News from the John W. Kluge Center: In the Know #4: The Newsletter of the John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress

 In the Know #4: The Newsletter of the John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress

 

We at the Kluge Center continue to extend our heartfelt support for all affected by this outbreak. This newsletter is for supporters and friends who may be missing the intellectual stimulation of our panel discussions and author salons. Below please find helpful links to resources for viewing past discussions, blog posts, updates for current fellowship applications, and information on virtual events. If you know others who may also be interested in our activities, please forward this email their way. As always, the Kluge Center remains committed to bringing the best in publicly engaged conversations your way. Let’s keep the conversation going.

John Haskell, Director of the Kluge Center

 

Events:

The Kluge Center has held two more virtual events since last month’s newsletter:

US Fiscal Policy in the Wake of COVID-19

Andrea Campbell on the Safety Net in a Time of Crisis

 

Twenty Years of Kluge Scholars

This summer, the Kluge Center began work on deepening its connection to the almost 1,000 scholars it has served over the past 20 years. 

An alumni survey revealed a good bit of what we had suspected regarding the value of the Kluge experience, but is nice to have confirmed:

• Kluge scholars remain engaged with the Library’s unique resources, long after their time in residency.
• Kluge scholars cite their time at the Library as important to advancing their public scholarship.
• Kluge scholars recommend the experience to their peers.
• Kluge scholars keep producing award-winning research and often win distinguished awards following their time with us.

We look forward to continuing to support Kluge scholars conducting research so critical for these times, as we develop new programming that will assist our alumni in the years to come.

Questions, comments, or ideas? Please contact us at KlugeAlumni@loc.gov 

 

Support For Virtual Student Experiential Learning

The Kluge Center and the Library continued to support summer learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students. As we do each summer, student interns assisted scholars with their research, but for the first time this assistance was done virtually.  In addition, the Center hosted two of the Library’s Junior Fellows—a unique opportunity for students from around the US to conduct projects important to different areas of the Library. Michael Steffen (University of Iowa), mentored by Giselle Aviles developed a story map of Kluge scholars and research. More about Michael’s project can be found here. Tracee Haupt (University of Maryland), mentored by Janna Deitz, analyzed alumni data and produced visual graphics for alumni outreach and promotion. More on Tracee’s project can be found here.

THANK YOU to all our interns and to our junior fellows for their work to support the Kluge Center this summer: Allison Beltran (Montgomery College), Julia Bliss (University of Vermont), Leo Cao (University of Texas – Austin), Cole Fisher (Montgomery College), Leslie Hoag (SUNY Brockport), Joshua Jensen (NYU), Kathy Li (NYU), Claudia Pagnozzi-Schwam (Georgetown), Michael Xiao (Georgetown).

 

Kluge Kudos and Media Mentions

Kluge Fellow Alda Benjamen edited a special issue, "Narratives of Coexistence and Pluralism in Northern Iraq,” for the Journal of Contemporary Iraq & the Arab World (Volume 14, Issue 1-2). It includes an article by Benjamen, "Village nostalgia: Assyrians, folklore and the hybrid intellectual sphere in modern Iraq", and an interview with Bishop Najeeb Michaeel (responsible for saving a trove of manuscripts from ISIS).

 

Kluge Fellow Gregory Afinogenov’s book “Spies and Scholars” was awarded the HUP Wilson Prize:

He also has a new article out in Kritika that mentions the Library of Congress and its work with Soviet archives.

 

Kluge Fellow Aynne Kokas participated in a panel on the new report released by PEN America on self-censorship by Hollywood studios. She was quoted in the report itself as well as in a Nikkei Asian Review article about it. Kokas wrote in the Washington Post on the TikTok and WeChat bans, and was also quoted in a Slate article on TikTok and international competition with China. She also appeared in Marketplace on China’s first box office weekend since the pandemic began, and a UVAToday Q&A on the TikTok ban.

 

Former Kissinger Chair in Foreign Policy and International Relations Constanze Stelzenmüller wrote for the Financial Times on Europe’s “fateful choice” on Huawei.

 

Carnegie Chair in U.S.-China Relations Carla Freeman appeared in Bloomberg on the fate of extradition treaties with China and the probabilities of developing a COVID vaccine.

 

Hal Brands, the current Kissinger Chair, released a report with Tim Nichols on the role of special operations forces in counterterrorism and authoritarian power-struggles.

 

In Fivethirtyeight, Distinguished Visiting Scholar Julia Azari discussed whether President Trump has the power to change the date of the election.

 

Did You Know? Interesting Facts About the Kluge Center

 

Did you know the Kluge center identified 37 different countries where fellows originated from?

 

Did you know the first director of the Kluge center was Prosser Gifford, and that he passed away recently? Read his obituary in the Library of Congress Gazette.

 

Insights: The Kluge Center’s Blog

Kluge Intern Leslie Hoag wrote on the experience of interning during a pandemic, and Junior Fellow Michael Steffen wrote about how to create a great digital humanities project. Michael Stratmoen interviewed Patrick Andelic about being a two-time Kluge scholar, and Boris Granovskiy interviewed Michael Collins about the history of Dalit activism in India.

 

Currently open fellowship application:

 

David B. Larson Fellowship in Health and Spirituality

Current Deadline: August 31

 

Social Media:

Be sure to follow our Twitter account to get all the latest on our blog posts, open applications, and any future events.

 

We Want to Hear From You:

Do you have thoughts on what would make an interesting blog post? What about an idea for event programming when public events are back up and running? Please reply to this email or contact Andrew Breiner at abreiner@loc.gov.