Repair

VCU Humanities Research Center Theme | 2026-2028

Reckoning with Virginia's past, building Richmond's future: How an urban public university engages in repair

The Humanities Research Center's 2026-2028 theme explores repair in all its complexity: the repair of historical damage (slavery, displacement, loss of Indigenous land, environmental harm), the healing of communities (through reparations, restorative justice, and cultural memory), and the evolving relationship between universities and the cities they inhabit — including questions of accountability, trust, and shared purpose. Through rigorous scholarship, community partnerships, global conversation, and interdisciplinary collaboration, we ask: How do we reckon with harm? What comes after monuments are removed? How do we heal from historical trauma? And what responsibilities do universities carry in repair work — toward the communities, histories, and futures they help shape?

Our Approach: Four Pillars

The REPAIR theme embodies all four pillars of the HRC's mission:

Rigorous Scholarship
Faculty and fellows conduct original research on repair across disciplines—history, literature, philosophy, environmental studies, and art.

Community Partnership

Genuine collaborations with Richmond communities and archives. Communities are knowledge-holders and intellectual collaborators, not research subjects.

Public Engagement

Monthly global webinars, in-person and virtual community events, accessible publications and resources.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration

The work of repair does not stay within disciplinary walls. Our collaborations with VCU schools and community partners bring together the full range of voices this scholarship requires.

Key Elements

Residential Fellowships - 6 faculty fellows in 2026-27 have received course releases to conduct research on repair. Fellows meet bi-monthly to discuss their work and engage with each other across disciplines.

Global Webinar Series on Repair - Repair is a global question. This series, co-organized with UNC Chapel Hill's Art and Humanities Institute, features international scholars whose work illuminates how different communities and traditions reckon with harm and work toward healing. All webinars will be recorded, captioned, and freely available.

Faculty and Graduate Student Working Group on Repair - Each month, the Repair Working Group will convene to discuss that month’s text, its disciplinary approach, and its connections to the broader concept and framework. Discussions will be coordinated by two working group co-leaders, and HRC Residential Fellows, who are engaged in research projects related to repair, will also attend these conversations.

Community Events - Here scholarship meets practice: research dialogues with community leaders, environmental justice practitioners, and community historians. Events are collaborative conversations, not university-led lectures. Our new community fellow in 2026-27 will help facilitate some of these events.

Graduate & Undergraduate Engagement - Optional graduate seminar on repair across disciplines. Undergraduate research fellowships support fellows' projects. Student training in community-engaged scholarship methods.

Interested in getting involved?

We welcome scholars, community partners, students, and others interested in repair work. For more information, email cstanciu@vcu.edu.