English Professor Awarded Toni Morrison Senior Fellowship

Dr. Philathia Bolron

Dr. Philathia Bolton, associate professor in English in the Buchtel College of Arts & Sciences, has been awarded the inaugural Toni Morrison Senior Fellowship in African Diaspora Literature and Cultural Studies at The Africa Institute in the United Arab Emirates. The award was established in honor of the late Toni Morrison, the acclaimed writer known as the first African American woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature.

At the Institute, Bolton will continue her research and writing on Morrison by revisiting work that connects the metaphoric significance of the character Macon Dead from “Song of Solomon” to certain novels by Black women writers of the 1970s and 1980s. 

“My being selected as the first scholar to have her research supported by the Toni Morrison Senior Fellowship brings me great joy and feels highly significant,” said Bolton. “I will be a U.S. scholar from her home state of Ohio in a different cultural context writing, researching and speaking about her, this iconic person whose works resonated across the globe. I am humbled by this and feel most honored.”

“Students, faculty and staff of the English department are thrilled that Dr. Bolton has received this fellowship, which will support her important scholarship,” remarked Dr. Mary Biddinger, professor and interim chair of the Department of English. “We look forward to learning about Dr. Bolton’s work during the residency and congratulate her on this impressive accomplishment.” 

Bolton’s one-year residency begins in September.