The Society for the Humanities at Cornell University seeks faculty fellows for year-long residential fellowships who are conducting interdisciplinary research projects exploring play. Easily dismissed as frivolous, juvenile, or unserious, play represents a core human activity (homo ludens) with a rich tradition of scholarship in the humanities.
We invite applications that approach ideas and concepts that address play in a critical spirit. Critical studies of play can be found in a wide range of disciplines including anthropology, literature, history, performance studies, music, theater, media studies, gender and sexuality studies, cultural studies, and game studies. Theories about play explore the ludic, the spontaneous, or the rule-bound. We welcome studies of improvisation that may focus on imagination, creativity, and futurity. Studies of play may also address forms of play that affirm expertise or competence, containing play with culturally accepted rules (like grammar). Tacking between rules and improvisation, playing may involve players who demonstrate mastery and proficiency. Play may call for risk-taking, such as gambling or speculation. Play can be rewarding or punishing, spectacular or completely ordinary.
People, things, and ideas play or they can be played. Play can generate pleasure; play can also cause harm. Thus, play can be something radically and consciously in opposition to reality, generating joy, desire, or fantasy. In a pleasurable form, play can be a respite from reality. However, play can be dangerous, raising questions about how play relates to truth and delusion. In its dystopic forms, play can be disruptive so that reality is called into question.
When we think of common phrases such as “play on words” or “child’s play,” we see that play is also a feature of our everyday lives, binding collectives and communities. Play is central to how we live; without play, we live without contingency and futurity.
The Society for the Humanities welcomes applications from scholars and artists who are interested in participating in a playful and critical dialogue around play.
Image: Takino Rainbow Nest, Toshiko Horiuchi MacAdam, netplayworks.com
2027-28 PLAY Competitions
- Society Fellowships: One-year residential fellowships at Cornell University with a $64,000 stipend. Application deadline: September 1, 2026
- Faculty Fellowships: Open to Cornell faculty members only, one-year residential fellowships located at the A.D. White House. Application deadline: October 30, 2026
- Mellon Graduate Fellowships: Open to Cornell graduate students only, nine-month residential fellowships located at the A.D. White House, includes a $35,661 stipend, tuition, and student health insurance. Application deadline: October 30, 2026.
