2022 Call for Proposals

The DKU Humanities Research Center (HRC) invites proposals from all DKU/Duke faculty and affiliates working on humanities-related projects. Projects should be based at DKU and/or connect Duke and DKU faculty. Proposals should be sent to Eugenie Chao (eugenie.chao@dukekunshan.edu.cn) by December 15, 2021.

  • Research Labs
  • Small Events
  • Large Events

Research Labs

The Humanities Research Center (HRC) is soliciting proposals from faculty interested in hosting a humanities lab. The lab will receive funding of up to $20,000 per year, to fund activities relevant to the lab’s theme. The lab will start in Spring 2022 and will initially be funded for one year, with a possible renewal for a second or third year.

Modelled very loosely on science labs, humanities labs are relatively small-scale and short-term entities that permit faculty to organize activities and research initiatives around a specific theme. The theme may be a contemporary concern that is currently receiving significant attention, or it could be an interdisciplinary topic that touches on a variety of different fields. Each lab will be given an annual budget with which to organize activities and sponsor research initiatives relevant to the lab’s theme. Each lab should involve both students and faculty. Research initiatives that involve cooperative work between students and faculty that can lead towards signature work projects are particularly encouraged.

Each humanities lab will have:

      • Two or three co-directors (though other faculty may also be involved)
      • A theme that will appeal to a significant number of DKU students and faculty
      • A plan to involve both students and faculty

All DKU and Duke faculty and affiliates are eligible to apply, but all labs must have at least one director who is a DKU faculty person. The lab must be based at DKU, and should emphasize disciplines associated with the humanities, interpretive social sciences, and/or the creative arts.

The application (max 5 single spaced pages) should include the following elements:

      • Title of the lab
      • Names, titles, and one-paragraph biographies of faculty involved
      • A description of the lab’s theme, scope, and significance
      • A provisional one-year budget
      • A provisional list of the lab’s anticipated output


Small Events

The HRC will fund a number of small-scale events, which could take the form of workshops, reading groups, film screenings and discussions, excursions, and so forth. Experimentation and innovation is encouraged, and applications may be submitted by either individuals or by groups of collaborators. All DKU and Duke faculty affiliates may apply.

A complete proposal (max 5 pages single-spaced) should include a title, a description of the research question, a summary of the activities to be undertaken, a list of collaborators to be invited (with brief bios), a description of anticipated outcomes, and a budget. The maximum contribution from the HRC for each small event is $5,000.


Large Events

The HRC will also fund at least one larger-scale event, which could take the form of a workshop, a lecture series, a curatorial project, and so forth. Experimentation and innovation is encouraged, and applications may be submitted by either individuals or by groups of collaborators. All DKU and Duke faculty affiliates may apply.

A complete proposal (max 5 pages single-spaced) should include a title, a description of the topic/research question, a summary of the activities to be undertaken, a list of collaborators to be invited (with brief bios), a description of anticipated outcomes, and a budget. The maximum contribution from the HRC for a large event is $20,000.