David Turnbloom, theology, has been announced as the recipient of the Arnold L. and Lois S. Graves Award in the Humanities. Administered by Pomona College under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies, the Graves Award is awarded every two years to humanities professors in their first decade of teaching who demonstrate unusual skill and enthusiasm as teachers and who can show that their projects will enhance their ability in the classroom.
Turnbloom’s project will study the published journals and letters of Esther Hillesum, a Dutch woman who was murdered in Auschwitz in 1943. The project will allow him to connect his expertise in Augustine Studies with the newly emerged field of Hillesum Studies to interrogate how Hillesum’s writing are influenced by and lend new shape to the writing of St. Augustine. Beyond publishing an article on exploring Hillesum’s reception of St. Augustine, Turnbloom’s project will allow him to encounter Hillesum’s work through interpersonal connections and personal experiences.
This latest award continues a history of UP Graves Award recipients: Herman Asarnow, emeritus, English; Richard Askay, philosophy; Laura McLary, German; Alejandro Santana, philosophy; Patrick Murphy, music; Alexandra Hill, German; and Joshua Swidzinski, English.
