Connecting Across Disciplines
Lovett's American Studies Institute was founded in 2004 to encourage teachers and students to enrich their understanding of America by searching beyond the confines of a specific discipline.
Thanks to all the participants in the American Studies Institute's most recent faculty workshop, "America on the World's Stage, 1893-1919," June 9-11, 2010, with keynote speaker Dr. David Shi, president of Furman University.
The Institute has embarked on several initiatives to reward and foster research by both teachers and students in American Studies. For teachers and for graduate students from any institution, the Institute offers a summer workshop on varied themes presented with an interdisciplinary approach. For teachers from Lovett, a $1,000 stipend is available each year to allow a faculty member from any division who wishes to engage in travel, research, reading, or other projects that are interdisciplinary in nature and that relate to American Studies. For students from Lovett, awards are given to the authors of the best two term papers each year in Lovett's American Studies courses (one to an AP student, one to a regular-track student). Students may also apply for funding to do continued research on their term paper topic.
The American Studies Institute is made possible by a challenge grant from the Edward E. Ford Foundation and several generous donors.