The Archival Collections of Cabrini College: Developing a Plan for Preservation

Recipient: Primiano, Leonard Norman (Radnor, PA 19087-3698 USA) in affiliation with Cabrini College

Goal: A preservation assessment of the Cabrini College archives and manuscript collections documenting religion and the liturgical arts, as well as the life of Francis Xavier Cabrini, the first American saint.

Description: Cabrini College requests a Preservation Assistance grant of $5,350 to improve its ability to preserve and care for the humanities collection of the Archives located in the College's Holy Spirit Library.The grant will allow the College to retain the services of Laura Hortz Stanton from the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts (CCAHA) located in Philadelphia, for development and implementation of a general preservation assessment of the materials in the Archives. The Needs Assessment developed by CCAHA will include three levels of recommendations: 1) a general evaluation of the Archives' needs for preservation including collection storage, handling, and preservation planning; 2) a specific evaluation of building environment (temperature, relative humidity, pollution and light), housekeeping, pest control, fire protection, security, and disaster preparedness; and 3) specific guidelines for exhibition display.

Grant: 199789 / PG-51045-10,   Division: Preservation and Access,   Program: Preservation Assistance Grants,   Year Awarded: 2010

Digital Enhancement, Editing, Translation, and Analysis of the "Dublin Kephalaia"

Recipient: BeDuhn, Jason D (Flagstaff, AZ 86011-6031 USA) in affiliation with Northern Arizona University (Flagstaff, AZ 86011 USA)

Goal: Preparation for publication of an English translation of the Dublin Kephalaia, a 4th century Coptic codex; and a separate volume with commentaries on the codex.

Description: Applying techniques of digital image enhancement developed for this project with the Imaging Lab of the Bilby Research Center of Northern Arizona University, the project team will transcribe, edit, and translate the "Dublin Kephalaia," a previously unreadable 4th century Coptic codex produced by the Manichaean religious community, which promises to provide a major breakthrough in our knowledge of religious pluralism and interaction in pre-Islamic Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

Grant: 196504 / RZ-51086-09,   Division: Research Programs,   Program: Collaborative Research,   Year Awarded: 2009

The Library of Israel in Late Antiquity: Jewish Writings Related to the Bible from the Second Temple Period

Recipient: Frankel, Ellen (Philadelphia, PA 19103 USA) in affiliation with Jewish Publication Society

Goal: Completion of a volume of translations of writings by Jews in Judea and the Diaspora from roughly 300 BCE to 100 CE. (18 months)

Description: The Jewish Publication Society requests continued NEH support to research, write, edit, and design a groundbreaking anthology of Jewish writings from the Second Temple period that represent the religious, intellectual, and ideological matrix out of which grew two great religious traditions--rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity. An international, interconfessional team of 70 distinguished humanist scholars will prepare revised translations, introductions, and detailed commentary that, for the first time, places this vast literature in Jewish context, relating the texts to later rabbinic and patristic traditions. This project will make available to general readers, students, and scholars a vast body of literature which is critical to understanding the world out of which rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity emerged.

Grant: 191366 / RZ-50875-08,   Division: Research Programs,   Program: Collaborative Research,   Year Awarded: 2008

rq50251War and Peace in Judaism, Christianity and Islam: The Influence of Texts and Commentaries Throughout History

Recipient: Begler, Elsie (San Diego, CA 92182-6014 USA) in affiliation with San Diego State University Foundation (San Diego, CA 92182 USA)

Goal: A series of workshops for fifteen school teachers (6th through 12th grade) in San Diego school districts on the complex role that religion has played in shaping the causes and conduct of war, as well as in laying the foundations for peace.

Description: This project will engage middle and high school history teachers in an intellectually rigorous exploration of the history of religious thinking on war and peace in the three monotheistic tradisions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Grant: 189982 / EZ-50242-08,   Division: Education Programs,   Program: Faculty Humanities Workshops,   Year Awarded: 2008

The Correspondence of Heinrich Melchior Muhlenberg, 1753-1787

Recipient: Wengert, Timothy J (Philadelphia, PA 19119-1794 USA) in affiliation with Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA 19119 USA)

Goal: Preparation of an annotated English translation of the correspondence of Heinrich Melchior Muhlenberg (1711-1787), the patriarch of American Lutheranism and an important figure in early Pennsylvania history. (36 months)

Description: The purpose of this project is to publish an annotated English translation of the correspondence of Heinrich Melchior Muhlenberg, the patriarch of American Lutheranism. This project continues the work of John W. Kleiner and Helmut T. Lehmann, now deceased, who completed the English-language edition of Muhlenberg's correspondence from 1740 to 1752. The great diversity of interests and correspondents makes the remaining Muhlenberg letters an important project for researchers of many different humanities fields: theology, history, folklore, philology, philosophy, geography, law, and social and political science. An editorial board of scholars distinguished in religious studies, history, and German will complete the translation; Picton Press has expressed formal interest in publishing the remainder of the series. We are requesting funding in this application for Volumes 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Grant: 186513 / RZ-50792-07,   Division: Research Programs,   Program: Collaborative Research,   Year Awarded: 2007

The Middle East between Rom and Iran: Early Christianity and the Path to Islam

Recipient: Amar, Joseph P (Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA) in affiliation with University of Notre Dame

Goal: A six-week seminar for fifteen college and university teachers on the development of indigenous cultures in the Middle East during late antiquity and their relationship to the rise of Islam.

Description: The University of Notre Dame seeks support for a six-week summer seminar for College and University teachers from June 13 to July 29, 2007, led by Joseph P. Amar, Professor of Arabic and Syriac, and Robin Darling Young, Associate Professor of Theology (Early Christianity). The Seminar will draw on the literature and material culture of the region to explore the ways in which the resurgent indigenous cultures there--Arabic, Syriac, and Armenian--re-emerged with the decline of local Hellenism to form a population that would in the seventh century be receptive to a new political and religious hegemony. Once a region secure in its domination by western culture, language and religion, the Middle East of late antiquity became a fungible border area allowing for the passage, conquest and settlement of the dayr 'ul Islam. We intend to explore how the native Christianities of the region made such a conquest possible.

Grant: 182089 / FS-50122-06,   Division: Education Programs,   Program: Seminars for College Teachers,   Year Awarded: 2006

The Library of Israel in Late Antiquity: Jewish Writings Related to Bible from the Second Temple Period

Recipient: Frankel, Ellen (Philadelphia, PA 19103 USA) in affiliation with Jewish Publication Society

Goal: Production of a volume of translations of writings by Jews in Judea and the Diaspora from roughly 300 BCE to 100 CE. (30 months)

Description: The Jewish Publication Society requests NEH support to research, write, edit, and design a groundbreaking anthology of Jewish writings from the Second Temple period that represent the religious, intellectual and ideological matrix out of which grew two great religious traditions--rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity. An international team of 70 distinguished humanist scholars will prepare revised translations, introductions, and detailed commentary that, for the first time, places this vast literature in Jewish context, relating the texts to later rabbinic and patristic traditions.

Grant: 181554 / RZ-50607-06,   Division: Research Programs,   Program: Collaborative Research,   Year Awarded: 2006

The Iraqi Jewish Archive

Recipient: Sink, Robert (New York, NY 10011 USA) in affiliation with Center for Jewish History

Goal: The creation of an item-level collection assessment and inventory database of books and documents in Hebrew, Judeo-Arabic, and Arabic that provide evidence of the history and culture of the Jewish community in Iraq since 762 BCE. A sample of the variety of paper-based materials in the archives would be conserved as a testbed for a future phase of the project.

Description: The Center for Jewish History is seeking funding for a project to ensure the preservation and accessibility of the recently discovered Iraqi Jewish Archive. With more than 500,000 volumes and 100 million documents and artifacts on its campus and access to myriad catalog entries related to archives of the Jewish community, the Center for Jewish History is well poised to oversee the following activities: Creation of an inventory database to document the Archive’s contents; Photograph digitally title pages so that the items can be catalogued; Assure a basic item level conservation assessment by experts in the field; and preserve a small number of items in the archive to demonstrate the feasibility of conserving the entire archive.

Grant: 179382 / PI-50022-06,   Division: Preservation and Access,   Program: Iraqi Cultural Heritage Initiative,   Year Awarded: 2006

Preservation Assessment to Preserve the Library's Engelberg Collection

Recipient: Sullivan, Thomas (Conception, MO 64433 USA) in affiliation with Conception Seminary College

Goal: A preservation assessment of the policies, practices, and conditions affecting the Engelberg Collection, a collection of 2000 theological works dating from the 15th to the 18th century, which was developed by a Swiss abbey (established 1120) and acquired by the seminary in the 1870s.

Description: Conception Abbey & Seminary Library is seeking a Preservation Assistance Grant to engage a consultant for a General Preservation Assessment for its Engelberg Collection. We have a culturally significant collection of 2000 volumes from monastery of Engelberg in Switzerland largely printed in the 15th-18th centuries including fifty incunables. This collection is currently housed on wooden shelves in conditions that are not optimal for the long-term preservation of the books. The consultant would visit our library to assess its policies, practices, and the conditions affecting the care and preservation of our collection, and prepare a report that would summarize findings and contain prioritized recommendations for future preservation action

Grant: 179146 / PA-51708-06,   Division: Preservation and Access,   Program: Preservation/Access Projects,   Year Awarded: 2006

Elizabethtown College Endowment for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies

Recipient: Bucher, Christina (Elizabethtown, PA 17022 USA) in affiliation with Elizabethtown College

Goal: Endowment for a faculty chair, visiting fellows, and library acquisitions in a Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies.

Description: Elizabethtown College requests a challenge grant of $500,000 from the NEH to endow a fund to support: 1) a Chair in Anabaptist and Pietist Studies; 2) a Visiting Fellows program; and 3) the acquisition of books and archival materials to support these programs. Based in the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist studies, the Chair will be dedicated to teaching and scholarship--dividing his/her time between teaching humanities courses (one-half) and research/writing (one-half). The endowed fund will benefit students of Elizabethtown College and national scholarship in Anabaptist and Pietist studies. The College will raise $2 million in matching funds (4:1) to create a total endowment of $2.5 million. Annual income of four percent from the endowment ($100,000) will support the chair's salary and benefits ($85,000), a Visiting Fellows program ($10,000), and the expansion of the humanities collection ($5,000). The Young Center is a nationally recognized research center with its own facilities on the campus of Elizabethtown College. The Center is the only research institute in the United States devoted to the scholarly study of Anabaptist and Pietist heritage.

Grant: 171031 / CH-50088-05,   Division: Challenge Grants,   Program: Challenge Grants,   Year Awarded: 2005

Preservation Microfilming of Religious Periodical Literature of the Hispanic and Indigenous Peoples of the Americas

Recipient: Pugh, Diane (Chicago, IL 60606-6701 USA) in affiliation with American Theological Library Association (Chicago, IL 60606 USA)

Goal: The preservation microfilming of 2,700 volumes from 400 brittle journals and serials printed from 1850 to 1985 on the religions of Hispanic and indigenous peoples of the Americas.

Grant: 174300 / PA-51175-05,   Division: Preservation and Access,   Program: Preservation/Access Projects,   Year Awarded: 2005

Guampedia: Religion's Role in Guam's History

Recipient: Goetzfridt, Nicholas (Mangilao, GU 96923 USA) in affiliation with Guam Humanities Council (Hagatna, GU 96910 USA)

Goal: Development of section on Chamorro religious practices for the online encyclopedia about Guam, "Guampedia," with photographs, historical drawings, and, when available, audio and video, and development of guides to help teachers use this material.

Description: The Guam Humanities Council has recently begun creating an online encyclopedia about Guam. "Guampedia" has 18 subject rubrics with topics such as ancient history of the Chamorro people, culture and religion. We propose to use this grant to produce the religion rubric. We will include photographs, historical drawings and audio and video when available. An outline is at www.guampedia.com/browse subjects. Click on "Religion." View a sample entry: "FR. ROMAN MARIA DE VERA: Pioneer Promoter of the Chamorro Language."

Grant: 177261 / BC-50266-05,   Division: Federal/State Partnership,   Program: Grants for State Humanities Councils,   Year Awarded: 2005

Preservation Assessment of Rare Book Collection

Recipient: Remelts, Glenn Alan (Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA) in affiliation with Calvin College (Grand Rapids, MI 49506 USA)

Goal: A preservation assessment of the current condition and the need for storage and a reading room for the Rare Book Collection of materials focused on the theological heritage of John Calvin.

Grant: 172339 / PA-50923-05,   Division: Preservation and Access,   Program: Preservation/Access Projects,   Year Awarded: 2005

Roman Religion in its Cultural Context

Recipient: Galinsky, Karl (Austin, TX 78712 USA) in affiliation with American Institute for Roman Culture (Somerville, MA 02143 USA)

Goal: A six-week summer seminar for college teachers on the development of Roman religion, making use of sites and resources in Rome and its environs.

Grant: 171915 / FS-50041-04,   Division: Education Programs,   Program: Seminars for College Teachers,   Year Awarded: 2004

What is a God? Anthropomorphic and Non-Anthropomorphic Aspects of Deity in Ancient Mesopotamia

Recipient: Porter, Barbara Nevling (Chebeague Island, ME 04017 USA) in affiliation with Casco Bay Assyriological Institute

Goal: A five-day conference of five scholars to consider anthropomorphic and non-anthropomorphic aspects of deity in ancient Mesopotamia.

Description: This project brings together five experts in different aspects of ancient Mesopotamian culture to reassess how Mesopotamians imagined their gods. Current understanding of the gods of Mesopotamia emphasizes their nature as powerful divine persons, the principle form in which gods appear in myths, hymns and prayers. In other texts, however, and in visual images, gods take a wide variety of non-anthropomorphic forms, ranging from planets to trees, crowns, lapus lazuli, harps and temples, which are labeled as gods and receive offerings alongside other gods. Many of these other texts and images, however, present complex interpretive problems and have not been widely used by historians of religion attempting to define the nature of Mesopotamian gods. The project will bring together specialists in Mesopotamian astronomy, art history, literature, ritual, and archaeology to collaborate in creating a new model of Mesopotamian gods that will reflect the full complexity of the evidence. They will each write a substantial paper, meet for four days to compare and discuss their findings, and then publish their revised essays, with a summary of their discussions, in a book intended to revise current ideas of Mesopotamian religion and improve our understanding of its influence on concepts of the divine in later western religious traditions.

Grant: 170819 / RZ-50221-04,   Division: Research Programs,   Program: Collaborative Research,   Year Awarded: 2004

Preservation Microfilming of African American Religious Serials, 1850-1950

Recipient: Norlin, Dennis Arthur (Chicago, IL 60606 USA) in affiliation with American Theological Library Association

Goal: A consortial project for the preservation microfilming of 1,600 volumes from 152 brittle journals and serials on African American religious history and culture printed from 1850 to 1960.

Grant: 162595 / PA-50010-03,   Division: Preservation and Access,   Program: Preservation/Access Projects,   Year Awarded: 2003

Social Gospel Movement

Recipient: Thomas, Karen (Washington, DC 20009 USA) in affiliation with Film Odyssey, Inc. (Washington, DC 20037 USA)

Goal: Consultation between the filmmaker and scholars for a documentary film on the impact of the social gospel movement in America.

Grant: 157052 / GN-26148-01,   Division: Public Programs,   Program: Media, Humanities Projects in,   Year Awarded: 2001

Southern Lutheran Photographic Preservation Project

Recipient: Bergeron, Jeannette M (Columbia, SC 29203 USA) in affiliation with Region 9 of the Evangelical Lutheran Church

Goal: The purchase of storage furniture and supplies to rehouse records, map, photographs, and architectural drawings that focus on the religious, social, and architectural history of the South and the Caribbean. (12 months)

Grant: 158274 / PA-23971-01,   Division: Preservation and Access,   Program: Preservation/Access Projects,   Year Awarded: 2001

Preservation Microfilming of Journals in Religion, 1850-1950

Recipient: Norlin, Dennis Arthur (Chicago, IL 60606 USA) in affiliation with American Theological Library Association

Goal: The preservation microfilming of 6,550 brittle books on the history of religion and theology published between 1850 and 1950 that are held by four members of the American Theological Library Association.

Grant: 158044 / PA-23417-00,   Division: Preservation and Access,   Program: Preservation/Access Projects,   Year Awarded: 2000

One Nation Under God: Religion in America

Recipient: Bendau, Marlo (Santa Monica, CA 90402 USA) in affiliation with Film Arts Foundation (San Francisco, CA 94103 USA)

Goal: Planning for a five-hour documentary television series tracing the historical foundations of America's unique religious culture.

Grant: 157028 / GN-26025-00,   Division: Public Programs,   Program: Media, Humanities Projects in,   Year Awarded: 2000