Scholarship
At the Calvin Center for Faith & Writing, scholarship takes many forms. It involves undergraduates and graduate students, emerging writers and published authors, agents and publishing professionals, teachers at all levels of education, and readers of all ages.
The CCFW owes a great deal to the thoughtful engagement with literature that has characterized the Festival of Faith & Writing from its beginnings in 1990, a long tradition of excellence established by Calvin’s English Department. It also benefits from the strong scholarly history of the many departments here at Calvin University, and their examinations of how story and belief interact.
Story is everywhere—embedded in all disciplines. As such, the CCFW is committed to interdisciplinary work, deeply versed in literary traditions but also engaged in the current culture of letters and features scholarship (including creative works) in all kinds of genres for all kinds of audiences.
By continuing the public scholarship begun with the Festival of Faith & Writing and developing a substantial complement of other initiatives, the CCFW seeks to amplify Calvin University’s already significant voice in the ongoing conversation about belief and the literary arts.
Current CCFW scholarship opportunities include:
- For Calvin University students, Hudson-Townsend Student Fellows receive extensive training and mentoring in work centered on the contemporary world of letters—both professionally (producing texts through writing, editing, publishing; media production; marketing communications and business writing; etc.) and philosophically (researching speakers and thinking about issues in contemporary literature, particularly those related to faith). More generally, students from across campus participate in all the CCFW’s events in many capacities, from attending events to serving on the Festival’s student committee.
- For Calvin University faculty, the CCFW Faculty Fellows program allows three Calvin University faculty members, biennially, to further thoughtful conversation related to belief and literature. Their work includes but is not limited to the extensive research that shapes the Festival of Faith & Writing, from building its roster of speakers to crafting interviews and convening thoughtful on-stage conversations.
- For readers everywhere, the CCFW features the Festival of Faith & Writing—a wonderful event of public scholarship—and offers ongoing resources through its free podcast and other media productions. In the future, the CCFW hopes to increase the material available for academics & scholars through an online archive of past Festival talks, speakers' works, and more. The CCFW also hosts lectures and book events, collaborates with community groups, and puts on the Hudson-Townsend Publishing Institute (HPI) in off-years of Festival.