National Endowment for the Humanities selects Virginia Blanton

Virginia Blanton, professor of English and associate faculty in Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, has been selected as a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Scholar.  The Endowment is a federal agency that supports summer enrichment opportunities for faculty to collaborate and study with experts in humanities disciplines.

Blanton will attend “Arts, Architecture, and Devotional Interaction, 1200-1600” at the University of York, England, to do additional research for a book project. Her work, “Shaping English Identities: Sanctity and Devotion in Late Medieval England,” illustrates how medieval people used visual and textual images of native saints to create a sense of self and a regional identity.”

The 16 teachers selected to participate in the program each receive a stipend of $3,300 to help with travel, study, and living expenses. Approximately 437 NEH Summer Scholars will teach over 113,925 American students in the coming year.