Records of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in the Arts

The records of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in the Arts (CIRA) fill three boxes, spanning the years 1986 to 1995. Records pertain to the formation, administration, and output of CIRA, and are divided into three subseries: administrative files, proposals, and conferences.

The administrative records span the years 1986-1995 Included in this subseries are the records of Chairs Susan Lee and Dwight Conquergood, meeting and workgroup papers, correspondence, publicity, brochures and flyers. Susan Lee's records document CIRA's formation. The meeting and workgroup records include sign-up sheets, schedules, and lists of topics discussed during meetings. Correspondence includes letters to and from President Weber, and letters to members and fellows. Publicity-related files include press releases, flyers, and the CIRA brochure.

The proposals, spanning the years 1987-1990, include fellowship applications and requests for research support; follow-up records; and proposals by CIRA for grants from the MacArthur, Mellon, and Rockefeller Foundations. Requests for support from prospective fellows describe proposed projects. Follow-up files include both reports from CIRA fellows and reports on the Center's activities. CIRA's grant proposals detail the need for interdisciplinary research in the arts.

The conferences and publications subseries contains records pertaining to and resulting from seminars and conferences funded through CIRA between the years 1986 and 1992. Records of conference organizers Howard Becker, Rainer Rumbold, Marco Diani, and Chuck Kleinhans are included. The records typically consist of proposals, schedules, and papers presented at conferences. This subseries also contains publications produced by CIRA during this time.