For Dr. Corrie Claiborne, Associate Professor of English, the 2024–2025 sabbatical year was anything but quiet. While she had hoped for uninterrupted research time, her leadership on two Mellon Foundation–funded projects kept her actively engaged in weekly meetings, conference planning, and the launch of the Campbell-Wright Gullah Geechee Internship, which brought 23 HBCU students to study Gullah Geechee culture in South Carolina. The program, which received more than 130 applications, allowed her to mentor students while conducting her own fieldwork at institutions such as the Avery Research Center and the Penn Center. Conversations with community elders further enriched her research.
This work directly informed her book project, originally focused on writer Alice Childress. Over the year, the project broadened to include Eartha Kitt, Viola Davis, and Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor—Black women whose ties to the Gullah Geechee corridor illuminate migration, cultural memory, and identity. The manuscript, now titled Landscape, Home, Memory: Gullah Geechee Women and the Narrative of Place, has been accepted into the UNCF Mellon First Book Institute for further development.
Dr. Claiborne also presented her research at several national conferences, including the International Gullah Geechee Conference, the College Language Association Conference, and the Legacies of Social Justice Conference at the Avery Research Center. These venues allowed her to refine her arguments and workshop new approaches to the manuscript.
Looking ahead, she plans to complete the book proposal for Landscape, Home, Memory, develop a critical edition of Childress’ play Gullah/Sea Island Song, and continue documenting Gullah narratives through both traditional scholarship and digital projects. She also hopes to support students in publishing work from the internship experience.