Film student secures Library of Congress fellowship

Falvey’s research project focuses on photographic and cinematic representations of New York City at the beginning of the twentieth century. He explores how silent films depicted NYC as a major city during a period of rapid development, which saw the advent of its iconic skycrapers and transportation systems. The title of his research is: 'Unearthing New York City:Transforming Iconographies and the Birth of the Cinematic City, 1890-1930.'

Falvey said:“I am going to be looking at iconographic depictions of New York City at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century. The breadth of materials available at the Library of Congress in my particular field is unparalleled. My research will explore how cinema imposed itself upon the city and how the city imposed itself back on cinema. I will have access to the extensive collections of early film and photography collections which will provide me with a rich opportunity to explore texts that have been previously absent from academic research. I cannot wait to get stuck in with the tremendous number of items that the Library of Congress has to offer.”

The Library of Congress (LOC) is the oldest federal cultural institution in America and serves as the research arm of Congress. It has 12,000 new items added daily to over 158 million items in 470 languages, on 838 miles of bookshelves. IPS fellows at LOC will be part of a cohort of international fellows with opportunities to take part in conferences, symposia, special lectures, present work to peers and mentors, and network and forge international contacts and collaborations. The IPS LOC fellows will be in residence at LOC and will be based at the John W Kluge Center between October 2014 and October 2015.  

Dr Joe Kember, Eddie’s PhD supervisor and a senior lecturer in Film Studies at the University of Exeter said:“The AHRC International Placement Scheme offers important and prestigious awards to exceptional postgraduate scholars wishing to spend time in archives and collections overseas.  Eddie’s dedication to this project and his ingenuity in pursuing it is fully recognised by this award, which I believe will contribute substantially to his profile as a talented young academic.”

The AHRC International Placement Scheme provides funded fellowships at some of the world’s leading research institutions, offering dedicated access to their globally renowned collections, resources and expertise. This opportunity enables postgraduate students and early career researchers to enrich their research, understandings and connections through immersion in research cultures, with privileges unavailable to independent visiting scholars.  

The Library of Congress IPS Fellows join thirty other IPS Fellows at other host organisations in 2014, including the Yale Center for British Art, The Harry Ransom Center (University of Texas at Austin), The Huntington Library, the Smithsonian Institution and the National Institutes for the Humanities in Japan (NIHU).