Washington University’s Center for the Humanities, in partnership with the University of Ghana, American University in Cairo and Stellenbosch University, with University of Ghana as the lead institution, received funding from the Mellon Foundation for a transnational program aimed at enhancing research capacity for early career scholars in the humanities. From 2020 to 2024, the program funded the travel, housing and other related costs of selected early career humanities scholars from the four institutions to spend three months at one of the other partner institutions.
The aim of the overall project was to create a space for scholars in the humanities to enhance their research agenda in their early career years. The period of stay in the collaborating institution allowed for targeted mentorship and guidance for the selected scholars by identified senior scholars who shared their research interests, while also providing an avenue for interaction and the sharing of research ideas and methodologies with peers. The project was unique in many respects as, unlike some existing initiatives, it sought to create avenues for early career scholars to have the opportunity of residency in a region of Africa (other than their own, if they are Africa-based) or in a global north institution.