What does it take to become a Guggenheim fellow? A big idea. Boldness coupled with humility. A keen awareness of just how much time the project will require. And an unwavering curiosity about what it means to be a citizen of our world.
Since 2019, the Department of History in UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences has seen three faculty members awarded fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. It’s a significant accomplishment that signals the university’s strengths in interdisciplinary humanities research.
“In the humanities, certain foundations, fellowships and awards are foundational to a life in learning among communities of scholars that are global in scope and scale,” said Nicholas Allen, director of UGA’s Willson Center for the Humanities and Arts. “The Guggenheim is one of these. The fact that the University of Georgia has been awarded three in the last four years shows how our humanities departments, when well led and supported, can lead the world, thanks in no small part to the individual brilliance of our professors.”
Guggenheim fellowships are intended for individuals who have already demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts. They recognize scholars with the courage to ask the most difficult questions—and the experience to go about answering them.
Image: From left, UGA history professors Claudio Saunt, Cindy Hahamovitch and Scott Nelson. (Photo by Jason Thrasher)