Program Guidelines

Humanist Examination of Freedom.
In this call for proposals, RICH asks for proposals that clearly articulate how the project investigates freedom through the humanities.

RICH will entertain proposals in all areas of the humanities. A formal definition of the humanities, used by RICH to guide its grant-making activity, is derived from the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965. The term humanities includes the academic disciplines,

...study and interpretation of the following: language, both modern and classical; linguistics; literature; history; jurisprudence; philosophy; archaeology; comparative religion; ethics; the history, criticism, and theory of the arts; those aspects of the social sciences (such as cultural anthropology and sociology) which have humanistic content and employ humanistic methods; and the study and application of the humanities to the human environment with particular attention to reflecting diverse heritage, traditions, and history and to the relevance of the humanities to the current conditions of national life.

Interdisciplinary fields such as ethnic studies, folklore, and women’s studies may also be included in the term humanities.

Academic and Community Partnership.
RICH is also asking for partnerships between:

(a) humanists interested in creatively examining the concept of freedom from the vantage point of their particular discipline and
(b) non-academic organizations interested in developing and hosting an innovative public program about freedom.

Applicant humanities scholars must be researchers or university faculty with advanced degrees in a humanities field. Applicant organizations must be non-academic, with non-profit status and demonstrated ability to work with the public.

This initiative requires project scholar and organization to work together closely to develop a feasible, engaging, free, and accessible public humanities program that will encourage thoughtful conversation and public dialogue about freedom. The scholar and community organization must jointly imagine, plan, and define project content and format. While the scholar will be primarily responsible for providing relevant knowledge from his or her humanities field of study, the organization will be primarily responsible for managing the grant award and grant reports and coordinating the logistical aspects of the culminating program event and related publicity.

Public Presentation.
As a condition of the grant award, each grantee scholar will also be required to prepare (by September 15, 2003) and deliver a brief public talk not to exceed thirty minutes relevant to how freedom has been examined in his or her discipline. This talk will be scheduled as a part of a public lecture and discussion series that RICH will host during National Arts and Humanities month in October 2003.