Achievements
With its more than one hundred fellows to date, the ISI has hosted some of the most active and successful of our colleagues on campus. In many cases their projects, under development in an ISI seminar, have come to fruition in scholarly or creative arenas. While we do not claim credit for all successes or special recognitions, we are proud to list some of the achievements of our ISI community here.
M.V. Lee Badgett, former ISHA fellow and current director of the Center for Public Policy and Administration, has been awarded the Samuel F. Conti Faculty Fellowship, a prestigious honor from the University of Massachusetts Amherst recognizing outstanding scholarly achievement. The fellowship includes a cash prize and a year-long leave of absence, which Badgett intends to spend exploring the economic impact that social and legal equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people has on developing countries around the world, as well as on employers in the United States.
ISI is thrilled to congratulate Max Page, former ISHA fellow and Professor of Art, Architecture, and Art History, for his win of the prestigious Rome Prize for Historical Preservation and Conservation. Awarded annually by the American Academy in Rome to about 30 scholars in diverse fields, the prize includes a two-year stipend plus room and board on the Academy's 11-acre campus. Page plans to spend the Spring 2014 semester in Italy, where he will continue work on his latest project, “Usable Pasts: The Legacy of Mussolini and the Lessons of Scarpa."
Nina Scott, member of the Beyond Reproduction ISHA seminar, has published a new essay in A Companion to Latin American Women Writers, entitled ‘Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz.’ She also served as Chair of the Spanish Department of Amherst College from 2010-2012.
The Interdisciplinary Studies Institute (ISI) celebrates the publication of the first edited collection originating from the productive discussions of its faculty seminars. Negotiating Culture: Heritage, Ownership, and Intellectual Property examines issues of cultural heritage and intellectual property in a variety of contexts, from contests over tangible artifacts to more abstract forms of culture such as language and oral traditions.
This past winter, current ISI Fellow Steve Tracy journeyed to China on the first of five visits as the Chu Tian Scholar at Central China Normal University in Wuhan. His duties will include teaching two courses per year, delivering lectures, and supervising graduate students, as well as conducting scientific research and promoting the development of African American literature as a disciplinary field.