A Scholar with glasses reads an ancient manuscript

Research & Funding

The Society for the Humanities conducts several grant competitions for research, writing, and travel throughout the year. These grants are intended to foster the excellence in humanities research and writing for which Cornell faculty and graduate students are known. The Society places particular emphasis on innovative, interdisciplinary projects that involve Cornell colleagues from across the various disciplines of the humanities. In addition, the Society is proud to provide funding for humanities events organized by Cornell’s distinguished faculty as well as sponsor six-eight Visiting Fellows each year.

two silhouetted figures surrounded by trees in front of a lake

Rural Humanities

The complex dynamics between rural and urban life have profound implications for America’s future, from the economy to the environment and beyond. The Society for the Humanities houses a new Rural Humanities scholarly initiative, funded for four years by a million-dollar grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The project will invigorate thinking about – and active engagement with – rural communities and landscapes.

Funding will be available to graduate students and advanced undergraduates who participate in a semester-long public humanities seminar or the intensive six-week summer practicum focusing on the theories, methods, and practices of public humanities and community-engaged learning and teaching.

The initiative will also feature a flexible collaborative research network of faculty, students and community partners to facilitate developing long- and short-term research initiatives, with a $50,000 pool of funding per year.