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Humanities Without Walls

Humanities Without Walls (HWW) is a consortium of humanities centers and institutes, including the Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities, at 16 major research universities throughout the Midwest and beyond. Originally funded by a $3 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the consortium was established in 2014 to create cross-institutional research, teaching, and scholarship in the humanities. The first research challenge of this initiative was The Global Midwest: to reveal and rethink the Midwest as a key site—both now and in the past—in shaping global economies and cultures.

In March 2016, the Mellon Foundation awarded a five-year, $4.2 million grant to renew support for the Humanities Without Walls consortium's two signature initiatives: Career Diversity summer workshops for pre-doctoral students in the humanities, and cross-institutional, collaborative awards for “grand research challenges.” In June 2020, HWW received a second renewal grant for $5 million from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

2022 Grand Research Challenge - Open theme; proposals must demonstrate reciprocity and redistribution methods, strategies, and practices.

2021 Grand Research Challenge: Reciprocity and Redistribution

2017 - 2018 Grand Research Challenge: The Work of the Humanities in a Changing Climate 

2014 - 2016 Grand Research Challenge: The Global Midwest