Cord Whitaker, assistant professor of English, has been awarded the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation/Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Career Enhancement Fellowship for junior faculty. The award supports promising research by young scholars who "are committed to eradicating racial disparities in core fields in the arts and sciences." 

The Career Enhancement Fellowship Program provides one year of financial support, mentoring, and a fall retreat for participants.  Its goal is to "aid the scholarly research and intellectual growth of fellows."

During the 2012-2013 academic year, Whitaker will work on his book project, “Black Metaphors: Race, Religion, and Rhetoric in Late Medieval English Literature.” This will involve sustained periods of writing punctuated by work with medieval manuscripts of classical and medieval romances and rhetorical works. Research visits will include trips to the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Morgan Library & Museum, the Huntington Library, and possibly to libraries in the United Kingdom.