Vision

The goal of the initiative for Public Humanities in a Digital World is to create an energetic community of multi-disciplinary scholars, including current digital artists and scholars, UI faculty members and graduate students who seek to develop digital expertise, and newly hired colleagues with expertise in the digital humanities and interests in publicly engaged scholarship. 

Those hired as part of the hiring cluster in Public Humanities in a Digital World will conduct research pertinent to the cluster area and participate in cluster activities.

To support this cluster, the University is currently developing necessary infrastructure, including a digital humanities center, staff, and budget. The developing plans are sketched out below. The Steering Committee members welcome your interest and will provide updates in the coming months. 

Infrastructure

Creation of a Digital Studio for Public Humanities in collaboration with the UI Libraries, Information Technology Services, the Office of the Provost, the Office of the Vice President for Research, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences that builds upon existing digital resources and services.

For news of the exciting projects and events hosted by the Studio, please visit the Digital Studio for Public Humanities.

Research Support

  • Seed grants for competitively selected projects hosted by the Center
  • Annual lectures and symposia
  • Arts and Humanities grants from the Office of the Vice President for Research
  • Interdisciplinary grants to build teams across disciplines (with the Obermann Center)
  • TILE (Transform, Interact, Learn, Engage) classrooms
  • Workshops for faculty and graduate students in emerging technologies and methods
  • Future plans to build interdisciplinary graduate seminars linked to the Center

Tentative Plans to Support Publicly Engaged
Scholarship and Teaching

  • Public Scholars Program (for scholars and students interested in developing features that encourage digital interaction with public partners such as secondary schools, community and liberal arts colleges, and cultural institutions)
  • Summer institutes for high school, community college, and college teachers
  • Center collaborations with campus partners invested in public engagement, such as Center for the Book, UI Libraries, UI Press, CCL, IWP, School of Art and Art History, Division of Performing Arts, Hancher, and the Obermann Center

Additional Links