Rachel Gabara of UGA Romance Languages earns NEH fellowship

Rachel Gabara, associate professor of Romance languages in UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, has been awarded a research fellowship by the National Endowment for the Humanities for her book project, “Reclaiming Realism: From Documentary Film in Africa to African Documentary Film.”

Prof. Gabara is a past member of the Willson Center Faculty Advisory Board and recipient of a Willson Center Research Fellowship, as well as a frequent partner and participant in numerous Willson-supported programs. She had this to say about her work with us:

The Willson Center for Humanities and Arts has been a vital resource for me throughout my career at UGA, providing support to bring important scholars and filmmakers to campus as well as to strengthen my own research and writing. This previous support, along with encouragement to compete for prestigious national grants, was invaluable as I prepared my application for the NEH Fellowship. The seminar that the Willson Center organized in February 2018 with Daniel Sack, Senior Program Officer at the NEH, was particularly helpful. Along with the support of my recommenders and colleagues, persistence was key, since it was my second attempt that was successful!

A couple of specific examples of how recent Willson support has played out for me: Willson administers the selection process for UGA’s two nominations for the NEH Summer Stipend program. I was selected for nomination and received the award for Summer 2018 – comments from the Willson committee were very helpful as I revised my proposal for the national competition. And a Willson-administered Faculty Research Grant in Fall 2018 allowed me to complete a chapter of the book manuscript for which I got the NEH Fellowship. I presented the chapter at the Institute of African Studies Seminar at Emory University at the end of that semester, then turned part of it into an article entitled “Complex Realism: Paulin Vieyra and the Emergence of West African Documentary Film,” which is forthcoming this spring in the journal Black Camera.

Congratulations to Prof. Gabara for her well-earned success, and we look forward to her continuing association with the Willson Center.