UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Eberly Family Special Collections Library at Penn State University Libraries will host a virtual program featuring presentations by our 2025–2026 research grant awardees on Friday, May 8, via Zoom. The presentation is free and open to all.
The event will highlight the wide-ranging and innovative work of five scholars whose research was made possible with engagement with materials found in Special Collections, offering insight into how researchers across disciplines approach archival materials to generate new knowledge, creative work and critical perspectives.The program features five short presentations; each followed with time for questions and discussion with the audience. Grant presenters are as follows:
- Anushmita Mohanty, Dorothy Foehr Huck Award
- “Queer Zines and Infrastructures of Print Culture” — This presentation examines how contemporary queer zine practices reshape print culture both materially and politically. Drawing on queer theory and histories of underground publishing, Mohanty explores how zines challenge the hierarchies of commercial print and function as enduring, alternative archives.
- Kimberly Andrews, Dorothy Foehr Huck Award
- “Archival Research and Creative Practice in Union Records” — Andrews reflects on the process of conducting archival research for creative work, focusing on the United Steelworkers archives. The talk considers how labor records can be used to evoke place and identity and explores the tension between local experience and national organizing in large-scale labor movements.
- Jinhee Choi, Dorothy Foehr Huck Award
- “Early Korean Advocacy and Public Pedagogy in the United States” — Choi investigates the overlooked origins of the Korean cultural wave through the work of early American advocates, including Robert T. Oliver. The talk highlights grassroots efforts like the League of Friends of Korea and considers how public pedagogy shaped American awareness of Korean independence movements.
- Mara Frazier, Mary Ann O’Brian Malkin Award
- “Embodiment and the Book in the Mary Ann Malkin Collection” — Frazier’s presentation explores the intersection of textual culture and embodied knowledge through Mary Ann Malkin O’Brian’s collection of dance materials. Bringing a somatic and dance-historical perspective, the talk reconsiders how books function through use, movement, and physical encounter.
- Jiayao Jiang, Albert M. Petska Eighth Air Force Award
- “Wartime Hut: Soldiers’ Daily Life in Camp” — Using photographs from the Eighth Air Force Archive, Jiang examines everyday life in wartime military camps. The presentation focuses on how temporary architecture shaped soldiers’ lived experience, balancing operational demands with the need for recreation and community.
Eberly Family Special Collections Research Grants may be awarded to any non-Penn State faculty member, graduate student or independent scholar with a research project that utilizes the Eberly Family Special Collections Library, to support travel and research expenses while utilizing the Library at Penn State University Park. Awards are offered for a variety of research interests, from specific collections to broader subject areas. Applications from nontraditional researchers, students and others for whom the financial costs of research-based travel pose a significant obstacle are encouraged to apply.
For information regarding eligibility, application requirements, grant timelines and to apply for Special Collections grant opportunities, visit the research grants webpage. For questions regarding this event, including accessibility options, contact the Eberly Family Special Collections library at 814-865-1793 or email spcollections@psu.edu.