FSU Humanities Center announces inaugural class of dissertation fellows

The Florida State University Humanities Center, part of the College of Arts and Sciences, is welcoming eight dissertation fellows as part of its inaugural class.

Representing a range of disciplines, including philosophy, English, religion, history, musicology, art history and modern languages and linguistics, fellows will collaborate with faculty, staff, students, and each other while contributing to interdisciplinary conversations focused on the center’s current theme, “The Human in the Humanities.”

“We’re eager to welcome these excellent scholars,” said John Corrigan, FSU Humanities Center Director and Lucius Moody Bristol Distinguished Professor of Religion and Professor of History. “We provide a lively intellectual space that will foster a spirit of collaboration, enabling them to test their ideas with an engaged group who will respond critically.”

FSU Humanities Center Fellows 2026-2028

Joachim F. Adams is a doctoral candidate in French working with associate professor of French Michelle Bumatay in the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics. His dissertation, “Queering Africanity: Affective Realism and Passive Intolerance in Francophone Sub-Saharan African Literature,” focuses on LGBTQ+ representation in Francophone African literature.

“It’s important to have a central institution like the FSU Humanities Center to show how everything is interconnected,” Adams said. “Our research can inform each other's research. This center is a great opportunity to improve our work as scholars, and I hope the center continues to grow through the years.”

Megharaj Adhikari is a doctoral candidate working with the Frances Cushing Ervin professor of English Aaron Jaffee in the Department of English. Adhikari’s dissertation, “Peak Modernism: Elemental Media, and the Lost Horizons,” investigates how mountains and other natural forces shaped modernist literature and art.

Mansur Bakir is a doctoral candidate in the Department of History studying under associate professor of history Will Hanley. Bakir’s dissertation, “Redefining Loyalty: Treason, Sovereignty, and Political Power in the Modern Middle East,” centers around how accusations of treason shaped politics and national identity in the Middle East after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the 1920s and 1930s.

Florence Egbeyale is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Religion working with associate professor of religion Joseph Hellweg. Egbeyale’s dissertation, “Delivery & Deliverance: Women, Scripture, and Maternal Healthcare in African Yoruba Christian Communities,” explores how Indigenous Yoruba Christian midwives use medical expertise alongside the Bible in maternal healthcare to exercise religious authority within the Christ Apostolic Church’s maternity centers in South West Nigeria.

Madison Gilmore-Duffey is a doctoral candidate studying under associate professor of art history Lynn Jones in the College of Fine Arts. Gilmore-Duffey’s dissertation, “The Classical Past in the Art of Late Antique Byzantium,” examines how ancient objects predating the fourth century in Constantinople’s Hippodrome, a public arena and social center, shaped audiences’ interpretations of the past, cultural memory, and identity in late Antique Constantinople, the imperial capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.

Evan Jones is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Philosophy working with professor of philosophy Edward Hinchman. Jones’ dissertation, “Reason Made Flesh: Essays on Transformative Rationality in the Philosophy of Mind,” investigates issues at the crossroads of philosophy of mind and epistemology — the study of the nature, origin, and limits of human knowledge — while focusing on self-conscious rationality as a necessary part of the mind.

Emily Lu is a doctoral candidate in the Department of History studying under associate professor of Ottoman and Middle East history, Nilay Özok-Gündoğan. She previously studied under former professor of East Asian studies, Annika Culver. Lu’s dissertation, “Toward an East Asian Utopia: Ambition and Illusion in Japanese Military Music, 1868-1945,” studies the intersection between music and politics in Imperial Japan.

“The Humanities Center focuses on communicating scholarly research to people who are not in academia while also collaborating with academics outside our own disciplines,” Lu said. “We want to break down the wall of mystique surrounding academia and exit this ivory tower to inform people in useful ways what we study and why it matters.”

Zachary Moreau is a doctoral candidate in musicology working with Carrie Danielson, assistant professor of musicology and Les and Ruth Akers Endowed Chair in Community Music, in FSU’s College of Music. Moreau’s dissertation, “Music, Activism, and Intersectionality: Identity and Ideology in Degenerate State,” examines the musical and political works of a local Tallahassee punk band.

To learn more about this year’s class of fellows and for more information on FSU’s Humanities Center, visit humanities.fsu.edu.