Two faculty members in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis have won prestigious research fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).
Caroline Kita, associate professor of German and of comparative literature, will receive $60,000 to support her latest book project, “Border Territories: The Emancipatory Soundscapes of Postwar German Radio Drama.” Building on Kita’s previous work in music, theater and sound studies, the project explores the importance of German radio dramas, or Hörspiel, as unique modes of cultural critique and political commentary in the aftermath of World War II.
Samuel Shearer, assistant professor of African and African American studies, will receive $60,000 to support “The Kigali After: A New City for the End of the World.” Shearer’s scholarship focuses on the design, production and destruction of urban space in Africa. In “The Kigali After,” he will examine the politics of urban design and displacement, as well as dual crises of capitalism and ecology, in Rwanda’s rapidly urbanizing capital.
Kita and Shearer — who both received early research support from WashU’s Center for the Humanities in Arts & Sciences — are among 73 scholars from across the United States to receive NEH fellowships, which were announced Jan. 11. In all, the NEH awarded $24.7 million to support 208 humanities projects.
Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the NEH supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation. For more information, visit neh.gov.
