H+U+D Annual Report 2018-19

The first Humanities, Urbanism, and Design (H+U+D) project (2013-18) successfully brought together faculty and students from the Weitzman School of Design and the School of Arts and Sciences to build a supportive, collaborative, and multi-disciplinary setting for the study of the built environment. Thirty-six faculty in total, each serving two-year terms, participated in a bi- weekly H+U+D Faculty Colloquium and produced sixteen books, nine chapters, twenty-eight refereed journal articles and nine exhibitions with Mellon support. In addition, the H+U+D program supported fifteen co-taught undergraduate “city seminars” (domestic and international) and graduate classes involving more than 150 students and thirty-five faculty. Finally, it provided twenty-seven undergraduate and graduate research grants that yielded numerous publications, theses, and dissertations.

In 2018, we embarked on the new five-year project, “The Inclusive City, Past, Present, and Future.” With the renewed $1.5 million Mellon grant, we are building on the foundation of the first project while focusing on the theme of inclusivity and diversity both in what we study and teach and in who we are. A nineteen-member steering committee guided the re-launch and oversaw the appointment of a new fifteen-member Faculty Colloquium, who represent multiple departments in both the School of Arts and Sciences and the Weitzman School of Design. This new cohort met bi-weekly during the 2018-19 academic year and has already produced two forthcoming books, one forthcoming book chapter, and five refereed journal articles.

We will continue the activities created for the first five-year grant, including sponsorship of co- taught courses, lectures and symposia, and student research projects, and are very excited to add some new ones. “Anchor Institution” seminars that partner with one of Philadelphia’s urban institutions will provide students more practical opportunities to study inclusion and diversity. We are boosting support for undergraduate and graduate student research with the creation of the Mellon Undergraduate Research Colloquium, in which undergraduate student awardees will meet regularly under the mentorship of H+U+D faculty members, and the new appointment of two ABD Dissertation Fellows, who will participate in the Faculty Colloquium.

The Mellon grant has had an enormous impact on our research, teaching, and outreach. The “Inclusive City” project has already been an incredibly fruitful one, and we look forward to more dynamic intellectual partnerships and exchanges in the years to come.

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