Quadrant: Publication and Research Collaboratives
We are pleased to announce the selection of the first three Quadrant Fellows for 2008-09.
The University of Minnesota Press in partnership with the Institute for Advanced Study at the University of Minnesota has been awarded a grant of $672,000 from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to launch Quadrant, a program to promote interdisciplinary publication and research. Quadrant marks the beginning of a new model for Press-University partnerships designed to bring scholars in the humanities and social sciences into dialogue with those in the sciences and professional schools. In doing so, Quadrant also addresses rising concerns about the distance of university presses from the goals and priorities of their parent institutions.
In parallel with the University’s Transforming the U: Commitment to Excellence strategic goals, the Quadrant program will provide research residencies or other opportunities for collaborative interaction to scholars at the Institute for Advanced Study and will support publication of the resulting work by the University of Minnesota Press. Focusing on emerging areas of groundbreaking interdisciplinary scholarship, Quadrant will create four groups: Design and Architecture, Environmental Sustainability, Global Cultures, and Health and Society. The Quadrant program will include opportunities for external scholars to spend a semester in residence at the Institute for Advanced Study to work with a collaborative group.
Quadrant Groups
Each of the four Quadrant Publication and Research Groups reflects an area of current or emerging excellence at the University of Minnesota, in which innovative, interdisciplinary work has begun to appear. Each Quadrant Group will partner with key academic units around the University.
Design and Architecture
With emphases on sustainable development, design practices, uses of public space, and historic preservation, the Design and Architecture Group will foster the research, development, publication, and dissemination of critical work on the built environment to examine how architectural and design practices are inscribed with cultural and social meaning. Such work will be drawn from a broad range of scholars in the fields of architecture and design, cultural studies, communications, art and visual culture, geography, history, and political science. The contact person for this group is Kate Solomonson.
Environmental Sustainability
The Environmental Sustainability Group will promote the research, development, publication, and dissemination of critical works on the social and cultural aspects of environmental policy, land use, and ecological sustainability as well as theoretical projects dealing with their visual and textual representations. As such the group will encourage interdisciplinary projects from scholars in art history and criticism, literature, theory and philosophy, anthropology, rhetoric, sociology, geography, and communications, as well as scholars located in the newly formed Institute on the Environment. The contact person for this group is Deb Swackhamer.
Global Cultures
Focusing on the historical roots, current processes, and cultural impact of globalization, the Global Cultures Group will advance the research, development, publication and dissemination of interdisciplinary projects examining such issues as human rights, economic development, immigration, displacement, and migration. The group will encourage and cultivate critical engagement between scholars working in anthropology, comparative literature, cultural studies, economics, law, political science, and gender and sexuality studies. The contact person for this group is Evelyn Davidheiser.
Health and Society
Focusing on the social impact of infection, disease and medicine, the Health and Society Group will promote the research, development, and publication of works dealing broadly with medical ethics, genetics, disability, illness, treatment issues and the end of life. Currently, much of this work is conducted outside of and across traditional disciplinary boundaries. The group would give institutional and professional support to scholars working from such diverse areas as anthropology, sociology, history, geography, science studies, psychology, literature, and philosophy. The contact person for this group is Jeff Kahn.
Application for External Fellowships
As part of this initiative the Mellon Foundation is funding up to four external fellowships of up to one semester to individuals who will participate in a Quadrant group for the academic year 2008-09. Stipends will be up to $30,000 for one semester. Successful fellowship applicants will be in residence at the Institute for Advanced Study during the tenure of their fellowship and will have the opportunity to work directly with university press editors in developing their work. Work completed while on this fellowship will be submitted to the University of Minnesota Press for publication through its standard peer review and faculty committee approval processes. The fellowship may not be used for work toward a degree.
Review of applications will begin on January 4, 2008. Further information and application instructions.
For further information, contact Ann Waltner.