FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Office of Vice Provost for Research and Economic Development at the University of Arkansas has awarded five faculty research grants through its Arts and Humanities Seed Funding Program.

The $5,000 grants are intended to enrich the research and professional growth of the faculty member and the university and result in new opportunities for research or other creative endeavors. The money will be used on items that will further a project such as materials, supplies and travel.

Those selected for the grants and their departments are:

• Freddy Dominguez, history
• Toni Jensen, English
• Marc Mitchell, art
• Martin Nedbal, music
• Daniel Sutherland, history

Dominguez, an assistant professor of history, will use his grant to travel to Spain to conduct research for his book, Between Saint and Sinner: The Nun of Lisbon and the Politics of Sanctity in Early Modern Europe. The book traces the life of Maria de la Visitación, who entered the convent of the Anunciada as a child in 1562 and a few years later would become known for her deep trances and direct communications with Jesus Christ. She eventually confessed to having fabricated her mystical experiences.

Jensen, an assistant professor of English, will use her grant to travel to Pennsylvania and Texas, where she will conduct interviews for her novel, Last Seen, which aims to shed light on the community of Native American women and children who are the victims of sex trafficking near gas and oil exploration sites. She plans to speak to those who are working to help victims of sex trafficking.

Mitchell, an assistant professor of art, will use his grant to purchase the necessary technology and supplies to create autobiographical multimedia paintings as part of an project titled Painting, Walking, Texting: The Role of Autobiographical Digital Data in Visual Art. Mitchell will collaborate with Derek Larson, assistant professor of art at Georgia Southern University.

Nedbal, an assistant professor of music, will use his grant to travel to Austria to conduct research for a book that explores the complexities of German-language adaptations of Mozart’s Italian comic operas and will shed new light not only on the reception of Mozart’s works, but also on the evolution of social and cultural politics in 19th century Vienna.

Sutherland, a Distinguished Professor of history, will use his grant to travel to the United Kingdom to conduct research on his book, Whistler’s Mother: No Ordinary Life. The book is a biography of Anna McNeill Whistler, the mother of the painter James McNeill Whistler and subject of the iconic painting, Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1, known colloquially as Whistler’s Mother. In 2014, Sutherland drew positive reviews for his biography of James Whistler, Whistler: A Life for Art’s Sake.