Collaboration
We promote collaboration in research and teaching among faculty across the humanities.
The Co-Lab at RWU
RWU Public Humanities and Arts Collaborative
Pillars of Our Work
Opportunities
We create opportunities for students to experience scholarship in action and explore new career paths.
Coalition
We foster and grow a coalition of scholars, historians, journalists, educators, artists, and community organizers in Rhode Island and Southern New England.
The Public Humanities & Arts Collaborative (The Co-Lab) at RWU is an interdisciplinary center that brings together faculty, students, and members of our Southern New England communities to promote shared learning and scholarship in the arts and humanities. We're dedicated to amplifying local and regional stories and representations that make historically marginalized communities audible and visible.
Focus Areas
The Co-Lab at RWU focuses on engaging the public in the areas of history, the visual and performing arts, heritage and heritage conservation, space and place, material and visual culture, historical narrative, and public education and intellectualism. Our investigation of topics related to inclusive narratives includes the spoken, the written, the visual, the theatrical, and the embodied, as we imagine the ways that people are both the producers and the products of their geographical and cultural landscapes.
Projects
Faculty, students, and staff across disciplines at Roger Williams are engaged in public humanities and arts projects that make underrepresented stories and groups in our region, our country, and around the globe more audible and visible. Working closely with communities near and far, these projects call attention to past and ongoing injustices, as well as the resiliency and creative survival of these groups.
The Public Humanities and Arts Minor
The Public Humanities and Arts minor at RWU gives students the opportunity to connect with our communities and learn about their rich histories, heritage, and cultures. This pathway helps students tackle social issues with a deep understanding of how the past informs the present.
Co-Lab Marks Fifth Anniversary with Regional Public Humanities and Arts Convening
The gathering brought together 34 attendees representing 16 organizations and institutions to exchange ideas and explore the role of arts and humanities in public life.
Marking its fifth anniversary this year, the Co-Lab at Roger Williams University brought together 34 attendees representing 16 organizations and institutions on Friday, Oct. 30, for Re/Storying Southern New England: Sharing Strategies for Public Humanities & Arts Practice Today as part of its ongoing programming.
Held at the Richard L. Bready Mount Hope Bay Sailing and Education Center on RWU’s Bristol campus, the half-day convening welcomed scholars, artists, humanities practitioners, and cultural organizations from across Southern New England.
Through presentations, facilitated conversations, and small-group discussions, participants explored how arts and humanities practitioners can navigate divisions, build sustainable partnerships, and engage communities amid changing political and cultural landscapes. Conversations also addressed whose stories are being told, how organizations can build meaningful relationships with communities, and how to define and measure impact.
Supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the gathering offered participants an opportunity to share strategies, examine common challenges, and develop connections that could lead to future collaborations.
The convening built on The Co-Lab’s 2024 (Re)Telling Conference, extending its work to connect artists, scholars, and community organizations and strengthen the role of arts and humanities in public life.
Contact
Have a question, project idea, or want to get involved? Reach out to Faculty Director, Dr. Elizabeth Rosner at erosner@rwu.edu.
Recent News
Inaugural HEART Fest Showcases Student Creativity and Community
The student-led festival brought the Roger Williams University community together through interactive storytelling, performances, and shared experiences across the humanities.
Roger Williams University Marks Fred Korematsu Day with Reflection on Rights and Responsibility
Campus and community leaders came together to reflect on civil rights icon Fred Korematsu’s lifelong advocacy and the continued importance of protecting constitutional freedoms.
Roger Williams University Community and Historians Work to Restore Indigenous Voices to the Thanksgiving Story
At Thanksgiving Retold, historians Don “Strong Turtle” Brown, Jr. and Richard Pickering joined The Co-Lab in guiding the RWU community through a deeper, Indigenous-centered examination of the holiday’s origins.
RWU’s Co-Lab to Host “(Re)Telling: Crafting New Stories of Race and Place in Southeastern New England”
Regional public humanities convening seeks to reshape narratives, foster understanding, and drive positive change through enriching dialogue.
RWU’s Co-Lab Launches Community-Engaged Academic Program and Partnerships Focused on Public Humanities and Arts
A prestigious National Endowment for the Humanities grant assists with creation of new Public Humanities and Arts minor, supports faculty fellows and community partners to develop courses centered on community projects
