Faculty seminars offer time for colleagues across disciplines to interrogate concepts integral to contemporary humanistic inquiry and to examine their strategic deployment in cultural and scholarly discourse.

The seminars engage scholars who draw on myriad humanistic perspectives to enrich teaching, conversation, and research at Haverford. Faculty members may apply to join a seminar that would enhance their own research and teaching interests and afford them rewarding collaborative and interdisciplinary interactions.

Seminars are open to all tenure track and continuing appointment faculty across all disciplines.

Logistics

• Seminars convene regularly from September to May. The particular seminar’s meeting schedule is determined by the leader and seminar members, but all seminars are expected to meet approximately forty hours over the course of the year.
• In considering applications, the Hurford Center's Steering Committee will seek to honor specific interests while also providing the broadest opportunities for interdisciplinary faculty participation for each seminar. Recent past faculty seminar participation may be a factor in the process. Participants (usually no more than 7) include a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow whose expertise will directly contribute to the success of the seminar.
• The seminar presents opportunities for public exhibitions using College collections and other-sourced materials under the curatorial direction of the seminar participants and with the guidance of Matthew Seamus Callinan.
• Seminar participants receive a one-semester course release and a stipend for books or materials, and seminar leaders receive an additional stipend.
• Financial and administrative support is provided by the Center for each seminar’s programmatic expenses, including books, xeroxing, videos, speaker fees, and refreshments.
• After the conclusion of the seminar, participants will provide the seminar leader and the Center a written reflection on the seminar experience. After reviewing the peer reflections, the seminar leader provides a summary report to the Center.