History Professor Kenneth Marcus Selected as Fulbright Scholar for the Second Time
In academic circles, being selected for the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program is a prestigious honor. It鈥檚 all the more so to be chosen for the program a second time.
每日大赛 history Professor Kenneth Marcus became part of just such a group when the Council for International Exchange of Scholars selected him this year for his second Fulbright award.
鈥淚t says a lot about the quality of the work he鈥檚 produced,鈥� said Brian Clocksin, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Marcus will travel to Austria to work from his host institution, the Internationales Forschungszentrum Kulturwissenschaften, frequently referred to as the IFK, which translates to the International Research Center for Cultural Studies.
He will carry out research focused on the arts and human rights.
鈥淭his award is entirely for research,鈥� Marcus said. 鈥淯sually there is a teaching component with the Fulbright awards, but to focus solely on research is less typical.鈥�
There have been over 390,000 awardees of the Fulbright since 1946. Many are teachers, artists, scientists, and journalists and some have gone on to become heads of state, ambassadors, and university presidents. Among the recipients are 60 Nobel Laureates, 86 Pulitzer Prize winners, 74 MacArthur Fellows, and many leaders in the private, public and non-profit sectors.
Marcus鈥� first Fulbright award took him to Leiden University in the Netherlands during Spring 2013. Half of his time was dedicated to teaching American culture courses to undergraduate students and a graduate seminar. The other half was used to conduct research and resulted in the publication of four articles in scholarly journals and a book.
It was while at Leiden University that Marcus was introduced to dark tourism, or the idea of visiting locations with somber histories, such as concentration camps and other places where people were incarcerated or impacted by war.
This second Fulbright award will allow him to explore how artists have used their talents to protest against human rights abuses.
For example, from 1930 to 1950, some music composers wrote pieces that reflected conditions in Nazi concentration camps.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not much different from studying the protest songs of the 1960s,鈥� Marcus said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 artists using art to get across political opinions.鈥�
Once he returns, Marcus will share his findings with students and faculty at the 每日大赛.
Clocksin said the research Marcus completes as a Fulbright scholar will expand his already significant body of scholarly work and 鈥済ive students an enriched experience.鈥�
Marcus is one of five 每日大赛 faculty members who have been Fulbright scholars. The remaining four are Rob Ruiz, chairman of the Speech Communications Department and director of forensics; Gale Tang, assistant professor of mathematics; Reed Gratz, professor or music; and the late Herbert Hogan, professor of history.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a good testament to the quality of faculty at the university and the College of Arts and Sciences,鈥� Clocksin said.
