Drawing from art, culture, and history, the public humanities share research and creative work in order to engage, inspire, and educate public audiences. In particular, public humanities initiatives can be effective ways to build awareness and stimulate dialogue around issues of controversy and conflict. Successful public humanities projects may incorporate oral history interviews or collaborative and community-based research, use exhibition techniques, and communicate with broad audiences through writing, visual design, oral presentations, or digital displays.
Williams students can undertake public humanities work as a class or independent study project, a fieldwork course, an internship, or an extracurricular activity. Up to five Public Humanities Fellows are selected each fall through a competitive application. Selected fellows will receive a $2000 stipend, distributed through student payroll over two semesters. During the 2020-2021 academic year, Public Humanities Fellows will use the Williams College Archives and other sources to research, document and create exhibits related to Williams’ untold or less known historical legacy around diversity, equity, and inclusion. During the fellowship, students will develop competencies in conducting archival research, writing for public audiences, project management, oral history, collaboration and other topics.
Required Qualifications:
- Excellent communication skills
- Ability to work about 5 hours/week through entire academic year
- Ability to work well with others and to work independently
- Interest in archives and public history
- Ability to attend weekly meetings plus occasional additional sessions (for workshops or field trips)
- Willingness to tackle new projects
- High degree of responsibility, follow through, and accountability
Applications:
By 5:00 pm Friday, October 2 submit to [email protected] a letter expressing your interest in the fellowship and describing how it relates to past experiences, classes, or future aspirations (Limit to 1 page); a resume; and the name of one faculty reference. For more information contact Clinton Williams at [email protected]
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