About the Institute
The Summer Institute for Literary and Cultural Studies (SILCS) is a four-week, expenses-paid summer institute at Wheaton College for twelve students between their junior and senior years, especially designed for those from ethnic or racial groups that are underrepresented in the field of English studies, as well as others committed to increasing diversity in the field. The purpose of the Institute is to introduce students to a career as an English department faculty member and mentor them on their way to graduate school and beyond.
The second SILCS will take place June 1-28, 2009, at Wheaton College. Students will be chosen from a national pool of applicants and will receive a $2,500 stipend for their participation.
SILCS aims to provide students with the confidence, motivation and preparation necessary to pursue doctoral programs in English, especially students who might not otherwise have applied to graduate school. It is SILCS' commitment to ensure that the future of the discipline includes a diversity of perspectives, consonant with the nation's racial and cultural diversity.
The institute will consist of four weeks of classroom seminars and lectures, augmented by visits to research libraries and archival collections in New England. The institute will provide important instruction in English literary studies, especially in literary and cultural theory, and intensive writing and editing work. Instructors will also address the culture of graduate study in English and the rewards and challenges of a life in academe. Distinguished faculty from all over the country will serve as instructors for the institute.
For more specific questions about the Institute, check out our Frequently Asked Questions page.
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.