Fulbright Scholar Sanil Raj Johnson was received at The Dodd Center yesterday afternoon.

Fulbright Scholar Welcomed

By: Maura McHale

Posted: 9/21/06

The first-ever Fulbright Scholar to study at UConn, Sanil Raj Johnson of Kerala, India was welcomed Wednesday morning at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center by faculty and staff.

The Fulbright program is an international student exchange program that was established in 1946 by Senator J. William Fulbright to promote the mutual understanding between people of the United States and other countries, according to fulbrightonline.org.

"This is a great opportunity in my life," Johnson said.

Johnson is an English language and literature lecturer at St. Thomas College in India and also a Ph.D. candidate at Calicut University. He came to the University of Connecticut to study the Black Mountain Poets using the resources at the Dodd Center.

"Sanil found us and was drawn to the Dodd because of its rich literary collections," said Melissa Watterworth, curator of Literary and Natural History Collections Archives and Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center.

"He also knew I would be able to advise him on other collections as well, such as the Black Mountain Paper at South Carolina State Library and literary collections at Stanford," Watterworth said.

Johnson said he finds the study of British and American literature quite interesting. He came across the Black Mountain Poets while studying the Beats and was drawn to them because he feels that along with mainstream American literature they have their own value.

"American poetry is not well known in India and Johnson is hoping to change that," Watterworth said.

According to Johnson, his study of American literature was difficult in India due to the limited number of books and one library that were available to him. He said he wondered at times if he would be able to complete his research without the proper materials. Now, as a Fulbright Scholar, those worries are all in the past.

"I am very happy to be able to get to the right place to do my research," Johnson said. "I believe I can get the maximum benefit out of my time here."

Johnson is not the only one excited about his opportunity to study here. Tom Wilson, director of the Dodd Center, said he was excited that Johnson would be able to use these resources as well.

"It's great to have someone here for this length of time to use the collection," Wilson said. "Researchers from all over the world, Germany, England and Japan have come to use our Black Mountain Poets collection, but have only been able to stay for a few months at a time."

Johnson will study at UConn for the 2006-2007 academic year and then return to India to fulfill his teaching obligations there.

"I want to meet the students," Johnson said. "I want to get involved. Right now I have no intention of coming back to the U.S. I can do the best of myself in my home country."