CALL FOR PROPOSALS:  HUMANITIES SHOWCASE 2017

The Office of the Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning and the Humanities Center are pleased to solicit undergraduate student proposals for a Humanities Showcase to be held at the Stanford Humanities Center on Friday, April 21, 2017, from 4-8pm (including a reception from 7-8pm). The event is open to the whole Stanford community but specifically geared at Stanford undergraduates, whether they are humanities majors or not. The Humanities Showcase is designed to highlight the kinds of skills and knowledge that undergraduate humanities students at Stanford create, care about, and develop, and the lines of inquiry and ways of exploring key intellectual issues that they find engaging and relevant today.


The call for proposals for outstanding student work in the humanities done at Stanford in the past two years (inside or outside the classroom, finished or still ongoing) is now open. Nominations by the instructor or student self-nominations are equally welcome (see below).


Examples of possible submissions include:


  • Traditional papers/theses that exemplify the best in humanistic inquiry
  • Research projects amenable to visual display (e.g., PowerPoint, data visualization)
  • Creative works such as fiction, music, poetry readings, storytelling, performance, etc.
  • Interdisciplinary projects
  • Multimedia projects such as podcasts, websites, film, etc.
  • Digital Humanities projects
  • Projects geared at public distribution or social good beyond the university

The format for student contributions is flexible (ranging from big poster presentation to short 3 to 5-minute flash talks, digital/video presentations, performance, etc.) and designed to give students various options in how to display or communicate their work to other students (who may not be humanities students) and the general public. We will work with nominees directly on determining the best format for their particular kind of project, should it be chosen for the Showcase.


If you are an instructor who would like to nominate a student, please send a brief nomination email with the student name and email address to Kathleen Sun ([email protected]) as soon as possible. The cut-off date for instructors’ nominations is Wednesday, March 15, 2017.


If you are a student and think you have something interesting to share with other undergraduates and would like to have your work considered for inclusion at this high-profile event (which will be featured on the VPTL website and in news stories) please consider submitting a proposal.


SUBMIT A PROPOSAL (for students)


Your proposal is meant to be a brief, informal intake designed to give us a better idea of what your project is, how it might fit the event and in what format, and to help our committee decide whether your work is suitable for inclusion. We expect no more than 1-2 paragraphs in response to each question, but feel free to write a little more if you are so inclined.  


Please send you proposal to Kathleen Sun ([email protected]) by Monday, March 20, 2017.


  1. Personal info: your name, year (freshman, sophomore, etc.), major/minor (if already declared).
  2. Please describe the overall idea your project/paper/performance/talk, focusing on the following: what is the main point or question, why are you interested in this?
  3. What do you think other undergraduate students might find interesting about it?
  4. Was this project developed for a course, an independent study, an honors thesis, or something else (please specify)?
  5. My project is most suitably presented in the form of (please include all that apply):

  • Brief flash talk (oral presentation lasting min. 2, max. 5 minutes), with or without Powerpoint (TBD)
  • A creative performance (up to 8 minutes)
  • Gallery walk visual presentation--digital: Video or Powerpoint on a monitor (with you standing by and available for Q&A)
  • Gallery walk visual presentation--paper poster (with you standing by and available for Q&A)
  • Other preferred format (please tell us about it)