Bo is a third-year MFA candidate in Studio Art whose research explores the intersection of ecological memory, participatory art, and Korean diasporic practices. Her work integrates archival inquiry, traditional materials, and environmental pedagogy to address climate grief and collective repair. As a Renaissance of the Earth Fellow, Bo will examine early modern texts focusing on cultivation tools and land management practices to explore transhistorical agrarian knowledge and sustainability.
Aliza is a PhD candidate in the Department of Environmental Conservation, where she studies wild bees in forests. She also serves as co-chair of the UMass Bee Campus USA Committee, working to enhance pollinator habitats on campus and engage the UMass community in pollinator education and stewardship. As a Renaissance of the Earth Fellow, Aliza will document pollinators at the Kinney Center and explore connections between the entomological techniques she uses today and early modern methods of observing the natural world.
Abbi is a sophomore double-majoring in English and Theater with a minor in Education. Their academic interests include indigenous identities, art, as well as Renaissance and Romantic literatures. Abbi is pursuing questions of indigeneity, decolonization, and multicultural performances of Shakespeare across time.
A first-year English PhD with a focus in Early Modern drama, Katharine is also a director, dramaturg, and theater deviser with research interests that sit at the intersection of editorial history, performance practice, and feminist criticism. Katharine is curious about how Shakespeare’s editors have had the power to amplify or remove details regarding the specificity of language and presence of characters on the page, and what ramifications those choices have had on legacies of Shakespeare in performance.
Past Fellows
Hannah is a Senior earning her B.S in Sustainable Food and Farming and B.A in English with a specialization in Environmental Humanities. Her interests include horticulture, sustainable and ethical farming practices, botany, herbalism, early herbal writing, indigenous representation in early modern English literature, and feminist theory. Hannah works with the Kinney Center's rare book collection to inform Renaissance of the Earth research and programming. Learn more about her research on the Renaissance of the Earth blog.
Melanie is a Senior earning degrees in Horticulture Science and Sustainable Food and Farming through the Stockbridge School of Agriculture. Her interests include gardening, botany, conservation practices in Indigenous cultures, and community engagement through local gardens. Melanie manages the Renaissance garden while pursuing her own research through the Center's book collection.
Ayesha Mukherjee is our inaugural Gillespie Curatorial Fellow in Shakespeare & the Book. A sophomore, double-majoring in English and Anthropology, she has a keen interest in book-binding practices (as a book binder herself), performance history, and museum studies. Her exhibit will open at the Kinney Center in April.