Humanities

Tok Thompson, professor (teaching) of anthropology, has been elected a Fellow of the American Folklore Society in recognition of his “meritorious service to the Society and the discipline of folklore studies.” As a fellow, Thompson — who was also recently inducted into the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Honor Society — will aid the society as it supports the study and advancement of folklore and expressive cultural traditions globally through student mentoring programs, sessions at the society’s annual meeting, and special awards.

Anna Krylov, USC Associates Chair in Natural Sciences and professor of chemistry, has been awarded the 2025 George Gamow Award by the Russian American Science Association. The award recognizes outstanding contributions by Russian-speaking scientists to science, collaboration, and cultural exchange. Krylov was honored for her leadership, work in theoretical and computational chemistry, and advocacy for scientific integrity and academic freedom.

Lowell Stott, professor of Earth sciences, has been elected a 2025 Union Fellow by AGU, joining a select group honored for exceptional contributions to Earth and space sciences. The AGU Fellowship recognizes scientific breakthroughs, discoveries or innovations advancing the field. Stott was honored for his influential paleoclimate, geochemistry and climate variability work. He will be formally recognized at the AGU25 conference in New Orleans this December.

Danzy Senna, professor of English, has received a 46th Annual American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation for her novel Colored Television. The award honors literary excellence without limitations or restrictions, recognizing both established writers and under-recognized voices. Senna’s work has previously received accolades including the Whiting Writers’ Award, the Dos Passos Prize and the Book of the Month Award for First Fiction for her debut novel, Caucasia.

Percival Everett, Distinguished Professor of English, has received a 46th Annual American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation for his novel James. The award honors literary excellence without limitations or restrictions, recognizing both established writers and under-recognized voices. This honor joins other recent accolades for Everett, whose work has also received the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize.

Marci Vogel, instructor of English, has been awarded a Camargo Fellowship, an international residency supporting innovative work in the arts and humanities. The Camargo Foundation promotes cross-disciplinary research and creative exchange in Cassis, France. Vogel will spend 10 weeks in residence completing Andrée Chedid & the Translation of Being, a literary translation and essay project centered on the Cairo-born francophone poet Andrée Chedid. Her work focuses on Chedid’s 29-part lyrical meditation La Poésie, le pois.

Percival Everett, Distinguished Professor of English, has been named one of TIME's 100 Most Influential People of 2025, and award that, according to Time, focuses “on the individuals who are transforming the world.” Of Everett’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel James, writer and director Cord Jefferson wrote for Time: “Many writers are afraid to insert levity in stories of tragedy, particularly stories of violent prejudice. But James, which won the National Book Award, shows that to omit joy is to do a disservice to the people who endured those tragedies.” (Jefferson won the Academy Award for his screenplay of American Fiction, which he adapted from Everett’s book Erasure.)

Suzanne Hudson, professor of art history and fine arts, has been named a 2025–26 Getty Scholar by the Getty Research Institute. She will join an international cohort of scholars in residence at the Getty Center and Getty Villa in Los Angeles, exploring the theme of “Repair.” Her project, Better for the Making: Art, Therapy, Process, examines the history, theory, and conventions of painting as they developed within pedagogical spaces shaped by care work and medical or psychological services.

Luke Fidler, assistant professor of art history, has been named a 2025–2026 Fellow of the Society for the Humanities at Cornell University. Centered on the theme of “Scale,” the residential fellowship brings together scholars and artists for a year of collaborative research, writing and teaching. Each fellow receives $62,000 and teaches one seminar for advanced undergraduates and graduate students. Fidler specializes in the art of early- and high-medieval Europe, with an emphasis on the German-speaking lands, Scandinavia and the British Isles.