CURRENT FRANKE FACULTY GRANTS

2024-25

 

ECSTATIC WRITING

Kris Trujillo, Comparative Literature

This year-long program explores how feminist and queer literary practices have drawn on the concept of ecstasy with special attention to the erotics of sex, literature, and Christian mysticism.

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LOVE/MUSIC: PROBLEMATICS OF A RELATIONSHIP

Martha Feldman, Music

This international, interdisciplinary project brings music scholars together with scholars in other disciplines to shine a critical light on the underexamined relationship between love and music through collaborative workshops, teaching, and research.

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MEDICAL ETHICS IN CHICAGO AND RWANDA

Haun Saussy, East Asian Languages & Civilizations and the Committee on Social Thought​

Pairing physicians with humanists on two continents, this project seeks to remedy the effects of severe inequality.

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ON COZINESS

Tina Post, English Language & Literature

This project investigates the aesthetic and affective category of “coziness,” including the often-unspoken role that racial difference plays in its shaping—by examining coziness in Scandinavian contexts.

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THE POESIA LATINA PROJECT

Rachel Galvin, English Language & Literature

This project supports videotaped interviews with contemporary Latinx poets, editors, literary leaders, and culture mavens.

 

2024-26

 

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY IN LATIN AMERICA

Victoria Saramago, Romance Languages & Literatures

This project explores electricity, cultural production, and environmental humanities in Latin America through archival research and public engagement in Brazil and Argentina.

 

KEEPING HOUSE: ARCHAEOLOGIES OF LIVABILITY

Catherine Kearns, Classics

This comparative study of ancient Mediterranean households explores how everyday practices of consumption and sustainability shaped modes of living across diverse ecological and cultural contexts.

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2025-26

 

THE ART OF DYING

Maria Anna Mariani, Romance Languages & Literatures

This collaborative project investigates how modern accounts of dying can serve as a secular revival of the medieval ars moriendi, offering insights for palliative care and medical education.

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SOUNDING BOB DYLAN: A WEB-BASED PUBLIC HUMANITIES PROJECT

Steven Rings, Music

​This mobile-first website will offer rich audio-visual content, interactive analysis, and expert commentary to create an accessible, engaging hub for exploring Bob Dylan’s music.