News from the Director of Research - May 2023

In This Issue:

• Getting to Know The Huntington
• Introducing the 2023–24 Huntington Fellows
• Upcoming Lectures and Conferences

May 2023 - I joined the Huntington in February 2023 and continue to marvel at my good fortune every day as I enter the gates into our own slice of heaven. The past months have been a whirlwind of orientation meetings with different divisions of The Huntington, planning for a robust slate of lectures and conferences in the coming year, and (most enjoyably) conversations with the Long- and Short-Term Fellows about the work they are doing in our superb collections. I have gotten to know the talented crew of curators and archivists in the Library and Art Museum who assist our scholars, and to learn more about the collections themselves.

The vibe here is unique: the energy and joy that comes from bringing smart people together around a shared commitment to the humanities and the value of archival research is pervasive. And then there are the Botanical Gardens, which are a riot of color after the unprecedented rains of the past winter.

You’ll be introduced to the incoming cohort of fellows who represent a remarkable range of scholarly interests and accomplishments. They hail from 33 states and 14 countries. They come from many disciplines—history, literature, anthropology, music, philosophy, theology, ethnic studies, cartography, linguistics, art and architecture, urban studies. They work in every corner of British, European, North American, and Latin American history and literature, from the medieval period to the present day. We can’t wait to welcome them to The Huntington this year.

Introducing the 2023–24 Huntington Fellows

Each year, The Huntington’s Research division hosts roughly 150 long- and short-term research fellows selected through a competitive, peer-review process that provides $1.4 million in awards. These fellows are a portion of some 2,000 researchers who visit The Huntington annually to mine its massive collection of rare books, manuscripts, maps, photographs, art, and related materials in pursuit of their projects—producing academic monographs and scholarly articles, bestselling and prizewinning books, acclaimed documentary films, and other works related to literature and history. 

This year, The Huntington has awarded long-term research fellowships to support 12 individuals who will be in residence for the full academic year and 126 short-term fellowships (for between one and five months) as well as six travel grants for study in the United Kingdom, Spain, and France. .