Since 1968, the Center for 21st Century Studies (C21) has worked to build a community of scholars to address the most pressing issues of our time. As one of the first humanities research centers in the United States, C21 has been at the forefront of major developments in interdisciplinary humanities for over half a century. Through collaboration and individual reflection, C21 fosters innovative research at the intersection of the humanities, arts, and sciences, supporting emerging and established scholars, publishing new research, and hosting lectures, workshops, and other events.
C21 provides multiple points of access and honors diverse ways of knowing through fellowships, project support, and programming. In recent years, the Center has expanded its focus to include public humanities, bridging the university and the community through events and oral research projects.
For the next three years, C21 will explore the theme of SLOW, infusing this concept into its programming, fellowships, and collaboratories. This initiative reflects C21’s ongoing commitment to addressing contemporary challenges through interdisciplinary scholarship and community engagement.
Programs
C21 annual programming includes a full slate of lectures and events across the humanities and social sciences. Events are always free and open to the public.
A UW System Center of Excellence, C21 builds a community of scholars to address the pressing issues of our time. Each year, C21 offers fellowships that provide the time, space, and collegial support to generate new knowledge and ideas. C21 centers the humanities in its belief that innovation comes from diversity of opinions, disciplines, and experiences.
Through this program, C21 supports interdisciplinary collaboration addressing pressing issues of our time, both within and outside of UWM. Collaboratories commonly focus on building a sustainable network; curricular innovations; and/or bringing nationally and internationally known scholars to campus for seminars, lectures, and workshops.
History
Founded in 1968 as the Center for 20th Century Studies, the Center for 21st Century Studies (C21) was one of the first humanities research centers in the US, the Center has been at the forefront of many of the major developments in the interdisciplinary humanities for half a century. Its groundbreaking conferences over the years drew scholars and artists from all over the world into conversation and collaboration, including six international film conferences in the 1970s and 1980s that helped constitute film studies as an emergent discipline.