About the OI Coffeehouse
Begun in winter 2021 as a way of bringing people together virtually while the pandemic kept us apart physically, the OI Coffeehouse has proven a valuable online gathering place for many in the early Americanist community. The OI provides a Zoom room as well as staff help in opening that room and managing the group. Tables meet online weekly or bi-weekly for one-two hours during regular business hours (ET).
In addition to dozens of topical gatherings which vary each year and usually last a semester, the “Just Write” tables and “Digital Projects” tables have been consistent fixtures for the last several years and offer participants a way to find weekly community while they work—in the case of “Just Write”—and drop in to learn about online projects of interest to scholars of Vast Early America, in the case of “Digital Projects.”
In summer 2025, we debuted the OI Coffeehouse Fellowship program. After an extensive deliberation, two applicants were chosen. Each received a stipend to conduct an online meet-up of their choice. We are excited to announce that the OI Coffeehouse Fellowship program is renewed for 2026-2027. Proposals are due by midnight, August 1, 2026.
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