The Farrera Family Public Humanities Current-Use Faculty Support Fund in English will provide support for faculty with a background in early British literature in the Department of English in the College of Arts and Humanities who are committed to advancing the public humanities. Funds may be used to enhance the recipient’s scholarly work and activities, such as research, programmatic and discretionary support.
Recipients will use their grounding in early British literature to build on the English Department’s commitment to producing informed and engaged citizens, expanding the reach of literary studies beyond the University of Maryland and into the broader community, inspiring the public to understand and promote the study of English literature as an inherent public good. Community outreach will take the form of public scholarship, with activities that may include, but are not limited to: classes for various learning communities, readings, plays, museum or gallery exhibitions and engagement with high school students and educators.
This fund was generously established by Christina Farrera ’68, M.A.’74: "As a graduate of the University of Maryland and having taught English for fifty years, I believe in the importance of maintaining our society’s connection to English literature. I have a personal passion for British Romanticism (particularly Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Mary Shelley) and William Shakespeare, and understand firsthand the transformative power of English literature. I am delighted to contribute to furthering the English Department’s vision to inspire future generations to appreciate and promote the study of English literature in the name of my family."