Program_Fellows Celebration 2026

Institute for the Arts and Humanities

2026 Fellows Celebration

January 20, 2026

Table of Contents Fellows Celebration 2026

Message from the Interim Director About Gabrielle Berlinger (FFP ’25) Maya Berry (FFP ’21) Fitz Brundage (FFP ’04; ALP ’06) Lisa Calvente (FFP ’25) Gabrielle Calvocoressi (FFP ’26) Maggie Cao (FFP ’19) Marsha Collins (FFP ’90, ’91, ’01; ALP ’05) Renée Alexander Craft (FFP ’13) Janet Downie (FFP ’22) Al Duncan (FFP ’26) Kathleen DuVal (FFP ’13, ’22), Oswaldo Estrada (FFP ’11, ’16, ’21) Samuel Ray Gates (FFP ’22) Julia Gibson (FFP ’24) Shannon Malone Gonzalez (FFP ’23) Stephanie Elizondo Griest (FFP ’15, ’23) Antwain Hunter (FFP ’26) Michelle King (FFP ’23) Miguel La Serna (FFP ’15) Jacqueline Lawton (FFP ’18) Mariska Leunissen (FFP ’16) Pamela Lothspeich (FFP ’12, ’23)

Table of Contents Fellows Celebration 2026

Patricia McAnany (FFP ’11) Hassan Melehy (FFP ’12) Hugo Méndez (FFP ’22) Daniel Muñoz (FFP ’23) Christopher Nelson (FFP ’06, ’14; ALP ’16) C.D.C. Reeve (FFP ’10) Daniel Sherman (FFP ’17) Hồng-An Trương (FFP ’13, ’26) Daniel Wallace (FFP ’18) Rebecca Walker (FFP ’15, ’24; ALP ’26) Margaret Wiener (FFP ’96, ’02, ’07) Molly Worthen (FFP ’17) Upcoming Events at the IAH

Message from the Interim Director Elizabeth Olson (FFP ’17, ’24; ALP ’19) Every year, we celebrate the remarkable, career-defining accomplishments of the IAH Fellows. One of my greatest joys of serving as interim director has been to witness these works evolve from ideas around the Fellows table, to the finished products that can be enjoyed by many.

In difficult years, celebrating can feel indulgent, but I believe that recognizing our collective scholarship is an essential part of realizing the founding principles of our university – lux libertas, light and liberty. Celebration acknowledges the excellence we strive for, the commitment of skill and time, and the indelible role that independent scholarship plays in the realization of our university’s purpose.

Seen from this perspective, celebration is part of the work itself. I think of it as akin to scratching a fermata over a note in a musical score, because it is an invitation to linger and reflect. It insists on the importance of our efforts. We do not surrender our great work to silence; we let it hang in the air, impossible to ignore.

Thank you for your light, and congratulations.

About

The Institute for the Arts and Humanities Housed within the College of Arts and Sciences, the Institute for the Arts and Humanities was founded in 1987 by religious studies professor Ruel W. Tyson Jr. and College dean Gillian T. Cell.

Today, the Institute empowers faculty to achieve their full potential by creating community and cultivating leadership. At the heart of this mission is the affirmation of the crucial value of the arts and humanities to the life of the university and the world.

The Institute’s Faculty Fellowship Program provides on-campus, semester-long leaves for faculty members in the College to pursue research and creative work that leads to publication, exhibition, composition, and performance. This opportunity not only shapes our Faculty Fellows during their semester in Hyde Hall, but also contributes to each respective field and discipline, and allows Fellows to bring the knowledge they have acquired back into the classroom.

The Institute is honored to celebrate and recognize all work produced by Faculty Fellows throughout their careers.

Gabrielle Berlinger (FFP ’25)

American Studies

The Lives of Jewish Things: Collecting and Curating Material Culture, co-editor, Wayne State University Press In this edited volume, Berlinger and Ruth von Bernuth explore the people and contexts that imbue Jewish material culture with its meaning.

Supported by an Arts and Humanities Publication Support Grant.

Maya Berry (FFP ’21)

African, African American, and Diaspora Studies

Defending Rumba in Havana: The Sacred and the Black Corporeal Undercommons, Duke University Press Berry examines rumba, a dance historically popular in working-class Black communities in post-Fidel Cuba.

Completed with support of a Faculty Fellowship.

Received the First Book Award from Duke University Press.

Fitz Brundage (FFP ’04, ALP ’06) History

Foundations of American Democracy: A Critical Documents Reader, co-editor, UNC Press Scholarly Publications This textbook, created by 11 Carolina historians, compiles 21 primary documents, expert introductions, and discussion questions to meet a new UNC System learning requirement.

Learn more about the Foundations of American Democracy, co-written by UNC-Chapel Hill history faculty.

Lisa Calvente (FFP ’25)

Communication

Moving Blackness: Black Circulation, Racism, and Relations of Homespace, Rutgers University Press Calvente uses archival research, interviews, and oral histories to explore Black identity as influenced by communication, culture, power, and racism.

Gabrielle Calvocoressi (FFP ’26)

English and Comparative Literature

The New Economy, Copper Canyon Press Finalist for the 2025 National Book Award for Poetry, Calvocoressi’s collection includes themes about one’s own health and care and connections with others, particularly in difficult times.

Read more about Calvocoressi’s book in a Q&A by the College of Arts and Sciences.

Maggie Cao (FFP ’19)

Art and Art History

Painting US Empire: Nineteenth-Century Art and Its Legacies, University of Chicago Press Cao’s book uses art to consider the “when” and “where” of U.S. imperialist history.

Featured in the 2025-2026 Fellows Forum series.

Supported by an Arts and Humanities Publication Support Grant.

Marsha Collins

(FFP ’90, ’91, ’01; ALP ’90) English and Comparative Literature

Novel Friendships and Community in Cervantes's "Don Quixote," Routledge Collins examines the relationship between the titular character and Sancho Panza in Don Quixote and the significance Miguel de Cervantes placed on friendship in his works.

Renée Alexander Craft (FFP ’13)

Communication

Patacones, Paintbrushes, and Power exhibit (co-curator), African Diaspora Art Museum of Atlanta The exhibit celebrates the collaborations between Panama’s Taller Portobelo and the U.S.-based Creative Currents Artist Collaborative, revealing how AfroPanamanian and African American artists have fueled activism, identity, and community through shared creative practice.

Learn more about the ADAMA exhibit.

Supported by an IAH Event Sponsorship.

Janet Downie (FFP ’22)

Classics

Greek Literary Topographies in the Roman Imperial World, (co-editor), Bloomsbury Academic This edited book focuses on the Greek world between the first and third centuries C.E., and how it was represented in literature, myth, and rhetoric of the period.

Supported by an Arts and Humanities Publication Support Grant.

Al Duncan (FFP ’26)

Classics

Ugly Productions: An Aesthetics of Greek Drama, University of Michigan Press Drawing on concepts of neuroscience, cognition, and emotion, Duncan recognizes the critical role of ugliness played in Greek drama and the emotions it triggered in audiences.

Read more about Duncan’s research on ugliness in drama from UNC Research.

Kathleen DuVal (FFP ’13, ’22)

History

Foundations of American Democracy: A Critical Documents Reader, co-editor, UNC Press Scholarly Publications This textbook, created by 11 Carolina historians, compiles 21 primary documents, expert introductions, and discussion questions to meet a new UNC System learning requirement.

Learn more about the Foundations of American Democracy, co-written by UNC-Chapel Hill history faculty.

Oswaldo Estrada (FFP ’11, ’16, ’21)

Romance Studies

Dreams in Times of War / Soñar en tiempos de Guerra, University of New Mexico Press In a collection of 12 fictional stories, Estrada balances themes of violence with heartfelt characters in an exploration of Latino immigrant experiences. One short story, “Under My Skin,” was a finalist as for the Doris Betts Fiction Prize.

Listen to a 2022 podcast interview with Estrada, where he shared about the book when it was a work in progress.

Completed with support of a Faculty Fellowship.

Samuel Ray Gates (FFP ’22)

Dramatic Art

“Charley” in Death of a Salesman, PlayMakers Repertory Company In his sixth season as a resident company member, Gates appeared as Charley in Arthur Miller’s classic play that returned to PlayMakers as part of its 2024-2025 season.

Julia Gibson (FFP ’24)

Dramatic Art

“Linda Loman” in Death of a Salesman, PlayMakers Repertory Company The Triangle Theatre Review praised Gibson’s performance as the soul of the play, as she “brings a profound dignity” to the character. Nominated for Best Performer in a Play by the Raleigh BroadwayWorld Awards.

“Penelope Sycamore ” in You Can’t Take It With You, PlayMakers Repertory Company Gibson played the matriarch of the eccentric Sycamores in PlayMakers’ winter comedy.

Shannon Malone Gonzalez (FFP ’23)

Sociology

The Secrets of Silence: The Everyday Policing of Black Women and Their Stories about Violence, Princeton University Press Through interviews with Black women on their encounters with police, Malone Gonzalez examines the how those stories are often absent from other accounts of police violence.

Completed with support of a Faculty Fellowship and an Arts and Humanities Publication Support Grant.

Stephanie Elizondo Griest (FFP ’15, ’23)

English and Comparative Literature

Art Above Everything: One Woman's Global Exploration of the Joys and Torments of a Creative Life, Beacon Press Over 10 years and across 12 countries, Griest interviewed 70 women who pursue their artistic passions through all the trials and challenges.

Read a feature on Griest and her book by the College. Her work was also highlighted in NBC News.

Completed with support of a Faculty Fellowship.

Antwain Hunter (FFP ’26)

History

A Precarious Balance: Firearms, Race, and Community in North Carolina, 1715-1865, UNC Press Hunter explains the reasons free and enslaved Black people in North Carolina acquired and used firearms, challenging readers to consider race and firearms in U.S. history.

Michelle King (FFP ’23)

History

Modern Chinese Foodways (co-editor), MIT Press King is an editor on this collection, which is the first of its kind in signifying the importance of contemporary Chinese foodways in Western-dominated culinary studies.

Read more about King’s book in a Q&A with the College of Arts and Sciences.

Qie chao guan xue Chinese edition of Chop Fry Watch Learn, which was shortlisted for the Baifang Schell China Book Prize and a finalist for the International Association of Culinary Professionals Book Award (Literary or Historical Food Writing).

Miguel La Serna (FFP ’15)

History

Foundations of American Democracy: A Critical Documents Reader, co-editor, UNC Press Scholarly Publications This textbook, created by 11 Carolina historians, compiles 21 primary documents, expert introductions, and discussion questions to meet a new UNC System learning requirement.

Learn more about the Foundations of American Democracy, co-written by UNC-Chapel Hill history faculty.

Jacqueline Lawton (FFP ’18)

Dramatic Art

The Royale, dramaturg, PlayMakers Repertory Company Lawton was the dramaturg for the opening production in PlayMakers’ 2025-2026 season. As dramaturg, Lawton provided research and historical context for the play’s production team.

Mariska Leunissen (FFP ’16)

Philosophy

Aristotle's Gynecology: Facts, Evidence, and Early Medicine, Oxford University Press Leunissen examines the ways in which Aristotle situated his approach with the lived experiences of women in Ancient Greece.

Pamela Lothspeich (FFP ’12, ’23)

Asian and Middle Eastern Studies

The Radheshyam Ramayan in Text and Performance, Oxford University Press Lothspeich explores the life of poet and singer-storyteller Pandit Radheshyam Kathavachak and how he rewrote and revised the classic Indian story Ramayan.

Patricia McAnany (FFP ’11)

Anthropology

Faces of Rulership in the Maya Region (co-editor), Harvard University Press Contributors to this edited volume outline the leadership of varied Mayan rulers and their relationships with subject peoples as revealed by material objects and cultural impact, both ancient and modern.

Hassan Melehy (FFP ’12)

Romance Studies

Equinox Island: Poems 1954-1991 (translation), Spuyten Duyvil Melehy provides a new English translation to the works of celebrated poet Jean Fanchette.

Watch a video of Melehy reading from Equinox Island.

Hugo Méndez (FFP ’22)

Romance Studies

The Gospel of John: A New History, Oxford University Press Méndez argues that the Gospel of John was written by an anonymous author and not a disciple of Jesus, which then inspired a trend of supposed narrators for other Biblical letters and books.

Listen to a podcast interview with Méndez about the book, which he worked on during his IAH fellowship.

Featured in the 2025-2026 Fellows Forum series.

Completed with support of a Faculty Fellowship and Arts and Humanities Publication Support Grant.

Daniel Muñoz (FFP ’23)

Philosophy

Ethical Theory: 50 Puzzles, Paradoxes, and Thought Experiments, co-author, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group Muñoz and Sarah Stroud provide introductions, discussions, questions, and more for a series of philosophical puzzles, paradoxes, and thought experiments.

Christopher Nelson (FFP ’06, ’14; ALP ’16) Anthropology

When the Bones Speak: The Living, the Dead, and the Sacrifice of Contemporary Okinawa, Duke University Nelson traces the experiences of contemporaries around the Battle of Okinawa and the ways that they commemorated and challenged the casualties and consequences of the battle.

Featured in the 2025-2026 Fellows Forum series.

Completed with support of a Faculty Fellowship and an Arts and Humanities Publication Support Grant.

Read more about Nelson’s book in a Q&A with the College of Arts and Sciences.

C.D.C Reeve (FFP ’10)

Philosophy

Aristotle: Complete Works, co-editor, Hackett Publishing Company Reeve and co-editor Pavlos Kontos provide the first new English-language translation of Aristotle’s writings since the 1950s.

Marinat Tsvetaeva: The Story of Sonechka, cotranslator, Cherry Orchard Press Reeve and I.B. Fisbeyn translate Tsvetaeva’s memoir of the poet’s life and love for actress Sonia Holliday (Sonechka) amidst the communist revolution in Moscow.

Daniel Sherman (FFP ’17)

Art and Art History

Sensations: French Archaeology between Science and Spectacle, 1890-1940, The University of Chicago Press Sherman explores the tension between the rigors of science and the potential for sensationalism as seen through two controversies within French archaeology.

Read a feature on Sherman and his book in the Carolina Arts & Sciences magazine.

Completed with support of a Faculty Fellowship.

Hồng-An Trương (FFP ’13, ’26)

Art and Art History

With love from your Vietnamese Sisters, exhibition, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University Using archival materials, Trương’s exhibition responds to an item in the Radcliffe Institute’s collection of a scrapbook given by the Vietnam Committee for Solidarity with he American People to activist Angela Davis.

Womb of Fire - Dạ Lửa, Mơ Art Space, Hànoi, Vietnam Trương is a featured artist in this exhibition celebrating Vietnamese female artists and centering their voices and experiences.

Daniel Wallace (FFP ’18)

English and Comparative Literature

Beneath the Moon and Long Dead Stars, Bull City Press Through a collection of his shortest stories, Wallace explores the emotion of longing in human beings.

Read more about Wallace’s book in a Q&A from the College of Arts and Sciences.

Rebecca Walker (FFP ’15, ’24; ALP ’26) Philosophy

Of Mice and Primates: Virtue Ethics and Animal Research, Oxford University Press Walker explores the moral questions around animal research and the way virtue ethics may be used to evaluate and improve laboratory animal research.

Completed with support of a Faculty Fellowship.

Margaret Wiener (FFP ’96, ’02, ’07)

Anthropology

Magic's Translations: Reality Politics in Colonial Indonesia, Duke University Press Decades of research culminate in Wiener’s book that argues concepts of magic – particularly with Dutch colonizers with Indonesians in the 19th and 20th centuries – were used to differentiate and subjugate non-European cultures.

Featured in the 2025-2026 Fellows Forum series.

Completed with support of a Faculty Fellowship.

Molly Worthen (FFP ’17)

History

Spellbound: How Charisma Shaped American History from the Puritans to Donald Trump, Forum Books Worthen investigates charisma in U.S. politics through its religious origin, exploring the impact of charismatic leadership to better understand today’s political landscape.

Featured in the 2025-2026 Fellows Forum series.

Completed with support of a Faculty Fellowship.

Charismatic Leaders Who Remade America, Audible Worthen goes through her work on charismatic leadership, with a focus on the politicians, philosophers, billionaires, cult leaders, and more and how they shaped American history.

Upcoming Events at the IAH Spring 2026

JAN. 30

Fellows Forum Maggie Cao

FEB. 24

MARCH 05

Weil Lecture with Ada Límon

Fellows Forum Hugo Méndez

Reckford Lecture with Stéphane Gerson

MARCH 24

APRIL 17

iah.unc.edu

Fellows Forum Shakirah Hudani