Michael Nance, assistant professor of philosophy, has won the prestigious Humboldt Fellowship for Experienced Researchers. The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation awards the fellowship to leading scholars from around the world who have made significant contributions to their discipline and would like to pursue long-term research in Germany.
With the support of the award, Nance will serve as a visiting scholar in the philosophy department at Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany. He will work on a book that reconstructs the political philosophy of J.G. Fichte, an 18th century German philosopher. Nance says that Fichte’s perspective on political philosophy is one that ties various issues together (such as practical agency, rights, legitimacy, political freedom and economic justice) and continues to be actively discussed among philosophers today.
“This fellowship provides me with up to 18 months of support over the next three years to devote solely to the book, which will be tremendously helpful,” said Nance. “I am grateful to my colleagues at UMBC and especially the Dresher Center for the Humanities for support in applying for the fellowship. Frankfurt’s philosophy department is one of the strongest in the world in the area of German political philosophy, with several well-known research centers and a strong concentration of faculty, post-docs, and graduate students working in the area. It will provide the ideal environment for carrying out my project.”
Last year, Curtis Menyuk, professor of computer science and electrical engineering (CSEE), received the Humboldt Research Award to support his work on optics and photonics. He is working with the Max-Planck Institute for Light in Erlangen, Germany.
Images: Michael Nance (top); Curtis Menyuk, right, with Dr. Helmut Schwarz, president of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
Tags: CAHSS, COEIT, CSEE, Philosophy
