The Working Group on Arts & Humanities and the Office of Research are pleased to announce the Interloper Grant, a new funding opportunity designed to support exploratory interdisciplinary collaboration. Interloper Grants of $500–$1,500 will be awarded to teams of two or more faculty pursuing collaborative work that crosses traditional disciplinary boundaries.
The Interloper Grant supports faculty who want to venture into unfamiliar academic territory — working across disciplines, departments, colleges, or campuses to develop new creative or scholarly partnerships. This grant supports the exploratory process of interdisciplinary collaboration itself: the conversations, experiments, and shared experiences that open new pathways for research and creative activity.
Eligible Expenses
Grants are intended to support activities such as: materials, tools, software, services, event support, marketing, participant stipends, and inter-campus travel for collaborators. Other expenses directly related to the proposed collaboration will also be considered.
Eligibility
Interloper Grants are open to all WSU faculty working in or across the arts and humanities, regardless of track, campus, or unit. Proposals must include a minimum of two named collaborators from different disciplines, departments, or units. We especially encourage proposals that bring together faculty who have not previously collaborated, and proposals involving faculty from multiple WSU campuses.
Deadline
Applications for the Spring 2026 are closed. This program will reopen in the Fall 2026.
Proposal Requirements
To apply, complete the proposal submission form. The proposal must include:
- Project description (500 words or fewer): What interdisciplinary territory are you exploring, and why? How does this collaboration move each participant beyond their usual disciplinary practice?
- Collaborator(s): Names, departments, and a brief description of each collaborator’s role and what they bring to the partnership.
- Context: How did this collaboration come about? Is this a new partnership or an expansion of existing work? What do you hope this exploratory work might lead to?
- Budget: Teams may apply for $500–$1,500, depending on need. Include a brief justification of expenses.
Expectations
Recipients will be expected to share a brief presentation on their collaborative experience at a Working Group showcase event.
Questions?
For questions about the Interloper Grant, email joe.hedges@wsu.edu.
Past Projects
Diamond Beverly-Porter (Department of Digital Technology and Culture)
Collaborator: Many Canales (Department of Digital Technology and Culture)
Title: Toward a Theory of Hybrid Roleplay: TTRPGs, VR, and Performative Narrativity
This project investigates the interdisciplinary convergence of game studies, performance studies, and immersive media through a comparative analysis of tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) and virtual reality (VR) social environments. It positions both analog and virtual systems as liminal, branching narrative frameworks, examining how embodied participation, narrative agency, and performative presence shift as play moves from tabletop infrastructures into networked immersive digital spaces.
Deanna Day (Department of Teaching and Learning)
Collaborator: Samantha Reisz (Department of Human Development)
Title: Learning about Families through Children’s Literature
Children’s books can be powerful supports for children navigating major transitions and important tools for cultural socialization. This collaboration between Teaching and Learning and Human Development will focus on increasing college students’ awareness of the importance of family in children’s lives. This project will highlight children’s books about diverse family experiences, cultural socialization, and how to support children through major family transitions such as divorce, stepfamily formation, arrival of a new sibling, and death of a loved one. Children’s books will be read aloud and discussed in each class. Strategies to support families during these transitions will also be shared.
Nikolaus Overtoom (Department of History)
Collaborator: Phil Gruen (School of Design and Construction)
Title: Ordering the Palouse: Classical Traditions and Architectural Meaning in an Agricultural Landscape
The project approaches classicism as a durable yet variable architectural language whose meanings shift across time and place. Transmitted from antiquity through European pattern books to the United States, it has been used to convey both democratic ideals and authority. In America, Neoclassicism provided a visible means of stamping this language onto the landscape, lending cultural legitimacy to a new nation. On a broad, symbolic scale, this project asks students and community members to recognize that classicism carries multiple, often conflicting meanings.