Institute for Research in The Humanities

MISSION The mission of the Institute for Research in the Humanities (IRH) is to foster research in the humanities and humanistic social sciences by creating a stimulating, intellectual community in which fellows can pursue their scholarly work, share it with other fellows and members of the campus, and benefit from intensive discussion with scholars from diverse disciplinary backgrounds, fields, interests, and methodological perspectives. We also promote greater understanding of the humanities on campus and beyond, and build bridges between the humanities and the arts, social sciences, and natural sciences. Working closely with the Center for the Humanities and other campus centers and institutes, we encourage innovative, broad-ranging, and collaborative research in and thinking about the humanities for the twenty-first century. The IRH provides offices for fellows, generous space for seminars, and a library. We are a unit in the College of Letters Science, which invests heavily in the IRH as part of its commitment to the humanities. Some 40-50 fellows are associated with the IRH each year, including faculty and graduate students from UW-Madison, faculty from University of Wisconsin System campuses, and scholars from elsewhere (including independent scholars). Fellowships are awarded for research in all areas and aspects of the humanities. Stipendiary awards for scholars from outside UW-Madison include the Solmsen Fellowships (dedicated to topics on pre-1700 Europe), Kingdon Fellowships (for scholars working in religious studies), and the Ciplijauskaité Fellowship in Peninsular Spanish Literature. The fellowships for UW-Madison faculty include some designated for topics in Race, Ethnicity, and/or Indigeneity. The Institute holds a weekly seminar at which fellows present their work and engage in extensive dialogue about their projects with other fellows and with interested faculty and graduate students from across campus. The Institute also sponsors annual Burdick-Vary Symposia organized by Senior Fellows, an annual lecture in honor of the French literary scholar (and former IRH director) Germaine Brée, and other lectures, conferences, and informal events related to the humanities. The Institute takes a leadership role on the UW-Madison campus and works with other humanities centers and institutes to promote greater understanding of and visibility for the humanities. HISTORY The Institute was founded in 1959 with funds from the University of Wisconsin College of Letters and Science and grants from the Johnson Foundation and the American Council of Learned Societies. It was the first institute in North America attached to a university and devoted solely to the support and encouragement of scholarship and to the creation of a community of resident and visiting fellows in the humanities. The founding documents of the Institute stress the fruitful interconnections between research and teaching and express a vision of the humanities that emphasizes their engagement with the larger world. The Institute was housed in the Old Observatory for nearly 50 years—from 1959 until 2007, when it moved to Bradley Memorial for one year before its relocation in the renovated University Club Building. Marshall Clagett, an historian of science, was a founding member of the Institute and its first director from 1959-1964. Subsequent directors include Germaine Brée (modern French literature), Kenneth M. Setton (History), Emmett Bennett (Classics), David Cronon (American History), Robert M. Kingdon (Early Modern European History), David C. Lindberg (Medieval History of Science), Paul S. Boyer (American History), Sally Banes (Dance), David Sorkin (Early Modern European and Jewish History), and Susan Stanford Friedman (English and Women’s Studies). Loretta Freiling, the remarkable staff person who helped Marshall Clagett establish the Institute in 1959, continued to work for the Institute until her second retirement in 2010. In many ways, she was the “human face” of the Institute—typing their manuscripts, helping them find and furnish their apartments and houses, providing sweets and coffee. Generations of fellows remember Loretta with great fondness, and it is a testament to her devotion to the Institute that she continued to attend the weekly seminars long after her retirement.