French and women and gender studies professor Faith Beasley was one of 181 scholars, artists and scientists in the United States and Canada awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation in April. Beasley will use the fellowship grant to complete her sixth book, "Exotic Encounters: Versailles Meets the Taj Mahal," which she said will explore the relationship between France and India in the 17th century.
The Guggenheim Fellowship, intended to help scholars pursue research and artistic creation, is awarded on the basis of prior achievement and future promise. The average fellowship grant of around $37,000 varies for each recipient based on the "Fellows' other resources and the purpose and scope of their plans," according to the Foundation's website.
This year's recipients were selected from a pool of nearly 3,000 applicants, the website said.
"I was shocked," Beasley said. "There are very few grants out there for mid-career professionals, and as a result, there are thousands of people who apply. I never thought that I was going to get this opportunity."
Beasley's new book builds on the findings of her second book, "Mastering Memory: Salons, History and the Making of 17th-Century France," which identified women's influence on 17th century France as deliberately excluded from historical records. In her new book, Beasley argues that the salon culture, which was dominated and created by women, played an important role in the dissemination of information about India, she said.
"It's an exciting feeling," Beasley said. "I think the best part about the Guggenheim Fellowship is that it is a recognition of my past work as well as my potential for the future. For me, it reaffirms that the work I have done for the past 25 years has had an impact and encourages me to continue."
Beasley will take a sabbatical for the next 12 months, working on her book full-time. Beasley plans to spend most of her time in the United States but will travel to Paris for three weeks in July to finish gathering research from the archives of the National Library of France. While she will not be teaching at the College, Beasley will continue to advise senior theses.
Both College faculty and students interviewed by The Dartmouth said that Beasley's reception of the Guggenheim Fellowship was well-deserved.
"I am delighted that the Guggenheim Foundation has recognized Faith Beasley in this fashion," Associate Dean of the Faculty for the Arts and Humanities Adrian Randolph said in a press release. "Her past work on gender and literature in 17th-century France has led her to this fabulous new project that recasts European developments in light of early modernity's global character. Beasley's success is a sign of the vitality of the humanities at Dartmouth."
Brooke Elmlinger '13, who has worked with Beasley since the fall as a Presidential Scholar, said that Beasley was a "source of inspiration to humanities scholars and a testament to the thriving nature of the humanities themselves." Elmlinger asserts that the Guggenheim Fellowship recognizes the innovative nature of Beasley's work and validates her contribution as a researcher.
"[Professor Beasley's] research on France's encounter with India at the 17th century casts a new light on the way we think about Enlightenment thought, literature and material culture of that time period," Elmlinger said in an email to The Dartmouth. "Much scholarship has been done on the court of Louis XIV and its influence on the mindset and cultural production within France, yet there are so many questions yet to be answered on the relationships between French culture and other cultures like India."
McKenzie Bennett '13, a student in Beasley's "French Culture and Politics" course, said that Beasley's award reflects the high level of undergraduate teaching at the College.
"I feel like [Beasley's] reception of the Guggenheim Fellowship speaks to how fantastic and impressive she is as an academic and reflects the kind of professors that the College provides students in helping further our knowledge," Bohannon said.
Logan Brog '15, who is also in Beasley's course, agreed with Bohannon's sentiments.
"Learning from professor Beasley is really incredible because I know that this is a unique class that is not being taught elsewhere," Brog said. "It is not possible to go to another college or university and learn about the 17th century dialogue between French salons and India."
Other Dartmouth professors who have received the Guggenheim Fellowship in the past decade include studio art Professor Enrico Riley in 2008, computer science professor Hany Farid in 2006, government professor Linda Fowler in 2005, music professor Larry Polansky in 2004, studio art professor Susan Walp in 2004, economics professor Douglas Irwin in 2002 and history professor Bruce Nelson in 2002.
