Contact Details
Elisabeth Guerrero
Professor of Spanish Affiliated Faculty in Latin American Studies; Faculty Ambassador, Mellon Confounding Problems and the Public Arts and Humanities Grant
Location
207 Coleman Hall
Mellon Confounding Problems Undergraduate Research Grants
Confounding Problems Grants assist undergraduate students in pursuing research related to so-called confounding (or wicked) problems. These are large-scale problems that resist any simple solution — and that concern us as citizens as well as scholars. The expression has been used primarily in the sciences and social sciences to describe problems or issues that have multiple causes and no single answers, such as a quick technological fix or a central authority to solve them.
Examples include (but are not limited to):
- Issues of race, identity and security
- Migration and borders
- Environmental change and adaptation
- Gentrification and urban renewal
- Different meanings of health and wellbeing
- Practices of memory and restoration
- Diversity on campus
- The state of the liberal arts
Grants support both original student research and travel to present that research at academic conferences.
Confounding Problems Grants are supported by a grant from the Mellon Foundation.
Mellon Confounding Problems Student Research Grants
These grants offer funds for students to conduct research in areas related to confounding problems. These funds may be used for travel with humanities and arts faculty to archives, museums, performance centers or field sites. They may also be used for any materials necessary for work at these sites. Each applicant must have a sponsoring faculty member whose primary field is in the arts or humanities.
*Please note: In order to comply with the University’s COVID-19 policies and procedures, students may not use grants for travel or bring invited speakers to campus while these policies are in effect, but the grant may be used to participate in virtual events or to host invited speakers via Zoom.
Award amount: Up to $2,500 per student award
Application deadline: Applications accepted on a rolling basis beginning in late September
Mellon Confounding Problems Student Conference Travel Grants
These grants offer funds for students to travel to present research on the theme of confounding problems at conferences, either jointly with professors or independently. Each applicant must have a sponsoring faculty member whose primary field is in the arts or humanities (and who may also be eligible for travel funds).
*Please note: In order to comply with the University’s COVID-19 policies and procedures, students may not use grants for travel or bring invited speakers to campus while these policies are in effect, but the grant may be used to participate in virtual events or to host invited speakers via Zoom.
Award amount: Up to $2,000 per student award, with a potential $2,000 for an accompanying faculty member
Application deadline: Applications accepted on a rolling basis beginning in late September