Organizing a Kahn Project

Long-term Projects

Long-term projects focus on broad topics with interdisciplinary appeal and are explored in depth over an academic year or semester. They offer faculty an opportunity to pursue their research in community with colleagues from across the college.

Long-term project fellows include fourteen Smith and Five College faculty members and four Smith students, who meet once a week at the Kahn Institute for three hours—two for discussion and other activities, and one to share a meal. These projects also include public lectures by experts in fields related to the project topics, film screenings, field trips, and other activities.

Project organizers receive a course release and a $3,000 research stipend as compensation for organizing a full academic year project. For one-semester projects, organizers receive a $1,500 research stipend.

Project organizers are two Smith faculty members from different fields—and preferably from different divisions—who have been fellows in a past long-term project. If you do not have a co-organizer at this time, please reach out to the Kahn director.

Organizers guide exploration and dialogue among fellows and collaborate to identify visiting scholars and activities that may inform the topics of exploration. In consultation with the Kahn director, they are responsible for conceptualizing and writing a project description that inspires and invites potential fellows to participate.

Expectations & Timeline

  • Meet with the Kahn director to suggest your project idea as early as possible, even if it’s at a preliminary stage, and to discuss potential co-organizers.
  • Consider hosting a short-term project in order to build interest and recruit as interdisciplinary a group of scholars as possible. This must occur during the proposal year due to the long-term project recruitment schedule.
  • Draft a project description in consultation with the director.
  • Meet with Kahn staff to establish a recruitment schedule and other expectations for the planning process.

  • Facilitate an informational session for faculty hosted by the Kahn.
  • Share recruitment information with colleagues across the Five Colleges in conjunction with Kahn publicity.
  • Meet with the director to choose faculty fellows.
  • Attend the first meeting with fellows to discuss day and time (if you haven’t already set it) and potential guest speakers.

  • Speak at an informational session for students hosted by the Kahn.
  • Meet with the director and faculty fellows to choose six students to move to interview stage.
  • Attend first all fellows meeting in April.
  • Choose summer readings.
  • Contact potential guest speakers to assess interest and availability in concert with Kahn staff.

  • Host weekly meetings.
  • Provide overall supervision for the work of the student fellows (though most of them will be working directly with other faculty fellows or independently).
  • Work closely with the Kahn Institute staff. The staff handles the many details that keep a project running smoothly, including coordinating and publicizing all public events and managing financial and budgetary matters and behind-the-scenes work.
  • Pursue your own research.
  • Host guest speakers. Kahn staff will arrange all logistics and publicity.
  • At the conclusion of a project, submit a reasonably detailed report for the institute’s records, including suggestions for improving the operation of future Kahn projects.
Photo by Nafis Azad

Short-term Projects

Short-term projects provide new contexts for Smith and Five College faculty to explore topics of common intellectual concern that bear on their own research and may serve as seeds for future long-term projects. Short-term projects formats are flexible, but typically take place within an abbreviated timeframe. They often include public events, panels or forums, film screenings, workshops, field trips and other activities over the course of two to three days, a weekend, or a series of daylong symposia.

Proposal Steps

  1. Contact the Kahn director to suggest your project idea as early as possible, even if it’s at a preliminary stage, to brainstorm and develop the topic and identify potential co-organizers, participants, and guest lecturers.
  2. Schedule a meeting with the Kahn staff to set the date and time of the project, and discuss the expectations of the organizers. The recruitment and publicity schedule will be shared at this time.
  3. In consultation with the director, draft a one-page narrative description of your project to articulate the central questions, problems, and themes to be explored and analyzed; generate interest in participation; and indicate disciplines, departments or programs whose faculty may be interested in applying for project fellowships.

Kathleen Pierce (left), assistant professor of art, and Suzanne Gottschang (right), the Kahn’s director and professor of anthropology and East Asian studies, organized a writing retreat in 2024. Photo by Jessica Scranton.