Applications due Sept. 10
Overview
The Mellon Foundation’s Sawyer Seminars program was established in 1994 to support comparative research on historical and contemporary topics of scholarly significance. The seminars, named in honor of the Foundation’s long-serving third president, John E. Sawyer, bring together faculty, foreign visitors, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students from a variety of fields mainly, but not exclusively, in the arts, humanities and interpretive social sciences, for intensive study of subjects chosen by the participants. This program aims to engage productive scholars in comparative inquiry that would in ordinary university circumstances be difficult to pursue, while at the same time avoiding the institutionalization of such work in new centers, departments, or programs. Sawyer Seminars are, in effect, temporary research centers.
This October marks the program’s 30th year. To observe this milestone, at a time when universities and humanities study are facing a myriad of unprecedented challenges, the foundation is reorienting the 2024 competition and beyond from the study of comparative cultures to the study of major social and political challenges that directly impact the structures, policies, and practices of the American university. This shift in focus celebrates the Sawyer Seminars’ original mission of elevating critical scholarship while also reframing it for our present moment. The foundation seeks to fund humanities- grounded seminars wherein multidisciplinary teams of faculty and other academic leaders collaboratively address timely issues affecting their campuses.
The subject to be considered this year is academic freedom and democracy in the American university. Competitive proposals will demonstrate the ways in which the humanities might reform or reimagine existing institutional structures and campus cultures. They might promise to amplify the work of a pre- existing institutional committee or envision a new committee or seminar-style initiative, with academic freedom and democracy in the American university as the central subject of inquiry. The foundation seeks to support seminars that demonstrate through humanistic methods the ways in which a higher education system featuring a multiplicity of perspectives, thoughts, and voices is essential to a functional democracy.
Program Activities
Each seminar normally meets for one year, though some have continued for longer periods. To allow for planning, seminars need not be scheduled for the coming academic year. The seminar should be led or co-led by humanities faculty; however, the proposed seminar should be a collaborative effort involving participation by scholars and administrators from across disciplines and units, with varying perspectives on the problem being addressed. In addition, the foundation encourages applicants to invite participants from nearby institutions, such as community colleges, liberal arts colleges, museums, research institutes, and local organizations to achieve interdisciplinary and community-engaged collaboration.
Criteria and Eligibility
Applications will be evaluated on a) the centrality of humanities leadership to the proposed project; b) evidence of concrete buy-in and support for the proposed structure from university administration; and c) the strength of the plan for disseminating the project’s findings across campus units to catalyze institutional transformation.
As applicants consider potential approaches and methods of inquiry into the designated topic, the foundation encourages them to bear in mind that Mellon and the Higher Learning program are fundamentally interested in themes of social and racial justice.
As Mellon reviews proposals, preference will be given to those that seek to:
- Bridge the gap between the socially equitable world envisioned in much humanities scholarship and the policies and practices characterizing today’s universities
- Empower humanists to be active participants in the strategic conversations and planning that many universities are engaged in or preparing to undertake
- Imagine new and revised university structures that would enhance the growth of the humanities and promote the realization of more just futures
Grant recipients would be expected to highlight and disseminate findings across campus units using a medium that best fits their campus context, such as a white paper or town hall. Seminars are not expected to produce a written product, though many do.
Funding requests should not exceed $300,000. Sawyer seminars budgets typically provide for a postdoctoral fellowship to be awarded for the year the seminar meets, and two graduate student dissertation fellowships to be awarded for the seminar year or the year that follows. However, for the 2024 competition, this is not a requirement.
Funds may support:
- One postdoc
- Up to two dissertation research fellows (in the form of graduate tuition or supplemental funding)
- Travel and living expenses for short stays by visiting scholars
- Costs associated with coordinating seminars, including meals, honoraria, consulting fees, and stipends.
Unlike in previous years, there are no required expenditures. Funds may not be used to cover released time for regular faculty participants, rentals of university space, or indirect costs. The first budget period must begin with July 1, 2025. To align with reporting dates that work for the institution, the first period may be longer or shorter than 12 months.
Internal Application Instructions
Interested faculty should click here to submit an application for the internal LSO competition and to find additional information about the opportunity. The deadline for the internal competition is September 10, 2024. Selected candidates will submit their nominations to the sponsor by the external deadline of Nov. 20, 2024.
