June 3, 2003

Contact: Hodgie Bricke, International Programs, (785) 864-6161.

2 KU faculty members win Fulbright-Hays Research Abroad grants

LAWRENCE -- Two University of Kansas faculty members have won grants through the Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad Programs for 2003-04.

The awards go to: Brent Metz, lecturer and assistant director of the KU Center of Latin American Studies, who will research influences of contemporary identity politics in Central America, and Hagith Sivan, associate professor of history, for research that will shed light on the ancient roots of the present-day Israel-Palestine conflict.

Hodgie Bricke, associate dean for international programs at KU, says that because there are limited Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad grants offered in seven world regions, it is unusual for two KU faculty to receive grants in the same year.

"There are many kinds of Fulbright awards for international study," Bricke says. "These Fulbright-Hays grants are highly selective."

Metz will work several months during 2003 and 2004 in the tri-border region of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, researching the varying character of the Ch'orti' Maya ethnic revitalization movement. Ch'orti' (pronounced chore-TEE) is one of about 30 Mayan languages that have nearly disappeared. Some indigenous peoples in the former Ch'orti'-speaking region are using the language as a source of unity and activism, while others use racial and cultural discrimination or the recuperation of stolen lands as a source of unity. Metz will use his research to introduce his Latin American studies students to the complexities of contemporary indigenous identity politics and to publish studies on indigenous identity and rights.

Sivan will spend the 2003-04 academic year in Israel to integrate recent archaeological data from the Caesarea Martima site, the ancient Roman capital of Palestine, with literary-historical texts from the fourth through seventh centuries. Sivan plans to examine modes of coexistence and conflict resolution in a multi-cultured and complex landscape. Sivan is working on a book to be titled "Conflicts and Concord: A History of Palestine in Late Antiquity."

The Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad Program offers faculty of institutions of higher education the opportunity to research and study modern foreign languages and areas studies in seven world regions, excluding western Europe. The International Education and Graduate Programs Service in the U.S. Department of Education administers the program. KU's Office of International Programs coordinates the program on campus.

The Fulbright program was established in 1946 with legislation introduced by Sen. J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. The Fulbright-Hays program was established in 1961. The two programs provide a range of funding for international study and exchanges. With the grants to Metz and Sivan, KU faculty have received a total of 259 Fulbright awards available through all Fulbright programs since 1946.