Temple Receives Fellowship to Conduct Research at UNC and Duke

WINTERVILLE—Pitt Community College instructor Scott Temple will conduct research as a visiting scholar this year as part of his ongoing efforts to shed light on issues concerning Latino migration and farm work.

Temple, who has taught English and humanities courses at Pitt since 2016, was one of several college educators to be selected for a College Educators Research Fellowship (CERF) this spring. The award comes through The Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University, a collaboration that began in 1990.

Through CERF, Temple will have access to the esteemed Latin American and Caribbean library collections at UNC and Duke, which total more than 750,000 volumes and are designed to complement one another. Consortium staff will assist Temple with identifying and networking with faculty and scholars and provide guidance on the libraries’ collections and resources.

“I am thrilled to receive this fellowship to continue serving my students at Pitt Community College and the greater Latino farmworker community,” Temple said. “In addition to teaching, connecting my research to the greater community is why I am so passionate to serve as a community college instructor.”

Temple says his research will focus on the effects environmental issues – including climate change, the coronavirus and environmental justice – have on migration. He will also examine how migration affects women left behind by farmworkers, particularly those in indigenous communities, and the circumstances those women face while the men are away.

At the conclusion of his research later this year, Temple will submit a three- to five-page summary detailing his findings and any modifications he made to his original research proposal. He will also present his research and/or new curriculum options resulting from his fellowship during the N.C. Conference on Latin American Studies and/or consortium outreach events.

To be considered for his fellowship, Temple submitted a research proposal clearly focused on a Latin American topic, along with a letter of support from his supervisors. He was selected for the award from an applicant pool comprised of faculty from institutions of higher education in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions as well as Puerto Rico.

“I recognize this fellowship is made possible through the continued support from my department chair, Josh Matthews, and dean, Dr. Stephanie Rook, and the greater PCC community,” Temple said. “I will strive to represent PCC with honor as a selected fellow.”

Earlier this year, Temple was chosen to participate in a residency at Duke during National Farmworker Awareness Week. He was to screen and interpret “At a Stranger’s Table,” a documentary he created about farmworkers and consumers, but the event was canceled due to the pandemic.

As part of the residency, Temple was also planning to join artist Sally Jacobs, who served as co- and creative director for his documentary, in debuting a bus sculpture Jacobs designed in collaboration with the Association of Mexicans in North Carolina. Temple helped write the grant proposal to the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation that ultimately funded planning for the sculpture.

The bus is now on display in Greenville’s Alice F. Keene District Park. Temple says he hopes it will bridge cultural divides by serving as a platform for migrant farmworkers to share their narratives.

For more information on Temple’s work, visit www.atastrangerstable.com.

06/15/2020