Liberal Arts faculty receive National Endowment for the Humanities grants

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) recently announced $30.9 million in grants to support 188 humanities projects in 45 states and the District of Columbia. According to NEH Chairman Jon Parrish Peede, “the grants will expand access to the country’s wealth of historical, literary and artistic resources by helping archivists and curators care for important heritage collections, and using new media to inspire examination of significant texts and ideas.”

Three faculty members from Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts are recipients of the prestigious grants.

Eric Hayot, distinguished professor of comparative literature and Asian studies, received a grant for a project titled “An Inquiry into Humanist Reason.” Hayot plans to use his grant monies to complete a book on the philosophical history of the divide between humanities, social sciences and science, and the future of humanistic thought.

Ran Zwigenberg, assistant professor of Asian studies and Jewish studies, will conduct research and writing leading to a book on how mental health professionals and other researchers understood the psychological consequences of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Zwigenberg’s project is titled “Nuclear Minds: Cold War Psychological Science and Hiroshima.”

Professor of Italian Sherry Roush received a grant for a project titled “The First Novel Specially Written for Women: An Edition and Translation of Jacopo Caviceo's ‘Peregrino’ (1508).” With her grant, Roush plans to complete the first English translation of the popular early Italian novel.