Amy Werbel

University of York (History of Art) Scholar Award, University of York - Art History

It might at first seem like mere quirky semantic fun that I will be traveling to York from New York, where I am Professor of the History of Art at the Fashion Institute of Technology. My Fulbright research project, however, is all about the ways in which American speech laws were first derived from and then ultimately diverged from the English Common Law tradition. The difference between what I can exhibit and look at in New York vs. York is the result of hundreds of years of similarity and then difference in the domain of art censorship cases. Comparing the two traditions will help me further develop a primary question I have examined for the last fifteen years: What does our American First Amendment promise and guarantee, and is it possible to live up to it while still maintaining a civil society and vibrant democracy? Artists have always been instrumental in representing our societal and legal norms and in challenging them. During my first Fulbright Scholar award in China, 2011-2012, my family and I indulged in every delightful local food and drink we encountered. Once again, we will continue that tradition, and look forward to eating plenty of Sunday roasts and curries and hoisting a few pints with new friends.