Mellon-funded undergraduate fellows develop new public humanities projects

The inaugural class of Humanities Futures undergraduate fellows began work this spring as part of the Humanities for the Public Good initiative.

The 10 students will have lab-style meetings and discussions as they work on public-facing projects that forward their personal cases for a humanistic education.

The fellows will have access to humanities tools and research. They will also become part of a mentorship system that helps them identify and develop projects, find allies and acquire concrete project management skills like devising a useful budget.

Public humanities projects they develop might include addressing issues such as waste management systems, women’s labor in their own hometowns, the visibility of institutional racism and the environmental costs of fast fashion on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus.

Humanities for the Public Good is a four-year, $1.5 million effort funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to build upon the strong public humanities work of the University. It launched in 2017.

“Public humanities, at its simplest, is bridging knowledge between academics and communities,” said initiative director Robyn Schroeder.

Learn more at hpg.unc.edu.