PMA Ph.D. Alum Harvey Young ’04 has been awarded a 2026 Guggenheim Fellowship in Theatre Arts & Performance Studies. He is part of the 101st clast of fellows, including individuals working across 55 disciplines.
“It is a joyful honor—and a recognition of the impact of interdisciplinary studies in the arts,” said Young. “The Guggenheim Fellowship is a signal that the critical thinking strategies I learned at Cornell as a graduate student in theatre and performance studies are shaping national conversations.
“I will be on sabbatical for academic year 2026-2027 and will finish writing a book that explores the popular fascination with both real and imagined Black culture across a century, from early 20th century world fairs to Beyonce's arena concerts. I'm excited to have the opportunity to prioritize this project thanks to the Guggenheim Foundation.”
Since its founding in 1925, the Guggenheim Foundation has awarded nearly $450 million in fellowships to more than 19,000 Fellows. This year, applications in the Creative Arts and Humanities were up by 50% and applications in the Sciences were up by 86%. At a time when intellectual and creative life is under attack, the Foundation continues to demonstrate its commitment to supporting extraordinary individuals breaking new ground in the Creative Arts, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities, and a range of interdisciplinary fields. Learn more.
Harvey Young is Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Interim Vice President for the Arts at Boston University, where he holds appointments as Professor of English, Theatre Arts, American Studies, and African American & Black Diaspora Studies. He is the author/editor of ten books, most recently Theatre and Human Flourishing (Oxford University Press, 2023). He has appeared on CNN, Good Morning America, NPR, CBC Radio as well as within the pages of the New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune among other major news outlets. Read more about his work.
