Faculty Fellowships and Awards
NEH Awards for Faculty at Hispanic-Serving Institutions
Andean Cosmopolitans: Indigenous Journeys to the Habsburg Royal Court
PI: Jose Carlos de la Puente
Purpose: To complete the first in-depth study about the travels of native Andeans to the Habsburg royal court in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Andean Cosmopolitans brings to the fore the indigenous leaders and legal agents who played an active part in gaining access to the Spanish system of justice for native Andeans. They influenced Crown policies at the highest level, turning stays at the court into a negotiation about the nature of the state in the New World. The story unfolds simultaneously in distant settings of the early modern Atlantic world. The focus is less on fixed ethnic and legal identifications, or on discontinuous places and regions, as it is on fluid identities, interconnections, and the interplay between local and global scenarios. Dr. De la Puente highlights the role played by native Andeans in the formation of a "legal Atlantic," an organic network of litigants, petitioners, attorneys, and ideas of law and justice bridging courtrooms in Spain and America.
NEH Awards for Faculty at Hispanic-Serving Institutions
Blackbird Singing: Black America Remixes the Beatles
PI: Katie Kapurch
Purpose: Grant will support the research and writing of a book, Blackbird Singing: Black America Remixes the Beatles, contracted with Penn State University Press in its American Music History series. The book offers a comprehensive view of black Americans’ musical engagements with the Beatles, which informs the story of popular music, especially mid-twentieth century rock ‘n’ roll, and, broadly, the study of American culture.
Dr. Kapurch shows how black artists remix the Beatles while tapping into a tradition of African American arts that include music, as well as folklore and literature. In addition to iconic covers, the book analyzes Beatles-inspired songs, mashups, samplings, collaborations, accompanying visual media, including album art and music videos, and online discourse.
ABOUT KATIE KAPURCH
Study of literature and rhetoric leads professor on long and winding road to the Beatles
Assistant professor discusses how Lil Nas X is pushing the boundaries of race in country music
NEWS
Blac Rabbit: Turning on the Beatles Today
“Old Town Road”’s Pop Outlaws: Lil Nas X Remixes the Mac-and-Jack Hustle
