The Humanities and the Arts Discovery Theme
Block Grants for Departments and Centers: Dialogues
Applications will be reviewed beginning December 1, 2015*
The Humanities and the Arts Discovery Theme is pleased to announce that during its inaugural year, we
will make grants to departments and centers to host “mobile coffee” sessions that bring interdisciplinary
groups of faculty and students together to discuss national trends in higher education and how they are
impacting Ohio State. Up to $1,000 will be available per proposed session, and can be used for space
rental, honoraria for discussion leaders, refreshments, copy/printing, books and articles, and other costs
as applicable.
Successful proposals will select a compelling topic related to higher education and the humanities and
arts. Suggested topics and associated readings can be found at the Humanities and the Arts Discovery
Theme’s digital library on the Discovery Themes website. The proposed session may provide a
supplement to an existing meeting or event (e.g., with an outside speaker) or be a stand-alone event.
Sessions must be open to anyone from the university who wishes to attend, including faculty from other
units and undergraduate students. Departments and centers are encouraged to co-host coffees and
submit a joint proposal.
Mobile Coffees will take place on a monthly basis. In your application, please list all months your
department or center would be available to host, beginning with your most preferred month. We will do
our best to select a schedule according to the applicant’s preferences. We will give priority to
departments that submit by December 1, 2015, but will accept applications until all slots are filled. Events
can take place no later than December 30, 2016, so possible months for hosting are January-December of
2016. The mobile coffee in March will be on Tuesday, March 8, and will feature Richard Brodhead, coauthor of The Heart of the Matter, a federally commissioned report on the state of the humanities and
social sciences in the United States. Interested hosts for this event should indicate that date on the
application form.
A representative from the hosting unit(s) will be required to write a short summary of the event for the
Discovery Themes web site. The representative will also be encouraged to present findings resulting
from the event either in an on-line forum such as The Conversation (http://theconversation.com/us)
and/or to the Discovery Themes planning team. The Humanities and the Arts Discovery Theme should be
provided with promotional material for any events for cross-promotional purposes.
Sessions may be stand-alone events, part of a speaker series, or a supplement to a recurring meeting. The
representative from the unit(s) may be Ohio State faculty or staff. Contact Bethany Dickens at:
Dickens.54@osu.edu or 614-688-3167 if you have questions about whether your proposed session will
qualify. Proposals must be submitted as a PDF to engage@osu.edu. Proposal template with specific
instructions for the proposal can be found at: http://discovery.osu.edu/focus-areas/humanities-andarts/apply-for-a-grant.html.