History Professors Receive Fellowship Awards for Humanities Research

Morgantown, W.Va., September 24, 2007:  The Eberly College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of History are now home to three recipients of the 2007 Fellowship Award given by the West Virginia Humanities Council.  West Virginia University faculty members Tyler Boulware, Katherine Bankole, and Kathryn Staples were awarded $2,500 each to support research and writing projects in the humanities.

Fellowship Awards are open to West Virginia teachers, college faculty and independent scholars who desire to complete independent and collaborative research projects.  The awards can include studies on history, art, theory, archaeology, ethics, language, jurisprudence, literature, philosophy, religion and the social sciences.

Dr. Tyler Boulware, assistant professor of history, teaches and researches early American history with a focus on Native Americans and the colonial frontier.  His proposal, “Deconstructing the Cherokee Nation: Town, Regional, and National Identities among Eighteenth Century Cherokees,” focuses on identifying the formation, border conflict, and nation building of the Cherokees in the southern Appalachian Mountains.

Dr. Katherine Bankole, assistant professor and director of the Center for Black Culture and Research, specializes in African-American history with an emphasis on nineteenth and twentieth century history and Africana Studies.  Her project, “Unforgotten Sister: Nineteenth Century Memoirs of Africana Women,” studies the identity and history of women in the African diaspora.

Dr. Kathryn Staples, assistant professor of history, teaches Medieval Europe, British, and world history with an interest in western civilization and women’s, gender, and family history.  Her proposal, “Flexing Economic Muscle: Interpreting Daughters’ Power in Medieval London,” looks at daughterhood through social and cultural history of medieval and early modern Europe.  

"The Department of History is delighted to have fine young scholars like Professors Boulware, Bankole and Staples,” said Steve Zdatny, chair of the Department of History.  “We are proud of the fact that they have been so successful in winning these competitive grants."

Fellowships provide opportunity for advanced study and research, and recipients must devote time to investigation, reflection, and writing.  Applications for fellowships are judged on concept, definition, and organization of the project, the significance of the proposal to the field of the humanities, and the likelihood that the project will be completed.

For more information, contact the Steve Zdatny at (304) 293-2421 ex.5243 or steve.zdatny@mail.wvu.edu.

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