Last Day at the National Humanities Center

Nine months ago I began a fellowship at the National Humanities Center, and today is the last day. It’s been a remarkable experience–the NHC is an independent institution that promotes the humanities primarily through fostering advanced disciplinary research. It does that by bringing together 40-50 scholars every year to work on individual projects. At the same time, collegiality, disciplinary cross-fertilization, and intellectual enhancement are advanced through communal lunches, common work areas (in addition to our individual studies), voluntary work and study groups, and public lectures. It took me five days of journal entries to review for myself all the things I accomplished this year!

Working alongside musicologists, philosophers, archaeologists, literary critics, art historians, historians, and others, has made for a stimulating and rewarding experience, which I will cherish for a long time. Farewell friends, colleagues, and NHC staff–I will miss you all!