Lightning strikes twice

Roommate PhD students both awarded coveted fellowships

by Daniel J. Fitzgibbons, Chronicle staff

History doctoral students Heather Murray (left) and Babette Faehmel have been awarded $28,000 fellowships from the Social Science Research Council to support their dissertation work. (Stan Sherer photo)

efying the odds and their own expectations, two History doctoral students who are also roommates have been awarded $28,000 fellowships by the Social Science Research Council to support their dissertation research on sexuality issues.

     Babette Faehmel and Heather Murray plan to use the funding to visit various archives around the country to gather material for their doctoral theses. Faehmel's proposed dissertation topic is "College Women's Perceptions of Sexuality and Self as Revealed through their Diaries and Letters, 1940-1965." Murray also will take a look into the past as she explores the issues confronted by parents and their gay children in the second half of the 20th century. Her dissertation is titled "Gay Lives Within and Beyond the Family, 1950-1990."

     The two learned about the fellowship program from their former advisor, Kathy Peiss, now at the University of Pennsylvania. They began working on the applications last fall, honing their proposals before the December deadline, according to Faehmel.

     "We didn't think we had a good chance," said Murray, "but as historians, we thought it's a good skill to learn."

     At first, the interdisciplinary emphasis of the applications seemed daunting, Faehmel said, and the two roommates labored to make their applications sound more appealing to the selection committee, which was dominated by social scientists.
But after sending their drafts off to Peiss, said Murray, their mentor admonished them to "stop pretending you're not historians."

     Gradually, their applications took shape as the roommates passed drafts back and forth and offered each other advice. "It was nice because we had each other for support," said Murray. But as luck would have it, when the good news came for Murray, it was Faehmel who fielded the call.

     "I was home sick with the flu," she said, "and there was a phone call for Heather. As I took the message, I realized what it was about. I was terribly conflicted - I was happy for Heather, but sad because I didn't think they would give the awards to both of us."

     Leaving a note on her roommate's door, Faehmel recalled "sliding into depression" over missing her chance at the fellowship. But she perked up when she was able to share the news with Murray after her arrival home. "She was very excited," said Murray. "I was sort of shocked. I never really thought it was a possibility."

     The celebration was doubled soon after when Faehmel received her notification phone call. Their joy was shared by Peiss, who e-mailed her congratulations in uppercase letters punctuated with exclamation points.

     "I was thrilled that they both got it," Peiss said this week. "I'm just so proud of the two of them."

     That sentiment was echoed by their new dissertation director, Daniel Horowitz, professor of American studies at Smith College.

     "They both are doing pathbreaking work on really important topics," he said, and to have two people win that award in one year is a feather in UMass' cap."

     Faehmel and Murray both arrived at UMass in the fall of 2000. They met while serving as teaching assistants in the department.

     Murray, who hails from Ottawa, Ontario, received her B.A. at Trent University and completed her M.A. at Carleton University. Faehmel was born in Germany and earned a B.A. at the University of Hamburg before coming to the U.S. to earn her M.A. at the University of Cincinnati.

     Both say they were attracted to UMass by the strength of the History faculty and the benefits accorded to unionized graduate employees.

     "UMass has a good reputation back home," said Murray.

     Faehmel said she wanted to study at an institution with historians she admired. Kathy Peiss was among the scholars they both respected.

     In the few months before their fellowships officially begin in September, both Murray and Faehmel are finalizing plans for their research. Since both will be using information gleaned from personal writing, including diaries and letters, they plan to delve into archives around the country.

     "I already have about 20 diaries," said Faehmel, "and I plan to put out a call for more." In addition, she's planning to conduct research at the Seven Sisters campuses, Duke University, the University of Iowa and other Midwest repositories.

     Murray, who has already mined the Five Colleges for material, will head to New York to access several major gay archives. She also plans to visit the Human Sexuality Collection at Cornell University, the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University and sources in San Francisco.