In 2015, Lehigh’s Africana Studies program was awarded a prestigious $500,000 challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, an independent federal agency that funds high-quality research, education and public programs at colleges and universities, museums and other institutions across the United States. Read more on Lehigh News.
Public Humanities Programs
Programs that will be funded through the NEH Challenge grant include Public Humanities Programs, including a new Community Visions Program in which faculty and students will join with Bethlehem, Pa., residents and other community partners in forums, town halls and public meetings to deliberate on local concerns that they can address together.
Student workshops
Africana Studies faculty will work in partnership with teachers and administrators to create classroom, curriculum and workshop events that regularly connect high school students with collegiate scholarship. In turn, these partnerships will help inform curriculum development in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Digital documentation
The Africana Studies program will more robustly document and archive its efforts, allowing for broader dissemination to area schools, church and community groups.
Public Humanities Visiting Fellows
Nationally and locally recognized public intellectuals, artists and activists working in the arts, humanities and social sciences will take up residencies on the Lehigh campus to provide public lectures or performances, conduct workshops or visit classrooms at area schools, among other activities.
Public Humanities Graduate Fellows
A yearly tuition and stipend will be established for a graduate student pursuing work in Africana Studies and the public humanities. The emphasis will be on linking scholarship to public knowledge building through research activities directly related to community concerns.
Public Humanities Research Grants
Grants will be awarded each semester for research and humanities initiatives. Eligible projects might include gallery exhibits, oral history projects, digital storytelling or public theater performances, among others. Community Interactions. The Africana Studies program will use endowed funding to expand partnerships into long-term collaborations and to begin working with new partners in the Lehigh Valley and beyond. To date, Africana Studies has built partnerships with the Greater Shiloh Church in Easton, Perkiomen School in Pennsberg, the School of Social Policy and Practice at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Liberty High School in Bethlehem, and PBS-39.
