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Musumeci wins fellowship at UTK
April 04, 2012

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Assistant Professor History Dr. Salvatore Musumeci has received a fellowship to study at the University of Tennessee’s Marco Institute for Medieval and Renaissance Studies in Knoxville this summer.
 
Dr. Musumeci
Dr. Musumeci, whose specialty is European history and the use of food and wine in culture, was selected to receive a Lindsay Young Visiting Faculty Fellowship from the Marco Institute. The Institute is an academic center at UTK emphasizing scholarship, education, outreach, and faculty development in the field of Medieval and Renaissance Studies. Lindsay Young fellows are selected from Tennessee and neighboring states to use UTK research resources and participate in academic programs in Knoxville for between one and 10 weeks.
 
“I want to look at one or two things,” Dr. Musumeci said. “I’m interested in food and wine and issues of masculinity in monasteries, or gift exchanges in thirteenth and fourteenth century Florence. The question there is how people used food, wine and clothing as gifts, because they gave gifts expecting to get something in return.”
 
Ultimately, he hopes to turn his research efforts into a book proposal. “I’ll spend the summer reading and catching up on current debate in these areas,” he said. “The last fellowship I had was when I was a graduate student, so the expectations were different then. I’m looking forward to this. The fellowship affords me an opportunity to not only remain current in my field, but it also helps me translate research into a publication. I’m excited about my time at UTK as I don’t think we can divorce who we are as teachers from who we are as researchers/academics—the two go hand-in-hand.”
 
Dr. Bradford Sample, Bryan’s academic vice president, said of the fellowship, “Dr. Musumeci is a promising scholar, and I am proud of him for receiving this honor.  This type of fellowship will enable Dr. Musumeci to be an even better teacher and researcher in the future.”
 
In 2011, the Marco Institute awarded two Lindsay Young fellowships, Dr. Musumeci said. “I don’t know how many they awarded this year. To be considered, candidates had to submit a curriculum vitae and a detailed research plan for review by the selection committee. “(English Instructor) Pamela Hollis helped me edit and cut my proposal to the 1,000-word limit,” he added.