traister; Frank Costigliola (History)
Visit and lecture by Sandra Ruiz; Jacqueline Loss (LCL) ***CANCELLED
Visit and performance by Brandon Shimoda; Jason Oliver Chang (History)
Wallace Stevens Poetry Event with D.A. Powell; Penelope Pelizzon (English) ***POSTPONED TO SPRING 2021

2018–2019 Colloquia and Conference Funding

Connect Africa Research Workshop, Eleni Coundouriotis (English)
Rob Nixon Lecture on Book Slow Violence, Evelyn Simien (Political Science)
Sibyl Kempson Lecture and Workshop, Darcie Dennigan (English)
Living Objects: African American Puppetry Symposium and Festival, John Bell (Puppetry)
Translating Cuban Letters, a Conversation with Kristin Dyskstra and Anna Kushner, Jacqueline Loss (LCL)
Frege Conference, Marcus Rossberg (Philosophy)
Maritime Asia Conference, Alexis Dudden (History)
War, memory, and Museums: Insights from Modiful Hoque, Shareen Hertel (Political Science, Human Rights)
Discussion – “A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration”, Matthew Pugliese (Drama)
Annual Wallace Stevens Poetry Program with Speaker Claudia Rankine, Penelope Pelizzon and Cathy Schlund-Vials (English)
ECOM 2018-19 Speaker Series + Spring 2019 Workshop, Dorit Bar-On (Philosophy)
Why Don't We Die in the Digital Age?, The School of Fine Arts
Visit and lecture Bryant Simon, Micki McElya (History)
“Reporter in the Line of Fire: Dispatches from Central America, 1983-90” Exhibition & Conference, Scott Wallace (Journalism)
Imagining Landscape: IX LANGSA Annual Conference, Xiaoqiao Xu (LCL)
Visit of Professor Chris Rovee, Yohei Igarashi (English)
Visit of Professor Jasbir Puar, Bhakti Shringarpure (English)
Husky Films Project, Edward Craven (Economics)
Vagantes Conference on Medieval Studies, Catherine Albers (English)
Amanda Guzmán, "From Island to Museum: Narrating Puerto Rican Museum Object Itineraries", Sarah Willen (Anthropology)
2019 Conference on the Teaching of Writing: “Active and Accessible” , Brenda Jo Brueggemann (English)
Graffiti and the Forgotten Jews of Antiquity, Sebastian Wogenstein (LCL)
A Critical Graduate Symposium, Chriss Sneed (Sociology)

Humanities Book Support Award

Funds provide support for the production of book-length scholarship by UConn tenured, tenure-track, and in-residence faculty and published by professional presses. It aims to ensure that books of significant scholarly value by University of Connecticut CLAS faculty can be published regardless of market value. This money is provided for the expenses that arise from the final stage of publishing and thus does not fund research or travel expenses. Funds provided by the Committee most often support a publisher-required subvention, but with special justification they may support other requirements, e.g., fees associated with the rights for use of copyrighted material, illustration costs, and printing costs. Faculty should seek research and travel support from their departments, the Institutes, and the Scholarship Facilitation Fund.

The Humanities Book Support Award offers a maximum of $2000 to fund single-authored/co-authored monographs, edited/co-edited collections, and/or scholarly editions. Textbooks are not eligible. The money will be paid directly to the scholar’s research account. It will be expected that if awarded, this funding will be recognized in the acknowledgements of the published book and other materials relating to the promotion of the publication.

Application Information

There are no deadlines for applications. Proposals will be considered on a rolling basis, with responses provided to applicants in about four weeks. Faculty members who wish to apply for funds should submit the following information:

  • 1-2 page cover letter that includes a) the scholarly importance of the manuscript, b) reasons for the subvention and c) the amount of support requested.
  • 1-2 page C.V.
  • Letter from the professional press offering the contract. (Note: letter must explicitly state that a contract is in place, signed, and an estimated publication date. No request will be considered with a formal book contract in evidence.)
  • If the subventions costs cannot be covered by the $2000 Humanities Book Support Award support, please explain what other support monies can be accessed.

Send above materials as one PDF to the Committee chair, Alexis Boylan (alexis.boylan@uconn.edu).

Humanities Book Support Award Committee

Alexis Boylan, Director of Academic Affairs, Humanities Institute (Chair)
Kent Holsinger, Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate School
Gustavo Nanclares, Associate Professor of Spanish, Department of Literatures, Cultures and Languages

Working Groups

UCHI offers the possibility for a small group of faculty members (between four and ten, and may include graduate students) to organize workshops, seminars, and working groups. Participants will discuss readings and/or share their research. Funds to pay for reading materials, other meeting materials, and visits by regional scholars vary by the size and needs of the group, but are capped at $1500.

Those interested in organizing a workshop, seminar, or working group should apply by submitting a two-page proposal. The following categories should be addressed in the body of the proposal:

  • Subject Area
  • Purpose of the workshop
  • Potential outcomes
  • List of program participants
  • Schedule
  • Budget (items may include: copying, book purchases, travel for visiting scholars, food expenses)

Email your proposal to uchi@uconn.edu.

Support is for one academic year; a report of the group’s accomplishments is due at the end of the academic year (May 15). To continue the working group, reapplication should be submitted in May for support in the following year.

UCHI is committed to diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. Please take accessibility into account when planning and budgeting your working group and ensure that you are able to offer accommodations as needed. See UConn’s policy on event accessibility for more information.

2022–2023 Working Groups

For more information please contact the group organizer.

American Studies Writing Group; Chris Vials

The American Studies Writing Group offers an opportunity for faculty across the university to meet and workshop their chapters and articles in progress. Scholars working on any topic involving U.S. history, culture, and politics can meet to read their colleagues work and have their own work read and discussed by others in an interdisciplinary setting that deeps the interdisciplinarity of their work.

Creative Writing Pedagogy; Darcie Dennigan

The Creative Writing Pedagogy Working Group meets monthly to read and discuss selected texts on creative teaching praxis as well as new works of poetry, drama, fiction, and creative nonfiction.

Early Modern Studies Working Group; Lyn Tribble

The Early Modern “Working Group” describes a close-knit, interdisciplinary, and ever-growing community of teachers, researchers, students, and members of the public who share a passion for learning about the art, culture, and history of our early modern forebears. The Early Modern period (c. 1450-1800) practically begs us to explore the relevance of their lives to our own, encompassing as it does so many of the crucial historical influences on who we moderns are: the scientific revolution; the artistic and literary glories of the Renaissance; suffocating systems of religious and political absolutism, but also paths to Reformation and religious tolerance; philosophical Enlightenment; crushing class, gender, and racial inequality and the birth of movements intent on eradicating them; the consolidation of European “nations” and the appearance of bureaucratized central states; the establishment of lasting overseas colonies and global trade routes founded in an age of “Discovery” nourished by an international slave trade and responsible for the erasure of entire, indigenous populations; the flowering of proto-capitalist and proto-globalist economies that both represented and necessitated earth-shattering cultural revolutions. Indeed, in struggling to understand this rich period and its impact on our present-day lives, we grapple not merely with the wonders and achievements of our forebears, but with their oftentimes horrific legacies as well.

Due in part to a diverse faculty with expertise in the entire range of such Early Modern subjects, UConn has been a member of the prestigious Institute Consortium of the Folger Shakespeare Library since 2014. As one of 46 universities worldwide who belong to Consortium, UConn affords its faculty and students invaluable opportunities to work in one of the world’s premier centers of study focused on the early modern world.

Thanks to the generous support of the UConn Humanities Institute (UCHI), we continue to develop our relationship with the Folger and cultivate our on-campus strengths through a robust, annual program of local events for our community members. These include, but are not limited to, the activities of the Early Modern Reading Group, the Works-in-Progress Writing Group, the external guest Speakers Series, and our bi-weekly Folger Transcribathon (paleography training) sessions.

The Engineering Firesides; Monika Arbaciauskaite

The Engineering Firesides working group offers a place for undergraduate and graduate students in engineering to meet and discuss the big impacts of their profession through the use of philosophical texts. Students meet every two weeks to discuss the text and get a chance to explore non-technical ideas while connecting these ideas to their profession and everyday lives. This working group aims to reflect on the ways engineering impacts society and, conversely, how society impacts engineering.

History of Science Reading Group; Debapriya Sarkar, Helen Rozwadowski, and Alexis L. Boylan

The History of Science reading group explores the interfaces between scientific knowledge and its representation and communication, especially to a wider public, from the pre-modern period through the twenty-first century. Inclusion of literature from a wide range of periods provides not only a foundation in the history of science generally, but also in the theoretical and conceptual tools that might generate productive insights and common questions to guide further research. Drawing from works in various disciplines—from science studies to history of technology, from visual culture to literature including speculative fiction—this working group aims to reflect on the changing contours of the relationship between the humanities and the sciences over a broad historical period.

Invited speakers have included Jennifer Tucker, Wesleyan University; Michael Robinson, University of Hartford; and Lukas Rieppel, Brown University.

#IndigiReads; Cristina Connolly, Sandy Grande, and Amy Safran

The #IndigiReads working group invites UConn community members from across the university to join students, staff and faculty in the Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative (NAISI) to meet regularly across the spring semester 2023, to read and discuss texts related to food sovereignty, Indigenous knowledge systems, agriculture, and the environment. In acknowledgement that Connecticut is home to several Tribal Nations and the University sits on Indigenous lands, this group will work to increase understanding of the history and current state of these relations. Participants will grow their perspectives and deepen their interdisciplinary understandings with an aim to develop better working relations across academic units and with Native American and Indigenous students/communities.

In 2023 they will be reading and discussing Hi′ilei Hobart’s book, Cooling the Tropics: Ice, Indigeneity, and Hawaiian Refreshment.

Meanings of Democracy Lab; Ruth Braunstein

Meanings of Democracy (MoD) Lab, founded and directed by Associate Professor of Sociology Ruth Braunstein, engages students and partners in collaborative research and discussion about the contested moral and cultural foundations of democratic life in the United States.

Medical Humanities & Health Disparities Research Group; Martha Cutter

The goal of this group is to bring together scholars in different disciplines to consider from multiple viewpoints health disparities, especially racialized ones. We already have exciting work going on here at UConn in both medical humanities and health disparities, so bringing together scholars in disciplines such as English, communication studies, psychology, WGS, HDFS, history, sociology, and anthropology could be productive for our research and lead to new paradigms for thinking about health disparities, especially given the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic. They will be announcing new events in Spring 2023.

Political Theory Workshop; Jane Gordon

The UConn Political Theory Workshop meets six times a year to offer a space for political theorists based at and beyond UConn to present and receive feedback on works-in-progress or recently published writing. The Workshop conceives of political theory broadly, with particular interest in forging intellectual conversation with scholars in Africana Studies; Asian/Asian American Studies; History; Human Rights; Latinx, Caribbean, and Latin American Studies; Philosophy; and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. The Workshop also aims to contribute to the professional development of UConn graduate students specializing in political theory and philosophy by creating opportunities for first- and second-year students to serve as designated commentators for presentations and for advanced graduate students to present and receive feedback on dissertation writing from faculty members and their peers. In recent years, among others, the Workshop has hosted Sonali Chakravarti (Wesleyan University), Xolela Mangcu (George Washington University), Tacuma Peters (Michigan State University), Mab Segrest (Connecticut College), Tendayi Sithole (University of South Africa), and Nicholas Smith (Macquarie University).

In 2022–2023, our speakers will include Dana Miranda (Philosophy, UMass Boston), Erin Pineda (Government, Smith College), Heather Muraviov (Philosophy, UConn), Hari Ramesh (Government, Wesleyan University), Aaron Kamugisha (Africana Studies, Smith College), Roberto Alejandro (Political Science, UMass Amherst), and Noel Cazenave (Sociology/Philosophy, UConn).

News & Events

Visual Studies Workshop; Kathryn Moore

This workshop will bring together scholars whose work explores the significance of visual experience and related artistic creations for the past and contemporary periods. The group will open up dialogues about the future of visual studies, especially in relation to questions about the Eurocentric legacy of the history of art. It particularly aims to explore the significance of multiculturalism and diversity in the study of visual culture and art history.

Workshop on International Security and Economics (WISE); Jeremy Pressman

The Workshop on International Security and Economics (WISE) is a monthly, virtual forum for scholars outside of UConn to present a work in progress and receive constructive feedback. Started in Spring 2023, WISE is situated in the Department of Political Science and welcomes all members of the UConn community interested in international relations and global affairs. Generally, speakers will share a draft paper or chapter one week before the workshop date. For copies of the papers or other information, please contact Prof. Jeremy Pressman.

2021–2022 Working Groups

For more information please contact the group organizer.

American Studies Writing Group; Chris Vials

The American Studies Writing Group offers an opportunity for faculty across the university to meet and workshop their chapters and articles in progress. Scholars working on any topic involving U.S. history, culture, and politics can meet to read their colleagues work and have their own work read and discussed by others in an interdisciplinary setting that deeps the interdisciplinarity of their work.

Creative Writing Pedagogy; V. Penelope Pelizzon

The Creative Writing Pedagogy Working Group meets monthly to read and discuss selected texts on creative teaching praxis.

Early Modern Studies Working Group; Greg Semenza

The Early Modern “Working Group” describes a close-knit, interdisciplinary, and ever-growing community of teachers, researchers, students, and members of the public who share a passion for learning about the art, culture, and history of our early modern forebears. The Early Modern period (c. 1450-1800) practically begs us to explore the relevance of their lives to our own, encompassing as it does so many of the crucial historical influences on who we moderns are: the scientific revolution; the artistic and literary glories of the Renaissance; suffocating systems of religious and political absolutism, but also paths to Reformation and religious tolerance; philosophical Enlightenment; crushing class, gender, and racial inequality and the birth of movements intent on eradicating them; the consolidation of European “nations” and the appearance of bureaucratized central states; the establishment of lasting overseas colonies and global trade routes founded in an age of “Discovery” nourished by an international slave trade and responsible for the erasure of entire, indigenous populations; the flowering of proto-capitalist and proto-globalist economies that both represented and necessitated earth-shattering cultural revolutions. Indeed, in struggling to understand this rich period and its impact on our present-day lives, we grapple not merely with the wonders and achievements of our forebears, but with their oftentimes horrific legacies as well.

Due in part to a diverse faculty with expertise in the entire range of such Early Modern subjects, UConn has been a member of the prestigious Institute Consortium of the Folger Shakespeare Library since 2014. As one of 46 universities worldwide who belong to Consortium, UConn affords its faculty and students invaluable opportunities to work in one of the world’s premier centers of study focused on the early modern world.

Thanks to the generous support of the UConn Humanities Institute (UCHI), we continue to develop our relationship with the Folger and cultivate our on-campus strengths through a robust, annual program of local events for our community members. These include, but are not limited to, the activities of the Early Modern Reading Group, the Works-in-Progress Writing Group, the external guest Speakers Series, and our bi-weekly Folger Transcribathon (paleography training) sessions.

The Engineering Firesides; Monika Arbaciauskaite

The Engineering Firesides working group offers a place for undergraduate and graduate students in engineering to meet and discuss the big impacts of their profession through the use of philosophical texts. Students meet every two weeks to discuss the text and get a chance to explore non-technical ideas while connecting these ideas to their profession and everyday lives. This working group aims to reflect on the ways engineering impacts society and, conversely, how society impacts engineering.

History of Science Reading Group; Debapriya Sarkar, Helen Rozwadowski, and Alexis L. Boylan

The History of Science reading group explores the interfaces between scientific knowledge and its representation and communication, especially to a wider public, from the pre-modern period through the twenty-first century. Inclusion of literature from a wide range of periods provides not only a foundation in the history of science generally, but also in the theoretical and conceptual tools that might generate productive insights and common questions to guide further research. Drawing from works in various disciplines—from science studies to history of technology, from visual culture to literature including speculative fiction—this working group aims to reflect on the changing contours of the relationship between the humanities and the sciences over a broad historical period.

Invited speakers have included Jennifer Tucker, Wesleyan University; Michael Robinson, University of Hartford; and Lukas Rieppel, Brown University. A list of speakers for 2021–22 will be announced soon.

Literary Epistemology Working Group; Yohei Igarashi

This group undertakes collaborative projects about literature, history, and culture, with a focus on epistemological questions and computational methods.

Meanings of Democracy Lab; Ruth Braunstein

Meanings of Democracy (MoD) Lab, founded and directed by Associate Professor of Sociology Ruth Braunstein, engages students and partners in collaborative research and discussion about the contested moral and cultural foundations of democratic life in the United States. In fall 2021, they are running a Meanings of “America” multimedia contest.

Medical Humanities & Health Disparities Research Group; Martha Cutter

The goal of this group is to bring together scholars in different disciplines to consider from multiple viewpoints health disparities, especially racialized ones. We already have exciting work going on here at UConn in both medical humanities and health disparities, so bringing together scholars in disciplines such as English, communication studies, psychology, WGS, HDFS, history, sociology, and anthropology could be productive for our research and lead to new paradigms for thinking about health disparities, especially given the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

MegaBiblion Society; Joseph McAlhany

The MegaBiblion Society offers intellectually ambitious undergraduates the opportunity to read and discuss longer works of literature in a relaxed and friendly setting. Every two weeks, students gather for a free lunch and free-flowing conversation about daunting and difficult books, without the pressure of formal requirements—no monitoring of progress, no tangible outcomes, no assessment. Instead, the unstructured and undirected discussions, facilitated by a faculty member but led by no one, students can discover the pleasures of a shared intellectual endeavor outside of the formal framework of a class. In past years, the group has read Tolstoy’s War & Peace, Dostoevsky’s Crime & Punishment, and Eliot’s Middlemarch. For Fall 2021 they will read Victor Hugo’s Notre Dame de Paris and in Spring 2022, the plan is to read a great American classic, Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison.

Learn more about MegaBiblion

Political Theory Workshop; Jane Gordon

The UConn Political Theory Workshop meets six times a year to offer a space for political theorists based at and beyond UConn to present and receive feedback on works-in-progress or recently published writing. The Workshop conceives of political theory broadly, with particular interest in forging intellectual conversation with scholars in Africana Studies; Asian/Asian American Studies; History; Human Rights; Latinx, Caribbean, and Latin American Studies; Philosophy; and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. The Workshop also aims to contribute to the professional development of UConn graduate students specializing in political theory and philosophy by creating opportunities for first- and second-year students to serve as designated commentators for presentations and for advanced graduate students to present and receive feedback on dissertation writing from faculty members and their peers. In recent years, among others, the Workshop has hosted Sonali Chakravarti (Wesleyan University), Xolela Mangcu (George Washington University), Tacuma Peters (Michigan State University), Mab Segrest (Connecticut College), Tendayi Sithole (University of South Africa), and Nicholas Smith (Macquarie University).

In 2021-2022, our speakers will include Inés Valdez (Ohio State University), Natasha Behl (Arizona State University), Dabney Waring (UConn), Anna Terwiel (Trinity College), Ainsely LeSure (Brown University), and Luis Beltrán Álvarez, (UConn).

News & Events

Visual Studies Workshop; Kathryn Moore

This workshop will bring together scholars whose work explores the significance of visual experience and related artistic creations for the past and contemporary periods. The group will open up dialogues about the future of visual studies, especially in relation to questions about the Eurocentric legacy of the history of art. It particularly aims to explore the significance of multiculturalism and diversity in the study of visual culture and art history.

2020–2021 Working Groups

For more information please contact group organizer.

American Studies Writing Group; Chris Vials

The American Studies Writing Group offers an opportunity for faculty across the university to meet and workshop their chapters and articles in progress. Scholars working on any topic involving U.S. history, culture, and politics can meet to read their colleagues work and have their own work read and discussed by others in an interdisciplinary setting that deeps the interdisciplinarity of their work.

Art & Technology Working Group; Kelly Dennis

This working group brings together colleagues from a wide range of humanistic disciplines to discuss recent scholarship on the intersection of art and technology. The group explores the various ways in which historical and contemporary artistic developments emerged from and/or engaged with technologies, broadly defined—from writing and printing to photography and digital media.

Creative Writing Pedagogy; V. Penelope Pelizzon

The Creative Writing Pedagogy Working Group meets monthly to read and discuss selected texts on creative teaching praxis. In spring 2021, the group will be discussing Matthew Salesses’s Craft in the Real World (Catapult, 2021).

Early Modern Studies Working Group; Greg Semenza

History of Science Reading Group; Debapriya Sarkar

The History of Science reading group explores the interfaces between scientific knowledge and its representation and communication, especially to a wider public, from the pre-modern period through the twenty-first century. Inclusion of literature from a wide range of periods provides not only a foundation in the history of science generally, but also in the theoretical and conceptual tools that might generate productive insights and common questions to guide further research. Drawing from works in various disciplines—from science studies to history of technology, from visual culture to literature including speculative fiction—this working group aims to reflect on the changing contours of the relationship between the humanities and the sciences over a broad historical period.

Invited speakers have included Jennifer Tucker, Wesleyan University; Michael Robinson, University of Hartford; and Lukas Rieppel, Brown University. A list of speakers for 2020–21 will be announced soon.

Political Theory Workshop; Jane Gordon

The UConn Political Theory Workshop meets six times a year to offer a space for political theorists based at and beyond UConn to present and receive feedback on works-in-progress or recently published writing. The Workshop conceives of political theory broadly, with particular interest in forging intellectual conversation with scholars in Africana Studies; Asian/Asian American Studies; History; Human Rights; Latinx, Caribbean, and Latin American Studies; Philosophy; and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. The Workshop also aims to contribute to the professional development of UConn graduate students specializing in political theory and philosophy by creating opportunities for first- and second-year students to serve as designated commentators for presentations and for advanced graduate students to present and receive feedback on dissertation writing from faculty members and their peers. In recent years, among others, the Workshop has hosted Sonali Chakravarti (Wesleyan University), Xolela Mangcu (George Washington University), Tacuma Peters (Michigan State University), Mab Segrest (Connecticut College), Tendayi Sithole (University of South Africa), and Nicholas Smith (Macquarie University)

In 2020-2021, our speakers will include Elva Orozco Mendoza (Texas Christian University), Nina Hagel (Wesleyan University), Gregory Doukas (PhD Candidate in Political Science, UCONN), Natasha Behl (Arizona State University), Richard Dagger (University of Richmond), and Brooks Kirchgassner (PhD Candidate in Political Science, UCONN).

News & Events

Subversiones Filosóficas, Rosa Helena Chinchilla, Damian Deamici, Reynaldo Lastre, Luis Beltrán-Alvárez, and Guillermo Irizarry

This reading and discussion group explores contemporary trends and ideas in philosophy, political theory, literary theory and psychoanalysis emanating from the Global South that examine through innovative critical lenses the topics of race, indigeneity, environmentalism, Human Rights, colonialism, subjectivity, and more. Through these readings, the group aims to survey and analyze the present global tensions that exist in the United States around the issues of immigration (particularly from Latin America), globalization, imperialism and race relations.

Visual Studies Workshop; Kathryn Moore

This workshop will bring together scholars whose work explores the significance of visual experience and related artistic creations for the past and contemporary periods. The group will open up dialogues about the future of visual studies, especially in relation to questions about the Eurocentric legacy of the history of art. It particularly aims to explore the significance of multiculturalism and diversity in the study of visual culture and art history.

2019–2020 Working Groups

For more information please contact group organizer.

American Studies Writing Group; Chris Vials
Art & Technology Working Group; Kelly Dennis
Early Modern Studies Working Group; Greg Semenza
History of Science Reading Group; Debapriya Sarkar
MegaBiblion Society; Joseph McAlhany
Political Theory Workshop; Fred Lee

2018–2019 Working Groups

For more information please contact group organizer.

American Studies Writing Group, Chris Vials
History of Science Reading Group, Helen Rozwadoski
Graduate Pedagogy Group, Fiona Somerset
Decolonizing the Curriculum Reading Group, Lisa Sanchez
MegaBiblion Society, Joseph McAlhany
Political Theory Workshop, Fred Lee
Early Modern Studies, Brendan Kane

Grants for Folger Research

The Early Modern Studies Working Group supports travel and top-up awards to visit the Folger Shakespeare Library, as part of UConn's involvement with the Folger Institute Consortium. Travel awards support individual research at the library; top-up awards provide additional financial support for successful applicants to Folger scholarly programs. Whereas the travel awards are currently unavailable due to the closing of the Folger for renovations, which began in January 2020, top-up funds remain available for those attending Folger programs (see the 2021–22 list of programs).

Travel Awards (Currently Unavailable)

Graduate student travel awards can be up to $750 and faculty travel awards can be up to $500. Please complete the application form, which includes a research plan and proposed budget for the trip. Review of applications will begin on September 1st and continue on a rolling basis until October 15th.  Given the limited number of funds, early applications are encouraged. Please e-mail earlymod@uconn.edu or Greg Semenza (semenza@uconn.edu) with any questions.

Top-up Awards

When graduate students or faculty participate in Folger scholarly programming, they can apply to for this award. The award will be smaller than the travel awards and is meant to supplement travel expenses that have already been funded by a grant-in-aid from the Folger. The award is intended to allow participants in Folger programming to stay in Washington (or, during renovations, in Folger-affiliated sites) for a few extra days to conduct research. To apply, please send a proposed budget, schedule, the name of the program you are attending, and a research plan to semenza@uconn.edu. Applications for this award are accepted at any time during the academic year, though funding is limited.

All awardees will be expected to write a report and blog post based on their experiences at the Folger.