VCU news

By Brian McNeill

Historian Richard Godbeer, Ph.D. — an expert on religious culture, witchcraft and issues of gender and sexuality in Colonial and Revolutionary America — has joined Virginia Commonwealth University as the inaugural director of the Humanities Research Center.

Godbeer, who joins VCU from the Department of History at the University of Miami, said the newly established center’s mission is to increase awareness of the humanities, to support faculty research and to enhance excellence in the humanities through intellectual exchange across traditional disciplinary boundaries.

"The idea is that we will build bridges between individuals, across departments, across the university — and, in the coming years, I want to come up with a series of programs that reach out into the community, engaging with a range of institutions in Richmond and the larger region," he said.

Godbeer is the author of five books: "The Devil's Dominion: Magic and Religion in Early New England," "Sexual Revolution in Early America," "Escaping Salem: The Other Witch Hunt of 1692," "The Overflowing of Friendship: Love Between Men and the Creation of the American Republic" and "The Salem Witch Hunt: A Brief History with Documents." He is currently writing a book about a Quaker couple, Elizabeth and Henry Drinker, who lived in Philadelphia during the American Revolution.

The Humanities Research Center, which is part of the College of Humanities and Sciences, has so far awarded 10 summer research grants to VCU faculty members working on humanities projects, including a biography of Oscar Wilde by English professor Nicholas Frankel, Ph.D.; a digital critical edition of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by English professor Les Harrison, Ph.D.; and an exploration of the work of French filmmaker René Vautiern by School of World Studies professor Peter Kirkpatrick, Ph.D.

The center has also named four VCU faculty members who will undertake residential fellowships in the spring 2015 semester. Each of the fellows is working on book projects related to the theme of "Authorizing Health: Community Interpretations and Regulation of the Gendered Body."

"The residential fellowships will enable four scholars to come together each year and focus on a topic that they have in common with each other, meeting on a weekly basis to discuss their work and learn from each other," Godbeer said.

The first group of Humanities Research Center Residential Fellows includes:

·   History Professor Leigh Ann Craig, Ph.D., who is working on "Obsessed, Vexed, and Frenzied: Diagnoses of Senselessness, 1240-1500.” ·  Christine Cynn, Ph.D., a professor in gender, sexuality and women's studies, who is working on "The ABCs of United States Funded HIV Prevention Media in West and East Africa." ·  Kathryn Meier, Ph.D., a history professor, who is working on "The Contested Civil War Soldier Body." ·   Sachi Shimomura, Ph.D., an English professor, who is working on "Gendered Memories, Gendered Communities: Viewing Holy Bodies in Anglo-Saxon England."

The center will also convene interdisciplinary research groups to encourage conversation and creativity among faculty and graduate students from different departments but with common interests. The idea, Godbeer said, is that participants will read one anothers' works-in-progress and build an intellectual community.

"When [faculty] are juggling their teaching, their research, their service and their everyday personal responsibilities, it can sometimes be quite challenging to find the time to get together in groups to talk about their work, but if you have a unit that creates opportunities for people to meet and engage, they are often not only willing but excited to do so."

Eight groups have been established so far, with two focused on helping faculty navigate the challenges associated with writing books. "I’ve been delighted by the enthusiastic response," Godbeer said.

The center is also planning a number of lectures and workshops through the upcoming academic year, including a speaker series showcasing VCU faculty members who have recently written books. All of the events will be open to the public.

Each year, Godbeer said, the center will host a number of events centered on one overarching theme.

"In this opening year, for example, many of the events focus on the intersections of gender, sex, race and religion," he said. "There's clearly much interest in these issues among the faculty and students, and certainly these themes really matter in terms of Richmond's rich and complicated history."

Godbeer said he wants the center to be a valuable resource to faculty and students, as well as the wider community.

"I want the center to address issues that connect to local issues, national issues and international issues — because VCU is proudly engaged locally, nationally and globally," he said.

 

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