September 2018 is here, and with summer winding down in D.C., the Kluge Center welcomed six new fellows into residence, including three from our Kluge Fellowship Program. Here are the projects that they will be working on:
Joel Blecher, an incoming Kluge Fellow, arrived from George Washington University. During his residency, Joel will conduct research on his project, “Profit and Prophecy: Islam and the Spice Trade from Venice to India.” Joel will examine the Mansuri and Minassian collections within the Africa and Middle East Division, which contain Arabic manuscripts concerning the regulation of commercial and economic life. He will also examine Venetian-Italian book and travel accounts located in the European Division and Rare Books Division, as well as Urdu-language resources located in the Asian Division, among many other works and collections across the Library’s holdings.
Margot Canaday, an incoming ACLS Burkhardt Fellow, arrived from Princeton University. During her residency, Margot will focus on her project, “Pink Precariat: LGBT Workers in the Shadow of Civil Rights, 1945-2000.” Margot will examine the Frank Kameny manuscript collections. Kameny was known for fighting unsuccessfully to regain his job in the Army after he was fired for his homosexuality, and later fought against discriminatory federal employment policies.
Katrin Horn, an incoming Bavarian Academy fellow, arrived from the University of Bayreuth. During her residency, Katrin will research, “Economy and Epistemology of Gossip in late 19th-and early 20th-Century US Literature and Culture.” Katrin will utilize the Manuscript Division, specializing in the personal papers of Charlotte Cushman, as well as the collected papers of socialite Evalyn Walsh McLean. Additionally, Katrin will look at etiquette guides and advice literature from the 19th century and 19th century periodicals located in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division.
Liliya Karimova, a second incoming Kluge Fellow this month, also arrived from George Washington University. During her residency, Liliya will concentrate on: “By the Grace of God: Women, Islam, and Transformation in Russia.” Liliya will utilize three kinds of Tarter-language materials in the collections. These include works written by present-day Muslim Tarter leaders, secondary source material related to how Muslim Tartar scholars in the nineteenth century understood issues that are at the heart of present-day discussions on Islam in Russia, and prominent Tartar-language secular and Muslim periodicals over the past two decades. These periodicals are only found in their entirety at the Library of Congress.
Victoria Langland, a second incoming ACLS Burkhardt Fellow this month, arrived from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. During her residency, Victoria will research, “From Wet Nurses to Milk Banks: A History of Breastfeeding in Brazil.” Victoria will utilize the Library’s Hispanic Division’s collections to continue her work on a book project that explores the history of breastfeeding in Brazil from the late 19th century until the present.
Samantha Seely, our third incoming Kluge Fellow this month, arrived from the University of Richmond. During her residency, Samantha will conduct research on her project, “Race and Removal in the Early American Republic.” Samantha will utilize the American Colonization Society records within the Manuscript Division, especially records from the 1820s and 1830s, as well as the papers of several individuals, including William Thornton, James McHenry, and President James Monroe.
Check back next month for more arriving scholars. Click here for the full list of scholars currently in residence.