Undergraduate research in the Humanities

For undergraduates at most universities, the opportunity to secure funding, do your own research and publish is beyond reach. However, an extraordinary program in Arts & Sciences is changing that.

The Undergraduate Honors Fellowship Program is part seminar, part individual research project. It’s the brainchild of Professor Gerald Early, Director of The Center for the Humanities and the Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters. Currently open to five seniors and five juniors each year, it’s unique because it allows students to say “I secured the funding, I did the research, I completed this momentous project on my own.”

According to Professor Early, the Undergraduate Honors Fellowship Program is a way for students to synthesize their entire educational experience and symbolically tie it up in a bow at the end of their education.

Students meet weekly in a seminar where they “teach” each other in their particular area of research. According to Professor Early, this is a wonderful learning experience for him, as well.

Professor Early’s favorite part of the program, and a source of great pride, is the student-produced publication Slideshow. The students design it, they determine its content—they even write the stylebook. Like any professional journal, the standards are rigorous and expectations are high. From start to finish, the students are treated as serious academic people doing serious academic work.

The value of the fellowship is profound, both educationally and professionally. Professor Early is quick to point out that, in the four years since the program’s inception, not a single student has failed to complete his or her project. Students commit to completing the project before being admitted to the program, and he always has total confidence that they will do so. In fact, he says that one of his jobs is to convince them to have confidence in themselves.

In addition to fostering a sense of self-reliance, one of the most valuable benefits of the program is the opportunity to cultivate a relationship with a mentor at such a critical time in one’s education. With that in mind, it’s hard to imagine one more inspiring than the multifaceted Professor Early.

A noted author and essayist on American culture and African & African American studies, he’s a frequent contributor to HBO Sports, PBS and NPR. Professor Early has authored books on subjects as diverse as prizefighting and Motown. He served as consultant on Ken Burns’ acclaimed documentaries on jazz and baseball. He’s also a two-time Grammy nominee for liner notes he has authored for recordings.

Professor Early says about 20 percent of the participants in the Undergraduate Honors Fellowship Program go on to law school. Many pursue their PhD, although intent to pursue a graduate degree is purely optional. Instead, what he looks for in a candidate is intelligence, maturity, the ability to manage resources and the drive to complete the work competently.

In return, what he hopes students see in him is energy, enthusiasm and the sheer joy that can come from learning new things—the joy of being learned.

Professor Early describes the Humanities as the core of disciplines that has shaped universities since medieval times—literature, language, religion, philosophy, theology and, surprising to some, math. Even now, the Humanities continue to play a vital role in education. After all, he says, the Humanities are what make you an intelligent, cultured person.

Perhaps this is why Professor Early promotes The Center for the Humanities not only as an academic endeavor, but as something integral to people’s lives in the community at large. Read more about The Center for the Humanities’ outreach program, which draws from major segments of the University and disseminates knowledge and expertise to the community in some unexpected ways.

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