North Carolina Humanities has awarded a 2026 Summer Fellowship to Dr. Heather Ruth Lee, Assistant Professor at UNC Chapel Hill for her research project “Asians in the Antebellum South.” This research project explores the negotiated identity of Asians in the American South.
“We are excited to continue serving scholars in the third year of our Summer Fellowship program by supporting humanities research in NC” said NC Humanities Executive Director Sherry Paula Watkins.
As Dr. Lee states, “This project develops what I call vernacular legal knowledge: the ways ordinary people understood the law not as an abstraction, but as something to be learned, shared, and used in everyday life.” The fellowship will support Dr. Lee’s archival research in Wilson Special Collections Library, the State Archives of North Carolina, and record series in Surry and Craven Counties. “This fellowship is providing me valuable time and resources in the beginning stage of my new book manuscript, allowing me to visit local archives and historical sites around North Carolina.”
In 2024 NC Humanities launched its inaugural Summer Fellowship program for faculty and staff working at institutes of higher education in North Carolina. The program is designed to allow recipients the opportunity to step away from their busy workloads and complete or further humanities research projects in June-July.