Humanities Research Center

About

The Humanities Research Center is the hub for the humanities at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Its mission is to provide a forum for intellectual exchange and humanistic inquiry, promote cutting-edge interdisciplinary research in the humanities and social sciences and raise the visibility of scholarly work in the humanities within and beyond VCU. The HRC fosters innovative and inclusive collaborations between faculty, students, staff, local communities, as well as other institutions, to provide critical perspectives and context to some of our most pressing societal questions.

The Humanities Research Center is committed to cultivating a collaborative culture at VCU, and more broadly. Its On Native Ground initiative collaborates with local tribes to establish a strong network for Native communities and scholarship at VCU, and its interdisciplinary research labs are working on a range of projects that tackles issues at the heart of the Richmond community.

The center provides ongoing support for faculty and student research through the organization of research and mentoring groups, faculty development workshops, research grants, residential fellowships, and student fellowships.

Some of the projects the center has recently collaborated on or facilitated include:

  • Recovery in Practice
  • The John R. Lewis Memorial Lecture Series
  • The Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival
  • The East Marshall Street Well Project Oral History and Memorialization Project
  • The VCU History and Health Program
  • Loose Parts: Exploring the Public Humanities of Child-Directed Adventure Play
  • The Indigenous Citizenship Act at 100: Indigenous Rights, Indigenous Futures International Symposium
  • Indigenous Print Cultures, Media, and Literatures International Symposium
  • Intersections: Black and Indigenous Sound in the Early Atlantic World

Located in the Valentine House, the center provides space and opportunities for interdisciplinary exchange and collaboration. We offer programs for faculty, students and the general public. Sign up for the newsletter to stay up-to-date on everything the center has to offer.