The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation invites concepts for research and/or curricular projects focused on any of the following areas:
- Civic Engagement and Voting Rights: Illuminate the significance of voting rights controversies in any period of U.S. history, from any of the various angles of approach that characterize work in the humanities. Proposals may address any different issues related to struggles for enfranchisement; those focused on the role of college and university communities in expanding voter access are especially welcome.
- Race and Racialization in the United States: Utilize collective research, curricular innovation, and/or program development to explore any aspect of race and racialization in U.S. culture and society. Of particular interest are proposals investigating the relationships and tensions between the social-structural constitution of race as well as the subjective experiences of it.
- Social Justice and the Literary Imagination: Highlight and advance the role of literature and literary imagination in making and remaking worlds and societies through the combination of revelatory, reparative, and imaginative works. Proposals should outline and promote the role of literature in truth-telling and social change.
Proposals must be grounded in the humanities and/or humanistic social science disciplines. Project periods may last up to three years but must start on January 1, 2023; grant awards will range from $250,000 to $500,000.
Because institutions may submit a limited number of proposals, internal applications are due via this form by 11:00 p.m. on Monday, April 11. Finalists will be selected and notified on Friday, April 15. Following this notification, the grants office will work with finalists to prepare the preliminary application that is due to the Mellon Foundation no later than 2:00 p.m. on Monday, May 16.