NEH Will Support Rudy's Project on Global British Poetry

Assistant Professor Jason Rudy has been awarded a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities for his new book-length project.

The fellowship will provide Dr. Rudy with release time to pursue his new book-length project,  "British Poetry and National Identity en route: 1824-1868." The project analyzes nineteenth-century British poetry in a global context, from poems printed on ships sailing to Australia to poetry written in letters and journals by British citizens traveling in India, Chile, and Canada. 

"This alternative archive of British poetry composed from abroad reshapes our understanding of poetry written during this period and, more important, suggests how poetry reflects upon and influences the construction of national identity both at home and in the world at large," says Dr. Rudy.

Rudy began research for this project while teaching his study abroad class in Sydney, ENGL 379D Australian Literature and Culture: Aboriginal to Contemporary. He will be using his fellowship year to look at archives in Cape Town and Kolkata, among other places.

"Winning an NEH fellowship is a significant achievement for any faculty member, of course, and it is especially impressive (and unusual) for an assistant professor to win this prestigious award," says Department Chair Kent Cartwright.
 
Jason R. Rudy is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Maryland. His first book, Electric Meters: Victorian Physiological Poetics, was published by Ohio University Press/Swallow Press in 2009.