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Congratulations to Prof. Stephanie DeGooyer for being awarded one of five Hettleman Prizes. The annual Phillip and Ruth Hettleman Prizes for Artistic and Scholarly Achievement are awarded to junior faculty who “exemplify groundbreaking and innovative research along with future career promise.”

Prof. DeGooyer’s research is history and language centered. She uses “history to probe etymological and historical contexts for legal and political concepts readers think they know.”

She explained, “I look to the past, especially to the eighteenth century when legal concepts were emerging and people (and ideas) were migrating across greater distances, to show how these terms were widely used to mean something different from our contemporary understanding of them. More generally, I want readers to admire the art of thinking and reading slowly, carefully, and against the grain of political partisanship.”

Prof. DeGooyer is currently working on two monographs. The first, tentatively titled “Offshore: The Rise and Fall of Asylum,” focuses on the historical research on immigration. This project builds from work from her previous book and “explores “how our global asylum system is returning to the colonial practice of offshoring unwanted populations.”

Her second monograph-in-progress takes a more personal turn:

“It’s a narrative about bodily remains, and about what happens to them and us when they disappear. Through multiple stories, the book traces the significance of ashes and bones to the living and offers commentary about the politics of whose bodies and lives are considered missable.”

In speaking to what her research and writing processes have been with two substantial projects in-progress, she said:

“I spent several weeks in Denmark interviewing people for my book on asylum. I tend to use the summers for more active, labor-intensive research work, but I view teaching as a place for research and discovery as well. This fall, I am teaching a class on disappearance, which is helping me conceptualize some of the chapters for the book on remains. I am fortunate to have a fellowship at the Institute of Arts and Humanities this coming spring to write these drafts.”

Prof. DeGooyer received the exciting news that she had been selected as an awardee just before the fall semester started:

“I couldn’t believe it! It’s such a high honor to receive this award. It was extra special because, of the four awardees, I was the only humanities faculty. I am glad that my interdisciplinary work has translated across the university.”

The recipients of the $8,000 prize will deliver a presentation on their research during University Research Week on October 21 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in the Pleasants Room of Wilson Library.

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