Erin Peters was recently selected by Appalachian State University to attend for a summer residency at the National Humanities Center—a four-week program to give humanities scholars an opportunity to make progress on a current research project or jumpstart a new one.
Peters, an assistant professor in the Department of Art in the College of Fine and Applied Arts at Appalachian State University, will work on the book manuscript, Temples from Augustan Egypt in Continual Coloniality. The book changes the understanding of seven temple sites from Egypt by revealing the problematic limitations of modern Western disciplinary canon-making that have erroneously shaped understanding of what is “Egyptian” and “Roman” art and architecture. To challenge these current confines of modernity, the book charts layers of coloniality of these ancient-modern-contemporary monuments and proposes ways to acknowledge ancient voices as intentional, inventive, and inspiring, which updates current disciplinary approaches and will rejuvenate the humanities.
"I am thrilled to learn that Dr. Peters has been accepted into this highly competitive residency. This reaffirms what many of us already know—students in App State’s Department of Art have daily access to, and are supported by, Tier 1 faculty. My congratulations and best wishes to Dr. Peters!"
-Amy Johnson, Art Chair at Appalachian State University
Professor Peters will join approximately forty humanities scholars from universities across the country who will work together this summer in the National Humanities Center’s facilities in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. They will be assisted in their work by the Center’s team of librarians who draw on resources from the extensive holdings of surrounding universities as well as collections housed in libraries and archives around the world.
Through this program, faculty from participating institutions are able to experience a concentrated period of supported research in this world-renowned setting. Scholars who have participated in the Center’s programs have called it an “intellectual nirvana” and have often remarked that the contemplative space and intellectual community provided by the Center contributed significantly to the ultimate quality of their work, which includes over 1,600 published books.
About the National Humanities Center
The National Humanities Center is the world’s only independent institute dedicated exclusively to advanced study in all areas of the humanities. Through its residential programs for scholars, the Center provides researchers with the resources necessary to generate new knowledge and to further understanding of all forms of cultural expression, social interaction, and human thought. Through its education programs, the Center strengthens teaching on the collegiate and pre-collegiate levels. Through public engagement intimately linked to its scholarly and educational programs, the Center promotes understanding of the humanities and advocates for their foundational role in a democratic society.
About the Department of Art
One of seven departments housed in the College of Fine and Applied Arts, the Department of Art at Appalachian State University prepares students to explore art, identity, expression and creative problem-solving while challenging them to go beyond their previous limits by discovering new connections to culture. The department offers degrees in art and visual culture, art education, graphic design, studio art, commercial photography and graphic communications management, with minors in art history, studio art, commercial photography and graphic arts and imaging technology.
About Appalachian State University
As the premier public undergraduate institution in the Southeast, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The Appalachian Experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and to embrace diversity and difference. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Appalachian is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System. Appalachian enrolls nearly 21,253 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio, and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.
National Humanities Center logo
National Humanities Center logo