Callan Receives Franklin Research Grant

Simpson College Professor of Religion Maeve Callan has been awarded a prestigious Franklin Research Grant from the American Philosophical Society to support research this summer at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

The competitive grant will enable Callan to conduct archival research for her forthcoming monograph, “Fatal Destiny: Religion, Racism, and the Making of Medieval Britain and Ireland.” The project examines the more than 1,000-year period between the end of Roman Britain in the fifth century and the rise of British global imperialism in the 16th century, exploring how religion and racism became intertwined in ways that helped shape the foundations of white supremacy and Christian nationalism that continue to influence societies today.

“Any year this would be a tremendous honor and such an appreciated award, but to receive it during the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding makes it infinitely more meaningful,” Callan said. “We date our nation’s founding to the Declaration of Independence’s adoption on July 4, 1776; 15 of its signers were members of the American Philosophical Society, including Ben Franklin, in whose honor the society established the research grant I have received. It’s incredibly inspiring, profoundly humbling, and inexpressibly appreciated.”

Callan currently serves as department chair of History, Philosophy and Religion, co-director of the Interfaith Fellows Program and is the Bishop Matthew Simpson Endowed Chair of Religion.

The Franklin program is particularly designed to help meet the costs of travel to libraries and archives for research purposes; the purchase of microfilm, photocopies, or equivalent research materials; the costs associated with fieldwork; or laboratory research expenses.

“Working with gifted students (and now or eventually alums) like Jailyn Seabrooks, Korie Torres, Tatum Clayburn, and Em Irlmeier keeps me deeply invested in and appreciative of scholarship’s ongoing relevance. I also appreciate the flexibility Simpson faculty have to pursue our own research agendas,” Callan said.

Founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin, the American Philosophical Society is the oldest learned society in the United States. Established to promote “useful knowledge,” the society continues to recognize and support outstanding scholarship through its highly competitive grant programs.