Call for Proposals

Research Workshops
2024–2025 Academic Year
Deadline: April 21, 2024

The Stanford Humanities Center (SHC) invites Stanford faculty and advanced graduate students from schools, institutes, departments, and programs within Stanford University to submit proposals for Research Workshops for the coming academic year. This unique program promotes and emphasizes collaborative engagement among scholars and the development of networks across conventional borders, fields, and periods. While many humanities centers sponsor similar programs, the SHC Research Workshops are unusually interdisciplinary and often adventurous.

Research Workshop program successes have included:

  • Fostering short- or long-term communities, as appropriate, around topics of interest
  • Sharing and discussing work in progress in a collegial environment
  • Encouraging graduate students to work closely with faculty in organizing and leading research discussions in a workshop setting
  • Meeting in hybrid (in-person and online) format, welcoming colleagues outside Stanford to participate not only as speakers but as regular cohort members
  • Curating a collection of relevant work in various media for the Colloquies section, or leading to a series of posts for the Interventions section, of the SHC's Arcade digital salon

The SHC will fund up to 15 workshop proposals in 2024–25. Each workshop team will receive an allocation of $14,500. Funded workshops will be notified via email no later than the week of June 3, 2024.

Eligibility:
  • Faculty, scholars, and advanced graduate students from schools, institutes, departments, and programs within Stanford University are invited to submit proposals. Any organizing and leadership team must consist of at least one faculty member and one advanced graduate student who will together serve as the workshop's designated Co-Chairs.
  • Each team should include a core group of faculty and advanced graduate students from any school who will collaborate outside their departmental boundaries and plan events pursuing interdisciplinary engagement focused on the central research theme.
Proposal Classifications:
  • NEW: An application proposing a research theme not previously funded by the SHC.
    • Applicants proposing new workshop themes are encouraged to submit a draft application for review by SHC staff prior to their final submission. Drafts will be accepted and reviewed by the Research Workshops manager until April 12, 2024.
  • RENEWAL: Any current (AY 2023–2024) SHC Research Workshop applicant seeking an additional year of funding and not in its fourth year of continuous funding.
    • Workshops currently in their fourth year or more of continuous SHC funding are required to take a mandatory funding hiatus and may not apply for upcoming AY funds.
  • RETURNING: An applicant proposing a previously funded research theme (prior to AY 2023–2024) and seeking additional funding. 
Research Workshop Commitments:
  • Comply with Stanford University policies and protocols, including policies pertaining to visitors, travel, purchasing, food and beverage, and reimbursements.
  • Plan and organize at least nine workshop events to be held during the academic year, ideally three per quarter.
  • Invite scholars from Stanford University, the SHC Fellowship Program, and from other universities, institutes, or elsewhere, to present and discuss current research or publications relevant to the workshop’s theme.
  • Steward university funds and resources responsibly, and in coordination with the Research Workshops manager, maintain a budget and accurate record of expenses. 
  • Collaborate, when possible, with other institutions and units, internal or external, to jointly sponsor an event or series of events. The SHC has established relationships with internationally renowned institutes interested in exploring cross-institutional collaboration.
  • Explore opportunities for creating or contributing to our digital platform Arcade. For examples of recent Research Workshops that have evolved to include a Colloquy, see Postcolonial Spatialities and Arts + Justice. For examples of an Interventions series, see Chiara Giovanni’s series on the Humanities Core Workshops including the Comparing Literatures Colloquy
Research Workshop Co-Chair Responsibilities:

Co-Chair responsibilities commence during the summer quarter of the academic year in which a Research Workshop is selected. 

During the summer quarter, Co-Chairs are expected to: 

  • Identify and contact desired speakers, collaborating on possible topics and dates.
  • Meet with SHC Research Workshops manager to discuss event planning and budget.
  • Coordinate with manager to schedule and reserve rooms for future events.
  • Provide content for their workshop’s page on the SHC website.
  • Participate in the Research Workshop Co-Chair Orientation.  
     

During the academic year, Co-Chairs shall: 

  • Host, lead, or participate in your workshop’s events.
  • Promote your workshop’s events, collect RSVPs, and circulate material as needed.
  • Welcome guest speakers and liaison with them while they are visiting.
  • Seek out co-sponsors and other avenues of interdisciplinary collaboration.
  • Provide event information so that SHC staff may publicize your event. 
  • Collect and submit to the manager necessary reporting documentation.
  • Arrange special event logistics with manager as needed.
  • Review and update the Research Workshop budget regularly with the manager.   
Application and Instructions:

DEADLINE: Sunday, April 21 at 11:59 PM 

Download the application template and save as a Microsoft Word document for your working application. 

Enter a response to each question or prompt unless specified as optional.

Adhere to word and character limits. Text exceeding word or character limits will be disregarded.

Before 11:59 pm April 21, 2024, email your saved Word document to messingr@stanford.edu with the following subject line: "CFP Entry - [Workshop title]"

Enter the workshop title (limit 50 total characters and spaces)
Enter the workshop proposal classification: New, Renewal, or Returning

Research Workshops currently receiving a fourth year or beyond of continuous SHC funding are required to take a mandatory funding hiatus and may not apply for upcoming academic year funds.

Enter all personnel information for the Workshop Team. Incomplete information in this section will result in automatic dismissal of the proposal. 

The student Co-Chair must be able to commit for the entire academic year (Fall, Winter, and Spring Quarters) and the preceding academic year summer quarter. The student Co-Chair will be accountable for event logistics, speaker arrangements, publicizing events, and creating communications suitable for posting events on the SHC's website.


 

For more information, contact Research Workshops manager Dean Messinger-Arns at messingr@stanford.edu, or SHC Associate Director Helen Malko at malko26@stanford.edu

Browse the Current Research Workshops