Splitting the Research
Emerson Foundation supports collaborative discovery
 The
first projects supported by the Emerson Humanities Collaboration
Awards were completed last summer. The Fred L. Emerson Foundation,
a longtime benefactor of Ithaca College, awarded a grant of $250,000
in December 1999 to endow a fund to support collaborative research
between humanities faculty and students, long common in the sciences.
The annual income of about $10,000 is used entirely to pay the
expenses of students whose projects are selected. Student comments
affirm the excitement of discovery and newfound awareness of professional
opportunities made possible by this grant.
"Taking part in the National Endowment for the Humanities art
history seminar in Rome last summer was one of the greatest steps
forward in my college career," says Patrick Rodgers
'01 (in photo, with Nancy Ramage, in Italy), who used his stipend
for travel, lodgings, and conference fees. "The seminar gave me
experiences and contacts that furthered my understanding of art
history, museums, and cultural properties. The focus was on collecting,
a practice and theory I plan to pursue in a museum studies program
in graduate school." He assisted Nancy Ramage, professor of art
history and Charles A. Dana Professor of Humanities and Arts,
in researching the collections of Luciano Bonaparte, who moved
to Rome after a break with his more famous brother and began collecting
paintings and antiquities, even conducting excavations at Etruscan
sites. "Nancy and I were fascinated by the character of Luciano
from the anecdotes about him that we found in the library of the
American Academy in Rome, the Vatican archives, and local libraries.
In the face of this complicated and often enigmatic collection
and collector, Nancy and I split the research. I studied his painting
collection, while she researched his excavations and antiquities.
It was a thrill to work alongside Nancy, a renowned antiquities
expert. I learned much from her research methods and spirit of
discovery, not just at the American Academy, but also as we walked
down the streets or through the museums of Rome, Naples, and Vulci."
Nancy Hendrickson '02 traveled through several
centuries of literature in her research on the history of literary
and cinematic expectations of masculinity. Her stipend from the
Emerson award funded the tuition for her project. "My independent
study proposal was titled 'Images of Men.' Upon completing my
research project with associate English professor Katherine Kittredge,
I wrote a paper titled 'Project Mayhem: Studying Images of Masculinity
in Literature and Cinema.'" From "Restoration Rake" of the 17th
century to Lord Byron's Don Juan, Oscar Wilde's An
Ideal Husband, and Norman Mailer's Tough Guys Don't Dance,
Hendrickson found that expectations of men were high. She also
consulted sociology texts to develop her thesis that images in
literature and film have been "detrimental to the psyches of young
American men." She is gratified, however, that recent works evolving
toward more realistic and even vulnerable images in order to make
becoming a man in America a little more bearable."
Planned studies major Lenelle Moise '02 collaborated
with assistant writing professor Barbara Adams on developing the
Department of Writing's New York City Internship Program in Writing
and Publishing, which is open to juniors and seniors who have
taken at least two writing courses. Using her stipend, Moise researched
and contacted potential internship sites, more than 120 companies
in all. Students will earn three credits, live in New York City,
and intern full-time for 8-10 weeks at a company they choose,
such as a magazine, newspaper, publishing house, public relations
firm, or nonprofit agency. The semester before their internships
begin, students will attend workshops on writing résumés
and cover letters, interviewing, working in a professional environment,
and the like. Once they return to IC, they will each submit a
final report. Moise says, "This experience not only enhanced my
proficiency in recruiting and networking but helped me build a
catalog of contacts, sponsors, and mentors for myself and other
Ithaca College writers. I aspire to be a professional actor, performance
poet, and freelance writer. After finishing my degree at IC, I
hope to attend graduate school in acting and creative writing
in New York City."
These projects will serve as models for how grants such as this
one from the Emerson Foundation can allow students to pursue original
projects that require research, travel, and work-study funding.
And working with faculty outside the classroom will give humanities
undergraduates new views of career opportunities.
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