2018 Student Research Fellow Announced

SC Humanities is pleased to announce the 2018 Student Research Fellow: John Sterling Poole of the College of Charleston. Student Research Fellowships are awarded annually on a competitive basis to undergraduate students in their sophomore or junior years attending an accredited university or college in South Carolina to explore research and scholarship in the humanities. The 2018 fellow will conduct humanities research and present his findings in a public program at a South Carolina venue.

John Sterling Poole will investigate “Homegrown: The Importance of Palmetto Writers in Carolina Classrooms” under the guidance of scholar Dr. Maryann Hartshorn. Mr. Poole will conduct an in-depth focus on several works by noted South Carolina authors, including Pat Conroy, Ron Rash, John Lane, Jacob Stroyer, Dubose Heyward, Sue Monk Kidd, Mary Alice Monroe, and Septima P. Clark. He will also explore the current status of curriculum in South Carolina in terms of how well South Carolina authors are included by interviewing teachers, administrators, and students and conducing a survey of students at three schools.

SC Humanities Board of Directors made the decision to begin offering Student Research Fellowships again in 2013 after receiving feedback from deans and professors who attended the Humanities in Higher Education Summits in 2009 and 2011. These academic humanists indicated that there were not many research opportunities available for students majoring in humanities disciplines and that such an opportunity would be encouraging in departments that are often losing funding and majors.

Executive Director Randy Akers said: “I believe it is important to support the work of future scholars and professionals in the humanities and to further stress the viability of the humanities in an increasingly technological age.”

SC Humanities looks forward to supporting Mr. Poole in his interesting research plans. For more information about the Student Research Fellowships, including guidelines and application, please visit the website: https://schumanities.org/grants/studentfellowships/ or contact T.J. Wallace at 803-771-2477 or tjwallace@schumanities.org.

The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. Established in 1973, this 501(c) 3 organization is governed by a volunteer 20-member Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state.  It presents and/or supports literary initiatives, lectures, exhibits, festivals, publications, oral history projects, videos and other humanities-based experiences that directly or indirectly reach more than 250,000 citizens annually.