The University of Kentucky Gaines Center for the Humanities is now taking faculty proposals for the Mary C. Bingham Seminar and Thomas D. Clark Lectureship in the Humanities.

Every other year, the special humanities-oriented seminar selects 10 or fewer students for a spot in this 300-level seminar (HMN 300) that includes an immersive travel experience. Previous programs for the Bingham Seminar include:

• 2019:  Daniel Vivian — Slavery in American Memory
• 2012:  Monica Visona — Making American Athens
• 2008:  Lisa Broome — Seeking Goya
• 2006:  Ron Pen — Voices from Home: Traditional Music and the Formation of Community
• 2004:  Douglas Slaymaker — Japan, the Modern, the City

The Bingham Seminar provides faculty and students a chance to explore a subject not within the university's regular course offerings and to do so on-site, as the Gaines Center provides funding to offset the cost of travel, either in the U.S. or abroad. The seminar meets according to a regular course pattern during the Spring 2023 semester, with the travel portion taking place over spring break, or early in May following finals week. 

The Gaines Center also offers funding to invite a special lecturer to help further enrich the experience. This lecturer may speak with the course, but must also host a lecture that is free and open to the public. 

Faculty should submit their proposals for the Bingham Seminar and the Clark Lectureship no later Monday, May 30. The application can be found here: https://uky.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0ByZhokq8zIWWb4. Additional information on the application can be found here: https://gaines.uky.edu/programs. 

Faculty may also submit a hard copy of the proposal to: The Gaines Center, 218 E. Maxwell Street, Lexington, KY 40506-0344.

Founded in 1984 by a generous gift from John and Joan Gaines, the Gaines Center for the Humanities functions as a laboratory for imaginative and innovative education on UK's campus. The center is devoted to cultivating an appreciation of the humanities in its students and faculty and embraces varied paths of knowledge and particularly strives to integrate creative work with traditional academic learning.