What does the SoF Mean to Those Involved?
"I appreciated the freedom to explore my interests, along with concomitant resources to help establish me in the field; a sense of camaraderie with peers from diverse disciplines; the opportunity to invent myself more broadly as a scholar and to practice communicating with colleagues from outside my discipline."– Bess Koffman, postdoc, Earth Sciences
"Valuable for me was the generosity of the faculty, whose mentorship and guidance allowed me to grow as a scholar and professional. Intellectually, my time at the SoF encouraged me to situate my work within the larger field of global history and allowed me to bridge the fields of medieval European and Islamic history." – Mohamad Ballan, postdoc, History
"I rediscovered the joys of reading groups, attending seminars, inviting speakers, arranging events—all activities underestimated in the otherwise solitary life of scholarship. The emphasis on interdisciplinarity is closely linked to the ability to foster innovative scholarship." – James Godley, postdoc, English
"The SoF provided space for me to develop my interests outside of laboratory-based research. With that freedom, I was able to engage with and learn about different forms of scholarship and thinking." – Jared Harris, postdoc, Chemistry
"I supervised several undergraduates, which allowed me to gain mentorship experience. Having the time and space to reflect has also transformed my book project, which is both more ambitious and more complete than it would have been without the feedback and support of the SoF." – Danielle Simon, postdoc, Music
"SoF is a crucial space because it provides the faculty with something approximating a top-notch graduate program. Even more so, the interdisciplinary spurs our own intellectual growth. These scholars are at the top of their fields, bringing the freshest ideas and the most exciting scholarship." – Abby Neely, Faculty Fellow, Geography
"I have witnessed an emerging synergy between different programs at Dartmouth. The critical mass, faculty mentorship, and infrastructure has created opportunities for a postdoc whose research spans engineering, earth sciences, and mathematics to see coming to Dartmouth as an excellent step in her career." – Laura Ray, Faculty Fellow, Engineering
"The SoF is one of the few institutional opportunities for faculty to actively participate in a genuine 'liberal arts' experience. As faculty, we normally encounter our outside-department colleagues in committee meetings where we rarely discuss our creative, scholarly work." – Miles Blencowe, Faculty Fellow, Physics
"An 'electrical storm' is an apt description. It captures the productive collision and friction of ideas; the sudden excitation of neurons; the crackling path of insight that can emerge." – Nathaniel Dominy, Faculty Fellow, Anthropology
"I find the SoF to be an important recruiting tool for outstanding postdoctoral scholars and its existence makes us more competitive." – Colin Meyer, Faculty Affiliate, Engineering
"The scholars' presence in our community has greatly enhanced the work of several colleagues through collaborations and dialogues on common theoretical and empirical interests. The SoF program is one of the best things we have going at Dartmouth in terms of expanding our intellectual spaces across all divisions." – Chris Sneddon, Chair, Geography