Kevin Barnhurst – Fulbright

I received a Fulbright Senior Scholar award to do research and teaching in Peru in 1989. I lectured at the University of Piura, the University of Cuzco, and the University of Lima, where I worked with a counterpart and spent most of my 4 months in the country. My research produced a series of articles on news design, information graphics, and related topics, published in Spanish and later collected in English as News as Art (Journalism Monographs no. 130). I also did research on political communication and published two articles on the Shining Path and political violence in Peru, one in the Journal of Communication and the other in an edited collection on terrorism and communication. Since returning, I’ve been in continual contact with colleagues from Peru, have co-authored and collaborated with them, and have encouraged others to apply for Fulbright awards. I’ve also hosted students and faculty on Fulbrights in my department at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

I became a Distinguished Fulbright Chair in 2006, doing research in Vercelli and Turin, Italy, and lecturing in Naples, Sassari (Sardinia), Padua, and visiting Rome, Genoa, Venice, and Milan and the lake country. I had visited Italy only once, in Florence, but for a scholar of visual studies, spending time in Italy is an important experience. I also learned about the educational system and political system, and  I learned the language, lectured in Italian, and published articles in the language. Since returning I have been collaborating on editorial projects with Italian colleagues, who have invited me to return and lecture in Milan, Perugia, Udine, and other cities. Now I have good friends and colleagues throughout the country. I consider a Fulbright award one of the highest honors a scholar can receive.