Dr. Eric Hodges has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for his research project focusing on the combat and homecoming experiences of Black military veterans in the United States.
Hodges’ research project, titled “Civil War, Civil Rights, and Civic Duty: The African American Experience of War,” will utilize various humanities sources such as historical documents, works of literature and public history to facilitate a discussion on four themes: patriotism, race in war, homecoming and the role of Black women in combat.
The grant was one of 11 projects funded through the NEH’s Dialogues on the Experience of War program and among the 225 humanities projects funded across the country totaling $24 million. Hodges is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran.
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I hope that sharing the experiences of local Black combat veterans will provide a more complete understanding of our local history and that it will help the veterans contextualize their own experiences.
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“I hope that sharing the experiences of local Black combat veterans will provide a more complete understanding of our local history and that it will help the veterans contextualize their own experiences,” said Hodges, assistant professor of political philosophy and U.S. government and coordinator of Longwood’s homeland security program. “I am extremely grateful to the National Endowment for the Humanities for the opportunity to study these issues, and I am very excited to get to know and work with the local community of Black veterans.”
Given Prince Edward County’s history and proximity to Civil War battles and the struggle for civil rights, including the recent Black Lives Matter movement, Hodges believes this is the perfect place to study the experiences of Black combat veterans.
“We look forward to the contributions these projects will make to our understanding of ourselves and our society through exemplary humanities research, publications, documentary films, exhibitions and undergraduate programs,” said NEH Acting Chairman Adam Wolfson.
Longwood’s Office of Research, Grants and Sponsored Projects (ORGSP) provides support to university faculty and staff interested in obtaining external funding for their research, scholarly and creative activities. The comprehensive support services ORGSP provides to the campus community for the preparation and successful administration of externally sponsored projects include funding searches; proposal development and support guidance; proposal review and submission; negotiation and processing of awards; execution of contracts and sub-awards; interpretation of sponsor guidelines and requirements; and grant training workshops.
Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy and other areas of the humanities by funding proposals from around the nation that are selected through a rigorous peer-review process. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available at www.neh.gov.
The “Civil War, Civil Rights, and Civic Duty: The African American Experience of War” has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this article, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
If you would like more information about ORGSP, please call 434-395-2987 or email Dr. Alix Fink (finkad@longwood.edu) or Jim Wiecking (wieckingjw@longwood.edu).
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