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2022 Study of Collections Fellowship Report: The Unpublished Materials of Charles Clermont-Ganneau

Through the support of the Collections Fellowship I was able to spend several days in Paris working at the Institut de France in the Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres (AIBL). There, I studied the unpublished materials of Charles Clermont-Ganneau that are in the Cabinet du Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum (CIS). Access to this collection was granted by the kind permission of Christian Robin, the AIBL’s director. In Paris, I worked with Maria Gorea, the director of the Cabinet du CIS, where I benefited from her knowledge of Clermont-Ganneau and her ability to decipher his difficult handwriting. Dr. Gorea and her student Noémie Carpentier also were of great assistance with French technical terms that I came across in Clermont-Ganneau’s writings.


   
 
 The research is part of my larger project on the Hebrew funerary inscriptions from Silwan, which include the Royal Steward Inscription. That inscription together with a shorter inscription were first documented by Clermont-Ganneau in Silwan in 1870. He eventually purchased them for the British Museum, where they reside today. This summer in London I was able to study Clermont-Ganneau’s correspondence with the British Museum in the museum’s archives. My work in Paris, supported by the ASOR Collections Fellowship, continued my investigation into the acquisition of the artifacts. Clermont-Ganneau’s papers in the Cabinet du CIS shed important light on two aspects involving the Hebrew epigraphic sources. First his papers describe the French diplomat / archaeologist’s efforts to buy the inscriptions from the Arab homeowner in Silwan, including details on how the inscriptions were extracted. Much of this information was left out of his 1899 published account of his discovery. Second, his notes, drawings, squeezes and casts (plaster and papier-mâché) reveal the extent of his work to translate the inscriptions, as well as his plans –ultimately unfilled– plans to publish them.
    

Access to Clermont-Ganneau’s papers was critical for my project, which seeks to publish the first comprehensive edition of the funerary inscriptions from Silwan. My collections study in Paris will allow me to write a chapter on the history of research that provides insight into the events that led to the acquisition of a famous Hebrew artifact from Jerusalem that is today prominently displayed in the British Museum.

 

Interested in applying for a 2023 Study of Collections Fellowship? The deadline is February 28.

Learn more about applying here.

 

UMD Announces Independent Scholarship, Research and Creativity Award Recipients
1/27/23

By Ted Knight

What links Romania’s music heritage, historical approaches to the Rwandan genocide and politics in the “canal colonies” of Eastern Pakistan? Studies of each of these diverse topics—and 13 others—by University of Maryland faculty researchers will be funded by the Office of the Provost and Office of the Vice President for Research as part of this year’s Independent Scholarship, Research and Creativity Awards.

Launched in 2019, the program supports the professional advancement of faculty engaged in scholarly and creative pursuits that use historical, humanistic, interpretive or ethnographic approaches; explore aesthetic, ethical and cultural values and their roles in society; conduct critical or rhetorical analysis; engage in archival or field research; and develop or produce creative works.

Awardees are selected based on peer review of the quality of the proposed project, the degree to which the project will lead to the applicant’s professional advancement and the likely academic and societal influence of the project.

“This important program supports a wide variety of scholarly work that demonstrates the creativity, versatility and expertise of our faculty,” said Senior Vice President and Provost Jennifer King Rice. “We are particularly excited about this year’s awardees and the potential impact of these projects.”

In all, 51 proposals were submitted, representing eight schools and colleges across campus. The awards, worth up to $10,000 per project, support faculty and their research expenses.

“It is very exciting to see the high level of interest and engagement in this program from our faculty, as well as the diverse research topics represented in the applications that were submitted,” said Vice President for Research Gregory F. Ball.

This year’s award support the following work:

“Analyzing the Content of President Biden’s COVID-19 Twitter Communications,” a qualitative and narrative analysis by Hector Alcala, assistant professor in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health

“Eternity Made Tangible,” the fourth and final play of the National Parks Cycle by Jennifer Barclay, associate professor in the Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies

“Scoping Review of Interventions for African American Boys Who Experience Internalizing Symptoms,” a research study by Rabiatu Barrie, assistant professor in the Department of Family Science

“Sometimes the Light,” a hybrid work of fiction and nonfictional archival material by Maud Casey, professor in the Department of English

“The Marvelous Illusion: Morton Feldman's ‘The Viola in My Life 1-4,’” a book by Thomas DeLio, professor in the School of Music

“Punished in Plain Sight: Women’s Experiences on Probation in Maryland,” a qualitative research study by Rachel Ellis, assistant professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice

“Nile Nightshade: Tomatoes and the Making of Modern Egypt” a book by Anny Gaul, assistant professor in the School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

“How Can Participatory Budgeting Enhance the Voice of Underrepresented Minorities?”—a research study by Juan Martinez Guzman, assistant professor in the School of Public Policy

“A New Kind of Progressive: How Poles, Venezuelans, and Germans Reimagined Latin America,” a book by Piotr Kosicki, associate professor in the Department of History

“Slash: M/M Fan Fiction and the Politics of Fantasy,” a book by Alexis Lothian, associate professor in the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

“The Future of Rwanda's Past: History and Historians After Genocide,” a book by Erin Mosely, assistant professor in the Department of History

“Romanian Roots - A Digital Platform to Promote Romanian Music,” a multimedia research project by Irina Muresanu, associate professor in the School of Music

“Political Centralization in Pakistan’s Canal Colonies,” a research study by Cory Smith, assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics

“Visualizing the Royal Steward's Inscriptions: From Jerusalem to London,” a laser scanning and photography project by Matthew Suriano, associate professor in the Meyerhoff Center for Jewish Studies

“Innovative Modeling to Preserve Architectural Heritage,” a restoration research project by Joseph Williams, assistant professor in the Architecture Program

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