Funding to Teach Humanities Courses
Call for proposals for 2027-2028 courses
The Kaplan Humanities Institute is pleased to support exciting opportunities for teaching in the humanities! We seek proposals from Northwestern faculty for the following quarter-long courses to be offered in 2027-2028:
- Kaplan Humanities Scholars Program - proposal deadline: November 30, 2026
- Global Humanities Lab - proposal deadline: January 19, 2027
Kaplan Humanities Scholars Program
Would you like to co-teach an interdisciplinary course in the humanities?
Is there a colleague in another discipline with whom you’ve always wanted to teach?
Propose a course for the Kaplan Humanities Scholars Program (KHSP) for Fall Quarter 2027!
- $6,000 course development stipend for each instructor
- $7,000 course enhancement fund
- Administrative, creative, and leadership support
KHSP is a selective program that gives first-year students an intensive scholarly experience tackling a broad humanistic theme from multiple perspectives. The program offers an exciting and unusual opportunity for faculty members to co-teach with people beyond their own area of specialty and to use course enrichment funds for cultural experiences, field research, and guest speakers/practitioners. Faculty who have taught in KHSP have described it as some of the most rewarding experiences of their careers.
Kaplan Humanities Scholars courses:
- are part of your regular teaching load, and the first-year seminar counts toward your department’s required contributions to the program;
- comprise a pair of concurrent, team-taught courses (a lecture course combined in the same quarter with a first-year seminar) on an interdisciplinary topic in the humanities;
- have different subthemes under the broad rubric “Humanities in the World.” Topics have included: Oil and Water in the Gulf of Mexico; Drugs: Culture/History/Politics; Alternative Americas; Science Fiction and Detective Literature in the Global South; Genocide and Renewal; Great Migrations, Folk Life, and the Chicago Renaissance; and Islands
- can be two-person versions of courses that faculty have taught in teams of three in KHSP in the past.
The classes meet four days a week during fall quarter, 3:30 to 4:50 p.m., Monday through Thursday. We are seeking teams of two collaborating faculty members, ideally from different disciplines or those who traverse across different subjects (geography, culture, approach, and/or historical period).
NOTE: If you would like to teach in the program but aren’t sure about what other faculty might be appropriate for the courses you imagine, please don't hesitate to reach out to discuss possibilities. We may even be able to help play matchmaker if you have a topic but not a co-instructor.
To propose a Kaplan Humanities Scholars course:
Proposal deadline: Mon., November 30, 2026
Your proposal should include:
- A brief description of the course
- Names of instructors
- Sample readings/media
- Sample course enhancement ideas
- Permission from your Chair (Weinberg faculty) or Dean and Chair (non-Weinberg faculty)
Submit proposals to:
Tom Burke
Kaplan Institute Associate Director
thomas.burke@northwestern.edu
Questions? Please contact Tom Burke at thomas.burke@northwestern.edu
GLOBAL HUMANITIES LAB
The Kaplan Institute's Global Humanities Lab is an investigation of a humanities topic through experiential learning and offsite research. The seminar course runs for a full quarter and includes a domestic or international field study trip to be led by faculty member(s) as a capstone experience for the course. Faculty whose course is selected for the Global Humanities Lab will receive:
- Coverage of costs for students and faculty associated with the course for the trip and related course enhancement
- $4,000 course development stipend for each faculty member plus a per diem for the duration of the trip
- Administrative, creative, and leadership support for trip planning and execution
You can view current and past offerings of the Global Humanities Lab at https://humanities.northwestern.edu/undergraduate/global-humanities-lab/
To propose a Global Humanities Lab:
Proposal deadline: Tues., January 19, 2027
Please prepare a proposal of no more than two (2) pages that includes the following:
- Course title, course number in the home department(s), instructor(s)
- A description of the course, its disciplinary and thematic approach, and learning goals
- A brief plan and proposed budget for the international or domestic trip associated with the course
- Permission from your Chair (Weinberg faculty) or Dean and Chair (non-Weinberg faculty)
Submit proposals to:
Tom Burke
Kaplan Institute Associate Director
thomas.burke@northwestern.edu
Questions? Please contact Tom Burke at thomas.burke@northwestern.edu