National Humanities Center taps two for summer residencies

Hugo Méndez in religious studies and Nina Martin in geography were recently selected for summer residencies at the National Humanities Center — a four-week program that gives humanities scholars an opportunity to make progress on a current research project or jump-start a new one.

Méndez, an assistant professor in ancient Mediterranean religions, worked on Gospel Truth: The Biblical Books of John as a Chain of Pseudo-Historical Texts, a manuscript under contract with Oxford University Press.

“My work calls attention to the messy historical reality from which we received some of the most inspiring artifacts of global culture — books that have shaped how billions pray, paint, think and live,” he said.

During her residency, Martin, an associate professor of geography, worked on Pretentious Urbanism: How Progressive Cities Recreate Racial and Economic Inequities. Her book explores a seeming paradox: Why do the most progressive and tolerant cities in the United States also have some of the highest rates of racial and economic inequality?

“Both long-standing and novel approaches to urban development in cities fail to reckon with historical injustices and therefore recreate many of the inequalities they seek to dismantle,” she said.

The National Humanities Center is the world’s only independent institute dedicated exclusively to advanced study in all areas of the humanities.