Spring 2021 Faculty Grant Awardees

Mary T. Freeman (History)
“Nineteenth-Century Black Politics in Maine: Historical Research and Activist Legacies”

Assistant Professor of History Mary T. Freeman received funding support for two related projects examining the historical legacy of nineteenth-century Black political activism in Maine. The first is an event (virtual) — to be held July 22, 2021, in collaboration with the Maine Historical Society — in which Freeman will moderate a panel about 19th century Black political activism in Maine, and the second involves research tracing nineteenth-century Black politics in Maine through the life of Reuben Ruby, one of the central figures in the founding of the Abyssinian Meeting House and the cause of abolitionism in Maine.

Liam Riordan (History)
“Loyalist Exile and Opportunity: Forced Migration and Colonial State Formation in the Wabanaki Homeland”

Professor of History Liam Riordan received funding for image reproduction and publication rights to two images that he analyzes in his essay “Loyalist Exile and Opportunity: Forced Migration and Colonial State Formation in the Wabanaki Homeland,” in the forthcoming volume Moving under Pressure in an Age of War and Revolutions (c. 1750–1830). The images are “We Walk On Eternally” (2020) by James Eric Francis, Sr., a multimedia artist and director of cultural and historic preservation, Penobscot Nation, and Fitz Henry Lane’s, “Castine from Fort George,” (1856), in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Daniel H. Sandweiss (Anthropology)
“Indigenous Disaster Management under Colonial Rule: Lessons from the 1578 El Niño Event in Coastal Peru”

Professor of Anthropology Daniel H. Sandweiss received funding to support translation and historical analysis of documents compiled by Spanish scribe Francisco de Alcocer in 1580.

Zachary R. Ludington (Modern Languages and Classics)
“Portuguese Language Proficiency”

The Center awarded funding for tuition (and associated fees) for Assistant Professor of Spanish Zachary Ludington’s enrollment in a Portuguese language summer school course at the University of Massachusetts – Dartmouth (the University of Maine does not currently offer courses in Portuguese). Developing proficiency in Portuguese will be required for Ludington to complete the book project he is embarking upon, tentatively titled, A Pastoral Avant-Garde: Paradoxes of Modernity in Iberian Poetry.

Margo Lukens (English)
“‘Still They Remember Me’: Penobscot Transformer Tales, volume 1”

Margo Lukens, professor of English, received publication support for “Still They Remember Me”: Penobscot Transformer Tales, volume 1, which Lukens co-authored with Penobscot language master Carol Dana and Conor Quinn. The book, which is copyrighted by the Penobscot Nation Cultural and Historic Preservation Office, was published by the University of Massachusetts Press in June 2021.

Susan Camp (Art)
“Duet”

Susan Camp, adjunct associate professor of art, received funding for Duet, a collaborative project melding original poetry by Kay Retzlaff, University of Maine at Augusta professor of English, with photographs of Camp’s ephemeral sculptures. Duet investigates the concept of the Feminine Divine while bringing ancient myths into present times. The project will culminate in a chapbook and exhibition combining their work.