Two AS professors win NEH fellowships

Professor Elizabeth Spiller of the English department and Professor Randolph Clarke of philosophy have each won $50,400 fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

Spiller, whose research is focused on Renaissance literature, will use the fellowship to fund her research for her newest book, entitled The Sense of Matter: Science, Aesthetics, and Literary Creation in the Renaissance. It is the second time in the last five years that Spiller has won an NEH fellowship.

“I think as a culture to know who you are and where you are going to go is very important,” Spiller says. “The NEH gift is ongoing in the sense that it allows us to continue to explore our cultural history.”

Clarke’s award will further his research into free will and human agency. He is working on a new book that deals with an aspect of agency that has not received much attention from philosophers. “Theories of agency—whether in philosophy, law or psychology—generally focus on actions, on things such as firing a gun or telling a lie,” Clarke says. “Of course our actions are important; they have consequences, and we’re generally responsible for them. But we also sometimes omit to act or refrain from doing a certain thing. On such occasions, not acting, too, can have important consequences, and we can be responsible for not doing something we ought to have done.”

The fellowship, Clarke says, will be a big help in finishing his work. “It’s very exciting, and a pleasant surprise, to receive the fellowship,” Clarke said. “I’ve been working on a project that I’ll now be able to complete during the year covered by the award.” To read more, go to http://fsu.edu/news/2012/01/31/neh.recipients/