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Home Marcus W. Orr Center for the Humanities Events Marcus W. Orr Center for the Humanities Additional MOCH Events

2025-2026 Research Clusters 

The Marcus W. Orr Center for the Humanities partners with interdisciplinary research groups on campus and in the Memphis community to host ongoing meetings, readings, lectures, and public events on shared topics of interest. The Fall and Spring Research Clusters are listed below, with contact information for each group. If you would like to organize a research cluster, please contact moch@memphis.edu.

Historic Cemeteries Research Network Cluster

Organizers: Donal Harris (Professor, Department of English) and Jennifer Kollath (Archivist, Temple Israel)

Description: The Historic Cemeteries Research Network is a new community-driven research and outreach initiative dedicated to preserving and exploring the rich cultural, archaeological, and educational possibilities of Memphis’s historic cemeteries.

Through the generous support of an ACLS Sustaining Community Connections Grant, the cluster will hold meetings during the Fall 2025 semester that bring together university researchers, nonprofit leaders, civic agencies, and cemetery stewards. Our goal is to foster collaboration and support across diverse project sites, share resources, and amplify the impact of everyone involved.

Meetings will be held on Mondays at 5pm in Crosstown Concourse Suite 457, on the Fourth floor in the Temple Israel -- Concourse meeting space. For more information on this research cluster, please contact Dr. Harris at dfhrris1@memphis.edu.

Meeting Schedule:

October 20: "Burial Plots and Cemetery Stories: Community History through Historic Cemeteries"

November 10: "Databases and Digital Maps: How Can They Help Your Organization's Mission?"

December 8: "Public and Private Partnerships: How Non-Profits and Government Agencies Can Collaborate"

Environmental Humanities Research Cluster

Organizers: Dr. Amanda Gaggioli (Assistant Professor, History) and Dr. Youngsang Kwon (Associate Professor, Earth Sciences)

Description: This six-part series is designed to explore models of environmental humanities programs at other institutions, compare their fit for the University of Memphis, and collaboratively design a new interdisciplinary program (minor, major, or certificate).

The Environmental Humanities Research Cluster at the University of Memphis, within the FedEx Institute of Technology, is dedicated to integrating the humanities with the natural sciences to address contemporary environmental crises. Faculty from diverse disciplines across the humanities, social sciences, and STEM fields, are engaging collaboratively to explore environmental issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, resource management, land use, sustainability, water security, energy transitions, hazards and disasters, while emphasizing their cultural and political dimensions.

For more information on this research cluster, contact Dr. Gaggioli at gaggioli@memphis.edu.

Meeting Schedule:

Location: FedEx Institute of Technology Methodist Presentation Theater (103)
Time: Thursdays at 3:00 pm in the FedEx Institute (except Sara Pritchard, who will speak Friday at 11:30 am before her workshop).

September 25 | McKay Jenkins (University of Delaware): "The Praxis of Environmental Justice: Working Ethically with University Students and Community Partners (RSVP here)

October 23 | Celeste Ray (The University of the South): "Biocultural Diversity, Ritual Landscapes and Citizen Science at Ireland’s Holy Wells"

November 6 | Gregg Mitman (University of Wisconsin-Madison /Ludwig-Maximillian-Universität): "Ebola in a Stew of Fear"

February 26 |  Brandon McDonald (Tufts University): "Climates and Change in the Mediterranean: Between Antiquity and Today"

April 17 | Sara Pritchard (Cornell University): "Title tba"

 

 

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