Mellon/ACLS Scholars and Society Fellowships

Supporting doctoral faculty as they advance publicly engaged humanities research
Elizabeth Son F’19, F’10 speaks at KAN-WIN’s annual Global Action Day protest in Chicago on August 7, 2019, held in solidarity with survivors of Japanese military sexual slavery. Credit: KAN-WIN.

The Mellon/ACLS Scholars and Society program was a three-year experimental effort from 2019 to 2021 to support doctoral faculty as they advance publicly engaged humanities research and promote change in doctoral education. Scholars and Society Fellows pursued research projects while in residence at US-based cultural, media, government, policy, or community organizations, creating mutually beneficial partnerships in which they collaborated, interacted, and learned about each other’s work, motivating questions, methods, and practices. The program was made possible by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. 

The program has supported nearly 40 fellows as they conduct research projects at organizations including the American Bar Association, Bradbury-Sullivan LGBTQ Community Center, The Racial Imaginary Institute, Los Angeles Public Library, and Utah AIDS Foundation.