February 25, 2025
The Institute for Advanced Study at the University of Minnesota is pleased to announce that the Center for Canon Expansion and Change (CCEC) has received a $500,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation to support and expand its mission of broadening the philosophical canon and training educators to teach around a broader set of ideas.
One of 11 awardees selected nationally by the Mellon Foundation’s 2024 Higher Learning Open Call to support social justice and disciplinary knowledge, the CCEC not only aims to transform the field of philosophy but also prepare students for challenges beyond the classroom.
“This funding allows us to expand the way philosophy is taught, bringing newer voices to the forefront and creating a richer understanding of the discipline,” says Jessica Gordon-Roth, associate professor of philosophy and project co-director. “We are excited to expand our reach and inspire meaningful change in the field and beyond.”
Founded in 2021 by professors Dwight K. Lewis Jr., Jessica Gordon-Roth, and Bennett McNulty of the Department of Philosophy in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, the CCEC has already reached thousands of students through past participants’ courses and is poised to expand significantly. Support from the Mellon Foundation enables CCEC to expand its curriculum to include ancient, medieval, and early analytic philosophy, host symposia and conferences, and create a robust database of teaching resources.
This work is inspired by growing demand across global communities for a broader range of philosophical ideas and voices as part of the disciplinary conversation. Philosophy education has historically focused on a very narrow canon of thinkers which in turn impacts the student cohorts attracted to the discipline.
“The Mellon Foundation’s investment in CCEC reflects a commitment to multivocality in the humanities” says Dwight K. Lewis Jr., assistant professor of philosophy and co-director of the project. “By expanding the canon, we help create classrooms where every student can see themselves reflected in philosophical discourse.”
The CCEC is currently accepting applications for its 2025 Summer Program (June 2–7, 2025), which will focus on early modern philosophy. During the week-long collaborative workshop, participants will learn about figures in an expanded canon of early modern philosophy, discuss student-centered and equitable pedagogy, and craft their own syllabi. Application deadline: March 15, 2025.
The Center for Canon Expansion and Change is housed in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and supported by the Institute for Advanced Study, a systemwide hub for interdisciplinary collaboration reporting to the executive vice president and provost.
Two additional projects led by Institute for Advanced Study affiliates also received grants of $500,000 each from the Mellon Foundation.
Associate Professor Dana Lindaman (World Languages and Cultures) and Associate Professor Aparna Katre (Cultural Entrepreneurship) will launch the University of Minnesota Duluth Community Engaged Food and Environmental Justice Studies Hub.
Assistant Professor Jessica Horvath Williams (English), Associate Professor Jennie Row (French & Italian), Research Assistant Angela M. Carter (RIDGS), and Assistant Professor Erin Durban (Anthropology) will establish an intersectional and transnational critical disability studies curricular program in the College of Liberal Arts.