RESIDENCIES
Thoreau College Residencies
As an emerging microcollege located in a small rural community, Thoreau College is seeking scholars, artists, craftspeople, and social entrepreneurs to enrich the intellectual and cultural life of our community. The Thoreau College Residency is an opportunity for individuals working on an important personal project – such as a PhD dissertation, a book, play, screenplay, or research project, or another ambitious endeavor – who are looking for a lively community of peers and young people located in a beautiful natural area in which to complete their work. Thoreau College Residents offer class sessions or workshops for participants in other Thoreau College programs and/or to the local community through the Driftless Folk School, or perform other skilled work within the college such as cooking, agriculture, administrative work, or crafts. In return, Thoreau College offers housing, food, and participation in the full life of the college community, including cultural offerings and Driftless Folk School courses. In addition, Viroqua and the surrounding Driftless Region provides a context of unparalleled natural beauty and many opportunities for outdoor recreation.
It’s been a really transformative experience for me, and I really believe in the mission of the college. For fellows and residents I think it is a great opportunity post-college to get your bearings on the world before (or as a break from) the next level of adulthood – kind of like a gap year for adult life. It’s definitely one I needed. When I lived in NYC, I really didn’t like the direction my life was going, but this residency and everything that’s come out of it has introduced me to totally different and more rich ways of living. I feel like young adults with similar background to me – having lived in a city their whole lives and feeling disillusioned/unconnected – would do really well in this program either as a fellow or student. It’s also a rich opportunity to do a residency not totally in isolation, but as part of a broader program. It’s probably not the most expected thing for an artist residency, but I think it was really great to be part of a community and able to participate in classes/labor/field trips/etc while also working on my project – I think they enriched one another.
HOW TO APPLY FOR A RESIDENCY
Thoreau College welcomes Residency proposals from all qualified applicants. Recognizing that excellent proposals may come in many different forms, please send us a personal letter of interest, accompanied by a curriculum vitae and at least two professional references. In your letter of interest, please address the following items:
- Your background and how you came to be interested in Thoreau College
- A description of your proposed personal project – dissertation, book, research, etc.
- A description of your proposed contributions to Thoreau College – teaching, grant writing, cooking, etc.
- The timeframe of your proposed Residency and any other practical matters we may need to know.
Please send this letter and supporting materials to Jacob Hundt ( admin@thoreaucollege.org ), Director of Thoreau College.
JOSEPH CLINT
2026 THOREAU COLLEGE RESIDENT
Joseph Clint graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in May 2020 with a BA in Philosophy and a minor in Greek. He then moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico to work at St. John’s College where he will soon finish an MA in Liberal Arts. Joseph became interested in Nunnian education after fixing a broken fuel pump on his motorcycle in the midst of his MA coursework. This led him to work on a cattle ranch in West Texas, and now to Thoreau College as an Artist-in-Residence. At Thoreau, Joseph will be working on a gnomology, or collection of maxims, using cyanotype and block prints.
NATHAN SHU
2025 THOREAU COLLEGE RESIDENT
Nathan Shu is the 2025-2026 Thoreau College Artist-in-Residence. He grew up in Houston, Texas, and attended Webster Conservatory of Theatre Arts in St. Louis where he majored in directing. He studied The Suzuki Method of Actor Training with the SCOT Company in Japan, and The Six Viewpoints with Wendell Beavers, Sophia Treanor, and Deborah Black in NYC. He continues to ask the question “what does it mean to perform,” and hopes to create work that deepens, complicates, and disrupts our understanding of what it means to exist as humans on this planet. He loves being outdoors, has a deep interest in agriculture, and is excited to be somewhere he can both make art and work outside!
JULIA BUSKIRK
2024 THOREAU COLLEGE RESIDENT
Julia Buskirk is the 2024-2025 Thoreau College Scholar-in-Residence. She was a fellow with Thoreau College in 2021, and is now returning to teach local environmental history, philosophy, and creative writing courses for the Thoreau College gap semester programs. Buskirk is conducting research on the 1930s Soil Conservation Projects implemented in our neighboring Coon Creek watershed, which were the first federally-funded projects in the nation to attempt to heal the environmental harm of soil erosion. Her research is informing a historical fiction novel that explores changing relationships to land, farming, and community during this era. She is also interested in current environmental issues in the Driftless, and has been covering the dam decommissioning process for the local Vernon Reporter. When she’s not reading or writing, Julia loves to be on or near water or cooking with loved ones.
BENJAMIN BERNARD-HERMAN
2023 THOREAU COLLEGE RESIDENT
Benjamin Bernard-Herman is the 2023-2024 Thoreau College Scholar-in-Residence. He is a PhD candidate in cultural anthropology at the University of Illinois–Chicago, where his research focuses on agriculture and ethics. At Thoreau College, he has taught classes on environmental anthropology, social and political theory, ethnography, and academic writing. While serving as the scholar-in-residence, Benjamin is conducting ethnographic research with farmers across the Driftless region for his dissertation, which explores the role of small-scale farming as a spiritual and ethical practice. When not teaching or working on his dissertation, Benjamin enjoys hiking through the Driftless, growing and cooking his own food, and snuggling with his cat, Asal.
EMILY TRENHOLM
2021 THOREAU COLLEGE RESIDENT
Emily Trenholm was a resident from fall 2021 to spring 2022 during the Thoreau College Metamorphosis Year. She served as a guest faculty member, drawing on her experience as a writing instructor and former Waldorf educator to co-teach a literature seminar, a community-building class, and the beloved Community Seminar. She also developed and taught a creative visioning course to help guide students in planning and crafting their Capstone projects, the culmination of the year-long program. At the same time she completed research for her first book, a collection of essays on craft and place, and gained invaluable community-based teaching experience.
EVAN EDWARDS
2020 THOREAU COLLEGE RESIDENT
Evan Edwards pioneered the Thoreau College Residency. From August-December 2020, Evan served as our “Captain of Nourishment” – drawing on deep experience as a professional chef to plan, cook, and serve meals for Thoreau College Semester Program students and staff, while also processing produce from Thoreau College gardens and helping students plan meals for their residential houses. In addition, he taught cooking and kitchen skills workshops and led a series of academic sessions on the key figures of phenomenology, including Husserl, Heidegger, and Merleau-Ponty. At the same time, Evan used his Residency to complete his PhD dissertation in Philosophy from DePaul University!