The Franklin Humanities Institute Seminar

2008-09 Seminar Theme and Fellowship Terms Announced
Click here for information on Alternative Political Imaginaries , the 2008-2009 FHI Seminar, or download a printable copy of the call for proposals at one of the following links:

Click here to open a PDF of the Duke FACULTY Call for Proposals (deadline 11/19/2007)
Click here to open a PDF of the Duke GRADUATE STUDENT Call for Proposals (deadline 1/18/2008)
Click here to open a PDF of the POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW Call for Proposals (deadline 1/18/2008)
Click here to open a PDF of the PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL FELLOW Call for Proposals (deadline 1/18/2008)

Read about some of our past Fellows' accomplishments here.

The Franklin Humanities Institute sponsors an annual residential Seminar consisting of Duke faculty, graduate research fellows, a post-doctoral fellow, and one professional librarian. Seminar members, selected each fall through a competitive process, receive an office in the Franklin Center and (for College of Arts and Sciences faculty) release time from two courses in order to pursue a year of dedicated research, collaborative thinking, and innovative course development. Residency in the Seminar offices allows scholars both time and space to concentrate on their research while offering new opportunities for collaborations that will generate new ideas for interdisciplinary teaching and scholarship. The aim is to create a collective and productive humanities “laboratory” in which, each year, Fellows make new intellectual communities across departmental and disciplinary divides and think together about a significant theme or problem with an expansive historical, philosophical, or geographical scope. The true legacy of the Franklin Humanities Institute will be in colleagues who return to their departments invigorated by new intellectual partnerships, new ways of thinking about their scholarship, and new ideas for exciting courses for our undergraduate and graduate students.

The Seminar is co-convened by two or three faculty members from different departments, specializing on different historical periods, national traditions, methodologies, or content areas. They convene a group of approximately ten to twelve faculty (drawn from the College of Arts and Sciences and the professional schools), one professional librarian, three graduate students, two postdoctoral fellows, and an exchange fellow from UNC Chapel Hill to discuss a broad and general topic for the year. To date, we have organized Seminars around two general areas: "race" (1999-2003) and "information" (2004-08).