In the summer of 2022, graduate students with an interest in contributing to public humanities scholarship were invited to apply to participate in the inaugural Modern Language Association Public Humanities Incubator. Twelve participants were selected and placed in pods led by four mentors active in the public humanities; at the conclusion of the 2022 incubator, the participants presented their work at the 2023 convention in San Francisco and were honored at the annual awards ceremony.

The second round of the Public Humanities Incubator launched in September 2023. Over the course of the incubator, from September through December, the pods work with their mentors to envision their research as contributions to public humanities scholarship: imagining audiences and impact, form and dissemination, collaboration and partnerships, and project life cycle.

Public Humanities Incubator participants and their mentors will present their projects at the 2024 MLA convention in Philadelphia. Learn more about this year’s participants and their projects.