The Humanities Council awarded special grants to Michael Blaakman, Assistant Professor of History, and Marina Rustow, Khedouri A. Zilkha Professor of Jewish Civilization in the Near East.

Princeton’s American Revolution

Michael Blaakman (History)

This project will commemorate the 250th anniversaries of U.S. independence and the Battle of Princeton through a major exhibition at Princeton University Library. With fresh archival research, the project will showcase the diverse experiences of the American Revolution on campus and in the surrounding community and promote broad public engagement. A special grant from the Ruth and Sid Lapidus ’59 Research Fellowships Fund will support resources for the exhibition and related events.

Indian Ocean Trade, the Global Middle Ages and the Cairo Geniza

Marina Rustow (Near Eastern Studies; History)

This project will continue the editing and translating of 385 unpublished documents of traders from the premodern Indian Ocean world that are preserved in the Cairo Geniza. The documents demand the philological and historical expertise of scholars in fields that do not regularly communicate: Jewish studies, Islamic studies, and South Asian studies. This special grant from the Old Dominion Fellowship Fund will support two senior researchers from outside Princeton, and a workshop at the University in May 2025.