International Collaborations
The Humanities Research Center of VCU and the Obama Institute of Transnational American Studies at Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz have come together to foster international, transdisciplinary humanities scholarship across our campuses. The planned cooperation will provide faculty members of VCU specializing in research topics related to the Americas the opportunity to apply for an Obama fellowship. Obama Fellows are expected to give a series of public talks, contribute to selected seminars, make themselves available to graduate students, and contribute to events organized by the Obama Institute. The length of the fellowship is between one and for weeks, and fellows receive a stipend as well as on-campus housing arrangements and office space.
On an institutional and public level, the Humanities Research Center and the Obama Institute will also co-organize international conferences, colloquia and talks funded by the German Research Foundation and the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. Currently Dr. Stanciu and the Obama Institute are organizing an interdisciplinary symposium focusing on Indigenous Print Cultures, Media, and Literatures for July 2022. The conference will also serve as a kick-off event for the planned cooperation inviting officials from both universities.
Indigenous Print Cultures, Media, and Literatures
This symposium took place in Mainz, Germany from July 6-9, 2022, and was co-organized by the Humanities Research Center at VCU and the Obama Institute at Johannes Gutenberg University. The symposium brought together Native and Non-native scholars from the U.S., Europe, and New Zealand, to reflect on past, present, and future directions in Native American and Indigenous Studies, particularly the intersections of the fields of Indigenous print cultures, media and literatures. The speakers addressed both theoretical and historical archives. The resulting work from this gathering was published in a special issue, "Indigenous Periodicals" for American Periodicals (2023, Cristina Stanciu, Jill Doerfler and Oliver Scheiding).
The Indian Citizenship Act at 100: Indigenous Rights, Indigenous Futures
At the Indian Citizenship Act's centennial, we ask: What did/does citizenship ultimately mean for Native people? This symposium—co-organized by Bordeaux Montaigne University, the Humanities Research Center at Virginia Commonwealth University, the Obama Institute at Johannes Gutenberg University, Germany, and the University of Nebraska Press—brought together Native and Non-native scholars from North America and Europe to reflect on past, present, and future directions in Native American and Indigenous Studies, particularly the intersections of several sub-fields in Indigenous studies. The symposium, which took place in Bordeaux, France from June 19-22, 2024, featured keynote lectures from Philip J. Deloria, Ned Blackhawk and Maggie Blackhawk.