The History of the Interdisciplinary Humanities Proposal

Abstract

In smaller schools these days, most academic grants begin to take shape when the grants officer notices that a deadline is approaching and starts looking for a faculty member who might supply expertise and details to flesh out a more or less pre-established format — say in bilingual instruction, or the implementation of the current Administration’s solar energy program by a high-school class. This particular proposal was born during a moment of quiet reflection in an airport cocktail lounge in Columbus, Ohio. I had just completed a week of intense and exciting involvement in the Ohio Conference on the Humanities — itself a program funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). That conference contributed several elements to my own concept; it seemed such a perfect use of support funds for the humanities that I want to describe it briefly.