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Engaging Geography in the Humanities

The two-week Summer Institute will be held from June 19 through July 1, 2024 at Northeastern’s Boston MA campus and will bring together 25 faculty members from colleges and universities across the U.S. along with geographers, humanists, and data scientists to learn and work to integrate geographical frameworks and digital tools (such as 3D modeling, web mapping, and GIS) in their research and teaching.

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The poet Walt Whitman writes that in the urban environment we see “the past, the future, dwelling there, like space, inseparable together.” Inspired by this idea, this two-week Summer Institute, “Engaging Geography in the Humanities,” will use our location in Boston to explore the layered nature of space and place and consider it implications for our teaching, research, and writings in the humanities.

The Institute welcomes scholars in the humanities (and related fields) who currently engage themes of space and place in their work, as well as those interested in learning how to do so. Participants will have the opportunity to workshop a course syllabus, research paper, or grant proposal over the 2-week program, working closely with other scholars engaged in similar topics and receiving valuable feedback from the Institute’s visiting faculty.

Through a series of workshops, the participants will also gain exposure to the emerging field of digital humanities and some of its possibilities for spatial representation and analysis. Participants will be exposed to digital projects and receive hands-on training on tools such as 3D modeling, web mapping, and Geographical Information System (GIS). In addition to providing practical skills, sessions and workshops will critically examine the meanings of maps and uses of digital technology in humanistic inquiries.

Please apply to participate by March 5, 2024. Our goal is to create a diverse cohort of college and university faculty interested in exploring how geographic perspectives and spatial methods can enhance their own teaching and research.

We would like to acknowledge the territory on which Northeastern University stands, which is that of The Wampanoag and The Massachusett People. While visiting campus, please honor the continued efforts of the Native and Indigenous community leaders who work to preserve the history and culture of the tribes which make up Eastern Massachusetts and the surrounding region. Today, Boston is still home to many indigenous peoples, including the Mashpee Wampanoag and Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), and many more in our region.

This program has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.