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Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities

Propose a Seminar

Due Date: June 3, 2024

RPW Collaborative Research Seminars   

RPW Collaborative Research Seminars provide a space for faculty, graduate students, and visiting scholars to advance and develop emerging research agendas and to explore ideas that cross disciplinary boundaries. Meetings are usually open to all members of the Vanderbilt academic community and the public. However, there may be some circumstances where seminar participation is restricted to a specific group of colleagues, at the discretion of the seminar leaders and in consultation with the RPW Director.    

Each seminar will be organized and led by a team of at least two people, one of whom must be a Vanderbilt faculty member or graduate student. If both or all are from Vanderbilt, at least two must come from different departments. Applications from graduate-student-led teams are encouraged. We also invite graduate student to serve as co-directors.  

We welcome co-leaders from other academic institutions (Fisk, TSU, Belmont, MTSU, etc.) or from  the  Nashville community (community organizers, cultural leaders).  

Budget:  Up to $3,000. Catering, when appropriate, provided by RPW (not part of seminar budget).  

RPW  Impact  Seminars

RPW Impact Seminars  bring together diverse participants—from Vanderbilt University, partner schools in the region, and leaders in the Nashville community—to develop productive and sustainable partnerships  that  initiate, support, or continue  humanities-based public scholarship and engagement.  

Funding can be used for  relationship  building  and cooperative efforts with partners outside the university, the development of  humanities-based public scholarship, public workshops, exhibits, online projects, etc.    

Each seminar will be organized and led by a team of at least two people,  one of whom must be a Vanderbilt faculty member or graduate student. Meetings can take place at the RPW Center  and/or off-campus at community locations  or  at partner academic institutions.  

Budget:  Up to $3,000. Catering, when appropriate,  provided by RPW (not part of seminar budget). Catering for any off-campus events must be approved by RPW staff in advance.   

Proposal Components:

  • For each of the proposed seminar’s leaders: CV or, for non-academic  leaders,  a short bio sketch  or resumé  that includes experience relevant to the seminar.  
  • Narrative: A  maximum  two-page  description of the  seminar’s focus, aims, proposed  structure, potential  participants, and where appropriate,  intended  impact.  

If you are requesting a  renewal of an existing seminar,  please describe the  seminar’s past activities, typical  attendance, and a  frank assessment of  the seminar’s work over the previous year(s).  

  • Budget: Appropriate expenditures include speakers, symposia, group projects, books, or other related materials necessary for the  seminar. Note:  Budget may include  honoraria or consulting fees for  specialists or community leaders from outside academia.  

Some benchmark figures for out-of-town guests: $500 airfare, $500 honorarium, $250/nt hotel, $100 other (taxi, individual meals), plus group dinner expenses ($50 per person).  

The budget should reference any other expected sources of funding (department, research funds, grants). RPW will assist with travel arrangements for a maximum of one out-of-town visitor per semester, per seminar.    

All actual seminar expenditures  during the course of the seminar meetings must be pre-approved by  an  RPW staff member.    

These budgets are primarily for RPW planning purposes. We recognize that the needs of our seminars are not static and may change over the course of the year. RPW will set aside discretionary money for seminars with budgets of under $3,000,  to be distributed on a case-by-case basis.   

Email all proposals (in a single .doc or .pdf file) to Terry Tripp (terry.tripp@vanderbilt.edu).   

Questions?  Please contact RPW Director,  Holly Tucker.