NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt researchers studying the antislavery movement, propaganda and a prominent former slave known as Big Prince were awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Vanderbilt‘s Teresa Goddu, Jane Landers and Mark Wollaeger were included on a list of fellowship recipients announced Monday by the NEH.
The fellowships, worth up to $40,000 over a year, are awarded to individuals pursuing advanced research that contributes to scholarly knowledge or to the general public‘s understanding of the humanities.
“With the Endowment‘s support, NEH fellows √ñ will deepen our understanding of ourselves and our world to benefit scholars, students and lovers of knowledge for many years to come,” said Bruce Cole, chairman of the NEH.
Goddu, associate professor of English, is studying the advancement of the antislavery movement through print culture in antebellum America. Wollaeger, associate professor of English, will use the fellowship for his studies into the invention of modern propaganda in Britain from 1900 to 1945.
“With the space for reflection afforded by the fellowship, I will be able to complete a book to which I‘ve already devoted several years of research and writing,” Wallaeger said.
Landers, associate professor of history, is working on a biography of Juan Bautista Witten, a West African known as Big Prince who escaped from slavery and joined the Floridian exodus to Cuba.
“The support of the National Endowment for the Humanities has been critical to my career,” said Landers, who is in Cuba researching two projects supported by the NEH. “I try to repay them with good scholarship and lots of public outreach.”
The NEH announced fellowships to 195 U.S. scholars, worth $7.4 million.
Media contact: Jim Patterson, (615) 322-NEWS
Jim.patterson@vanderbilt.edu