What are Studiolabs?

The C4H StudioLabs are faculty working groups that focus on engagement—with multiple disciplines, with the community, and, most vitally, with each other. The primary goal of the StudioLab program is to foster interdisciplinary and public-facing research in the humanities. Enriching the working environment and fostering intellectual community for our humanities faculty is an equally important priority. StudioLabs may involve collaborations between humanities and the arts, fresh dialogues with the sciences, or a new and imaginative approach to research areas as disparate as digital humanities, the study of language, critical theory, visual arts, or musicology.  

Why "Studiolabs"?

The name StudioLabs is meant to suggest the open and experimental nature of these collaborations. They are not simply faculty conducting parallel research in tandem, but, like a painter’s palette, mixing pigments in different quantities and configurations to create an exciting new color/paradigm. Essentially, “StudioLabs” is meant to suggest that the outcome of these faculty working groups is not yet known—that the question is more important than the answer. The nature of education in the humanities is surprise. We do not get what we expect, and by getting what we don’t expect, our vision grows. 

Program Details

The Center for the Humanities invites proposals for interdisciplinary faculty working groups. Each group will consist of 3-4 tenure track (TT) or ranked non tenure track (NTT) faculty members, or three faculty members and one graduate student or postdoc. We strongly encourage faculty working groups that include faculty from different departments and/or academic disciplines, as this funding is meant to stimulate humanities research that could not be accomplished without cross-disciplinary collaboration. While all teams must include humanists, they may include artists and/or scientists engaging in collaborative humanities research. We encourage applicants to check existing StudioLabs to ensure their group does not duplicate existing research and creative activities. Please direct any questions to Julie Elman, Center for the Humanities director. 

  Possible working group research outcomes may include, but are not limited to:  

  • Collaborative publication (book proposal, anthology, or co-edited special issue) 
  • Collaborative external grant application (National Endowment for the Humanities program building or institute grants, foundation grants) 
  • Individual publications or book proposals in a shared research area or theme 
  • Digital/public humanities projects 
  • Other scholarly or creative output  

  StudioLab support includes:  

  • Team award (up to $2,500 per year for two years) for research expenses. Teams will receive up to $2,500 of initial funding. With submission of research report demonstrating progress toward stated research outcomes, teams will receive an additional $2,500 in their second year. Unused first-year funds carry over to the second year; unused funds at the end of the second year will return to the center. Advance spending and additional funding requests may be considered with compelling budget justification.  
     
    Please note: Funds cannot be used for conference travel or for additional faculty compensation. 
  • Signature event support (Up to $2,500) for one public wrap-up event to showcase the team’s scholarship/creative production. This budget may include an invitation to external speakers but cannot be used for additional faculty compensation. Participants should submit their proposed budget along with their annual update. Teams must produce their signature event during the funding period or in the year following the funding period. 

  During the funding period(s), working groups must complete the following tasks:   

  • 3 meetings per semester: The lead applicant will be responsible for ensuring that the faculty work group meets at least three times per semester, in person or virtually. 
  • Annual research report: The team must submit a one-page update on their activities at the end of each year of funding that outlines progress toward research goal(s). 
  • Signature event organization:  
  • The team must submit a detailed budget for their public event with their research report. Additional funding may be requested with compelling justification. 
  • Teams will produce their signature event during the funding period or in the year following the funding period. 

Application Guidelines

Applicatns should apply online with the following elements:

Please include a CV that details your research interests and accomplishments.

  • The summary should clearly describe the project for educated non-specialist readers, identifying primary research questions and methods, describing state of existing scholarship, and the research outcome(s) contribution MU’s research/ creative works, teaching, and/or service mission.<
  • The proposal should position the project within an interdisciplinary research cluster from among the following: Media, History, & Culture (MHC); Digital & Public Humanities (DPH); Science, Technology & Culture Studies (STS); Historical Studies (HS); Humanities Programs & Pedagogy (HPP); Humanities Futures (HF); Inequality & Social Difference (ISD); Linguistics, Semiotics, and the Study of Language (LIN); Literature, Language & Culture (LLC); Musicology / Performance Studies (MP); Philosophy/Critical Theory (PCT); Visual Arts & Culture (VAC). Other cluster proposals will be considered with a clear explanation of the need for a cross-disciplinary research team approach.
  • The proposal should clearly state how interdisciplinary collaboration is essential to the proposed research outcome(s).

  • Project timelines should cover two academic years with internal deadlines, scheduled meetings, and research outcomes should be clearly described.
  • Collective research goals and outcomes should be clearly delineated. Individual research goals can also be included where applicable.

Applications should identify the lead applicant, who will be responsible for scheduling regular meetings, and describe the allocation of roles and duties for other working group participants.

  • While budget needs may shift during the research period, all applications must include a preliminary two-year budget.
  • Principal investigators (PIs) are strongly encouraged to strategize with the Center for the Humanities Executive Committee and departmental leadership to explore possibilities for supplementing project budgets with partial matching funds. This could include using departmental endowment and gift funds or other grant funding or drawing on faculty’s personal E&E or other departmental funds to support project costs, including travel for team members to present research.