Charlottesville—Virginia Humanities, the state humanities council, has awarded nine individuals fellowships for 2026–27, supporting eight projects that expand our understanding of history and our shared lived experiences.
“These fellows are highlighting key aspects of our shared history,” said Adam Courville, director of grants and fellowships at Virginia Humanities. “Their work explores how our present is connected to the past in ways that help us better understand our place in the world.”
These fellows are highlighting key aspects of our shared history.
Adam Courville
The fellowships announced fall under three distinct programs. The Rosel Schewel Fellowship champions projects that tell inclusive stories of Virginia women. Public Humanities Fellowships help writers, independent scholars, and community historians share meaningful research, stories, and cultural expressions that connect audiences to wider regional, national, and global contexts. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Scholars Fellowships seek to develop and amplify underrepresented voices and research within the academy and applied humanities spaces.
To learn more about Virginia Humanities’ fellowship programs, visit VirginiaHumanities.org/fellowships.
Rosel Schewel Fellow
Kori Price
Kori Price is a multidisciplinary artist, photographer, and writer.
- Location: Charlottesville, VA
- Project: Armor Class: How Generational Trauma in the African Diaspora Manifests as Metaphysical Armor
Armor Class is a three part, research-based project that uses armor as metaphor to explore why the Black community defends and protects itself in real and metaphysical ways.
Public Humanities Fellows
Dr. Jamie LH Goodall
Dr. Jamie LH Goodall teaches history at the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics in Hartsville, SC.
- Location: Hartsville, SC
- Project: Tides of Fortune: Pirates, Privateers, and the Unfree in Virginia’s Maritime World (1650–1830)
Tides and Fortune examines how maritime violence, plunder, & unfree labor shaped Virginia’s economy & society within a broader Atlantic world that stretched from the Chesapeake to the Caribbean.
Daniel Bachman and Aldona Dye
Daniel Bachman is an artist, musician, and independent scholar.
Aldona Dye is an independent scholar and genealogist.
- Location: Madison County, VA
- Project: On The Ballad Trail: Mapping the Virginia Folklore Society’s 1932-36 Recording Trip
On The Ballad Trail brings people into the Virginia Folklore Society’s 1932-1936 field recording trip through an online interactive map that includes more than 300 recordings.
HBCU Scholars Fellows
Dr. Kendra Anthony
- Institution: Morgan State University, Baltimore MD
- Project: Attending the Crossing — The Spirituality of African American Midwives 1877-1955
Dr. Shuntavia N. James
- Institution: Fort Valley State University, Jonesboro GA
- Project: From Footpaths to Freeways — Black Mobility, Automobility, and the Cultural Meaning of Movement
Dr. Zina McGee
- Institution: Hampton University, Hampton VA
- Project: Structural Violence and Black Youth Resilience: A Focus Group Inquiry Among Urban Youth in Virginia
Dr. Alberto Eduardo Sosa-Cabanas
- Institution: Hampton University, Hampton VA
- Project: Racial Imaginaries and Aesthetic Politics During the Cuban Turn of the Century (XIX–XX)
Dr. Cocoa Michelle Williams
- Institution: Spelman College, Atlanta GA
- Project: Toni Morrison and the Man with the Two Hats, or Silhouette-Making’s Folkloric Origins
About Virginia Humanities
Virginia Humanities is the state humanities council. We aim to tell the stories of all Virginians—or, better yet, find ways for people to tell their own stories. We want Virginians to connect with their history and culture and, in doing that, we hope we will all get to know each other a little better. Virginia Humanities is headquartered in Charlottesville at the University of Virginia, but our work covers the Commonwealth. Founded in 1974, we are one of fifty-six humanities councils created by Congress with money and support from the National Endowment for the Humanities to make the humanities available to all Americans. To learn more visit VirginiaHumanities.org.
