Description

Society for the Humanities Fellowships

The Society for the Humanities at Cornell University invites applications for residential fellowships from scholars and artists whose projects reflect on the 2027-28 theme of PLAY. Up to six fellows will be appointed. The fellowships are held for one year (August through July). Each Society Fellow will receive $68,000.

Fellows include scholars and practitioners from other universities and members of the Cornell faculty released from regular duties. Fellows at the Society for the Humanities are “residential,” and will collaborate with one another and the Taylor Family Director of the Society for the Humanities, Durba Ghosh, Professor of History. Fellows spend their time in research and writing during the residential fellowship, and are required to participate in a weekly Fellows Seminar workshopping each other’s projects and discussing readings based on the yearly theme.

The nature of this fellowship year is social and communal—fellows forge connections outside the classroom and the lecture hall by sharing meals following the weekly seminar and attending post-lecture receptions and other casual events throughout the year. Fellows live and work in Ithaca, NY, and are expected to be in their offices on campus frequently. All applicants for Society Fellowships should share in this commitment to creating a supportive and intellectually stimulating community.

Fellows teach one small seminar during their fellowship year appropriate for graduate students and advanced undergraduates. Though courses are designed to fit the focal theme, there are no additional restrictions on what or how the course should be taught. Fellows are encouraged to experiment with both the content and the method of their seminar particularly as it relates to their current research.

Focal Theme Description: PLAY

The Society for the Humanities at Cornell University seeks faculty fellows for year-long residential fellowships who are conducting interdisciplinary research projects exploring play.  Easily dismissed as frivolous, juvenile, or unserious, play represents a core human activity (homo ludens) with a rich tradition of scholarship in the humanities. 

We invite applications that approach ideas and concepts that address play in a critical spirit. Critical studies of play can be found in a wide range of disciplines including anthropology, literature, history, performance studies, music, theater, media studies, gender and sexuality studies, cultural studies, and game studies. Theories about play explore the ludic, the spontaneous, or the rule-bound. We welcome studies of improvisation that may focus on imagination, creativity, and futurity. Studies of play may also address forms of play that affirm expertise or competence, containing play with culturally accepted rules (like grammar). Tacking between rules and improvisation, playing may involve players who demonstrate mastery and proficiency. Play may call for risk-taking, such as gambling or speculation. Play can be rewarding or punishing, spectacular or completely ordinary. 

People, things, and ideas play or they can be played. Play can generate pleasure; play can also cause harm. Thus, play can be something radically and consciously in opposition to reality, generating joy, desire, or fantasy. In a pleasurable form, play can be a respite from reality. However, play can be dangerous, raising questions about how play relates to truth and delusion. In its dystopic forms, play can be disruptive so that reality is called into question. 

When we think of common phrases such as “play on words” or “child’s play,” we see that play is also a feature of our everyday lives, binding collectives and communities. Play is central to how we live; without play, we live without contingency and futurity. 

The Society for the Humanities welcomes applications from scholars and artists who are interested in participating in a playful and critical dialogue around play. 

Qualifications

Fellows should be working on topics related to the 2027-28 focal theme of “PLAY.” Their approach to the humanities should be broad enough to appeal to students and scholars in several humanistic disciplines. Applicants must have received their Ph.D. degree before January 1, 2026. The Society for the Humanities will not consider applications from scholars who received the Ph.D. after this date. Applicants must also have one or more years of teaching experience, which may include teaching as a graduate student. International scholars are welcome to apply, contingent upon visa eligibility.

Application Procedures

1. A curriculum vitae

2. A one-page abstract describing the research project the applicant would like to pursue during the term of the fellowship (up to 300 words)

3. A detailed statement of the research project (1,000 – 2,000 words). Applicants may also include a one-page bibliography of the most essential materials to the project.

4. A course proposal for a seminar related to the applicant’s research. Seminars meet 2.5 hours per week for one semester and enrollment is limited to a combined audience of advanced undergraduates and graduate students (capped at 15 students). The course proposal should consist of:

• A brief course description suitable for the University course catalog (50-125 words)
• A detailed course proposal (up to 300 words)
• A list of the essential texts for the course
• A draft syllabus 

5. One scholarly paper (no more than 35 pages in length)

6. Two letters of recommendation from senior colleagues in your field (from any institution) to whom candidates should send their research proposal and teaching proposal. Letters of recommendation should include an evaluation of the candidate’s proposed research and teaching statements. Please ask referees to submit their letters directly through the application link. Letters must be submitted on or before September 1, 2026.