By Abram Farrington | Staff Writer
Baylor history professor Dr. Robert Elder is in good company as one of five national recipients of the $60,000 Public Scholars grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Elder is the first Baylor faculty member to be awarded the Public Scholars grant from the NEH to help his future book project about the nullification crisis, a conflict between South Carolina and the federal government in the 1830s.
NEH Active Chairman Michael McDonald said the NEH is proud to support scholars looking into the nation’s history and cultural heritage.
“The grants awarded today reflect the breadth and vitality of scholarship, preservation and public programs across the humanities,” McDonald said on the NEH website.
Honored and surprised, Elder is carrying the grant with intentionality into his book. Even after unsuccessful results, he persevered through rejections and ultimately reaped the rewards of his efforts.
Dr. Julie K. deGraffenried, associate professor and history department chair, said the award is one of the most prestigious and competitive awards for humanities researchers.
“Only a handful of academics in the U.S. are named NEH Public Scholars each year,” deGraffenried said. “Dr. Elder’s honor not only marks a well-deserved milestone in his own career, it also is representative of our departmental commitment to making excellent scholarship accessible to the widest possible audience.”
Not only does the grant help fund the book, but it also helps smooth the writing process for Elder, which can be a challenging task with teaching. This NEH grant is specifically designed for books and helps authors reach the finish lines of their projects.
Elder said in a press release that despite the importance of the nullification crisis, it has not been discussed as much as it should be.
“There hasn’t been a new book-length history of the nullification crisis for a general audience since William Freehling’s Prelude to Civil War in 1965,” Elder said. “My book aims to fill this significant gap, offering a fresh narrative that incorporates generations of new scholarship.”
Elder plans to bridge the gap between the nullification crisis and history in his book. Though it appears in every history book, Elder said he hopes to shine a more detailed light on the pivotal event in U.S. history.
Although Elder has never written for a broader audience, he feels more than equipped due to his prior teaching experience.
“In this case, I’m writing for non-specialists who are interested in history, which is a very similar audience to students in my classes,” Elder said. “At least, I hope my students are interested in history.”
In Elder’s mind, writing this book is identical to teaching in class. This grant requires a heavy amount of Elder’s research on the book; therefore, he will not be teaching this year and is expected to return next year.
“I’ll miss the students this year, but I’ll be back in the classroom next fall. Writing a book just takes a lot of time, and the grant is designed to give me that time.”
