While many research grants lean in favor of science, technology, engineering, and math disciplines, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has announced a new initiative to aid interdisciplinary researchers in the humanities.

The result is Humanities Without Walls, a consortium of 15 universities throughout the Midwest. The University of Iowa will participate in the initiative through the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, an interdisciplinary center at the UI. Overseen by the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development, the Obermann Center supports the work of artists and researchers, including many humanities scholars in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

The Mellon Foundation grant allows the Humanities Without Walls consortium to support two initiatives—one for faculty members and the other for graduate students.

Faculty will have an opportunity to create cross-institutional research teams focused on a theme: “The Global Midwest.” Projects involving scholars from at least two consortium universities will explore the Midwest’s influence on global economies and cultures. The deadline for applications is Oct. 30, for work to be carried out in 2015.

Those wishing to participate in a group can view more than 40 topics already registered on the Humanities Without Walls Wiki page by emerging teams.

A second aim of the Humanities Without Walls consortium is a three-week pre-doctoral workshop in Chicago next summer. Two graduate students from each university will be selected, and sessions will aim to prepare students for careers in and outside the academy. Applications for the workshop are due to the Obermann Center by Nov. 11.

This summer, the Obermann Center provided seed grants to three projects being developed by UI faculty:

• “Midwestern Voices, Midwestern Vision,” which will use transmedia storytelling to record local community stories and histories that engage global issues of the environment, social equity, and economic development. (Chuck Connerly, Nick Benson, Matt Gilchrist, Thomas Keegan, Anita Jung, R. Tyler Priest, and David Sweeney from the University of Iowa)
• “Global Midwest through Animal Lives,” which will explore American Midwest culture by studying the lives of animals that live there, using principles of ecology, sociology, environmental sciences, bioethics, arts, humanities, history, and geography. (Kim Marra and Mary Trachsel from the University of Iowa)
• “Scholars Connecting with American Indian Communities and Tribes,” which will encourage collaboration. (Jacki Rand from the University of Iowa)

Teresa Mangum, director of the Obermann Center, says the grant will allow scholars, artists, and scientists to work together in a meaningful way, spanning disciplines that include languages, history, drama, philosophy, religious studies, and more.