Past Recipients

2011

Professor Mary Bachvarora, Department of Classical Studies
The Oral Background of Hurro-Hittite Narrative Song

A summer research project consisting of two papers on interconnected topics that are a by-product of her book, From Hittite to Homer. One paper was published in Zeitschrift für Assyriologie, an internationally recognized journal, while the other was presented at the Eighth International Conference of Hittitology in Warsaw, Poland and published shortly thereafter.

Professor Andries Fourie, Department of Art
Investigating Ancient Southern San Rock Art from Namibia: Realism and Abstraction as a Means of Communicating a Connection to the Natural World

A project that included studying ancient San rock art in Namibia. Fourie also taught a sculpture workshop at the University of Namibia in Windhoek. Works have been exhibited at the Katutura Art Center in Windhoek, Namibia, and at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art.

Professor Ortwin Knorr, Department of Classical Studies
The Self-defeating Trickster: Metageneric Humor in Terence's Heautontimorumenos (The Self-Tormentor)

A summer project that resulted in the creation of an article manuscript that explores the role of Syrus, the scheming slave in Terence's comedy Heautontimorumenos.

Professor Scott Pike, Department of Environmental and Earth Sciences
The Acropolis Marble Project

A study of the marbles used in the construction of the Parthenon and Propylaea atop the Athenian Acropolis. Professor Pike hopes to identify the precise quarries from which different elemnets of the monuments originated to improve our understanding of how these magnificent buldings came to be.

2010

Professor Robert Chenault, Departments of Classical Studies and History
The Forum of Trajan in the Fourth Century

A summer research and scholarly writing project to produce a scholarly article for publication in a peer-reviewed journal on the Forum of Trajan in the Fourth Century as it relates to late Roman political, cultural, and urban history.

Professor Ricardo De Mambro Santos, Department of Art History
The Roman Muse: The Emergence of a Collective Identitiy in Italian Art between the 18th and 19th Century and the Cultural Phenomenon of the 'Renaissance Revival'

An investigation of the ancient and modern works of art gathered by Count Alessandro Maggiori (1764-1832) to understand the process of redefinition of concepts such as "Classical" and "Renaissance" as critical categories in the 18th Century and the emergence of a collective artistic identity known as the "Italian" tradition, having Rome as its multi-layered point of convergence.

Professor Rebecca Dobkins, Department of Anthropology
Australian Aboriginal Art Exhibition

A project to travel to and study collections of Australian aboriginal art in Canberra, Melbourne, and Sydney, Australia with the aim of curating an exhibition to be hosted by the Hallie Ford Museum of Art.

Professor James Thompson, Art Department
The Surface Relationships Inherent in Stone of Ancient Neolithic Scotland

A research project in Scotland exploring the spatial and surface relationships of stone objects, structures and sites from Ancient Scotland and will result in the production of an entirely new, comprehensive body of paintings (and hopefully an accompanying catalogue) for a scheduled upcoming exhibition in 2013.

2009

Professor Robert Chenault, Departments of Classical Studies and History
The Fall of Rome in 410 CE

A summer research and writing project undertaken in the libraries of the University of Chicago and Northwestern University with the goal of producing a new chapter for an in-progress book manuscript entitled, Rome Without Emperors: The Revival of a Senatorial City in the Fourth Century CE.

Professor Ricardo De Mambro Santos, Department of Art History
Renaissance Revival: A Historical Study of Count Alessandro Maggiori's Collection of Prints and Drawings from the 16th to the 18th Century

A collaborative research, writing, and curatorial project focusing on the collection of prints and drawings gathered by Count Maggiori (1764-1834), with the intention of investigating the process of redefinition of the concept of “Renaissance” as a critical category during the 18th century and, its formal, conceptual, and ideological connections with the study and emulation of ancient Roman works.

Professor Ortwin Knorr, Department of Classical Studies
Lyra’s Odyssey: The Homeric Subtext of Philip Pullman’s Fantasy Trilogy “His Dark Materials”

A research and writing project with the goal of producing a scholarly article for publication in a peer-reviewed journal on the reception of Homer’s Odyssey in Philip Pullman’s trilogy.

Professor James Thompson, Art Department
A Contemporary Pict

A preliminary field research trip to Scotland in order to study the mark-making of the ancient Picts and how it relates to and influences the artist’s work as a contemporary printmaker and descendant of the Scottish Celts. Intended as preparation for the production of a new series of intaglio prints inspired by the Neolithic landscape of northern Scotland and the incised marks found upon the stones there and in the designated World Heritage Site of Orkney.

2008

Professor Mary R. Bachvarova, Department of Classical Studies
From Hittite to Homer: The Anatolian Background of Greek Epic and Prayer

A research and writing project with the goal of completing a book manuscript focused on understanding Greek epic and early lyric poetry, using
Hittite texts as comparanda. The book is envisioned as the first in a series that will elucidate the prehistory of ancient Greek culture.

Professor Sammy Basu, Department of Politics
‘The Part of You that Wanted to Tell the Jokes’: Plato’s Republic and Talking about Justice in Jest

A research and writing project with the goal of producing the first, foundational chapter for a book manuscript on humor and deliberative democracy.

Professor Scott Pike, Department of Environmental and Earth Sciences; Archaeology Program
Dynamic Landscapes: The Sangro Valley Project and Willamette University

A summer excavation and research project intended to integrate geomorphological studies into the interpretative paradigm of the Sangro Valley landscape archaeology project. A secondary goal of the project was to establish Willamette University as a sponsoring institution of the Sangro Valley Project and to establish a summer archaeological field school for Willamette students.

Professors David McCreery and Xijuan Zhou, Department of Religious Studies; Archaeology Program
Beliefs and Ritual Reflected at the Xiaohe Excavation

A preliminary field research trip to China intended as the first step in a collaborative research project relating to the study of beliefs and rituals reflected in the Xiaohe excavation and at other archaeological sites in the Turfan and Ili regions that are equally important.

Professor Ann M. Nicgorski, Department of Art History; Archaeology Program
From Hestia’s Sacred Fire to Christ’s Eternal Light: Ancient and Medieval Oil Lamps from the Bogue Collection, Middle East Studies Center, Portland State University

A research, writing, and curatorial project on a significant unpublished collection of ancient and medieval lamps in preparation for an exhibition of these lamps at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art that accompanied by a published exhibition brochure.)