by Jack Llewellyn

Just this week the department learned that the College of Humanities and Public Affairs has approved Martha Finch’s application for a sabbatical for the 2012-2013 academic year, to work on her next book. The one-sentence summary of the proposed book in Dr. Finch’s application reads: “The book manuscript, ‘Outward Adornment: Plain Dress in American Protestantism,’ is a study of Protestant groups that have advocated plain dress as a sign of godliness, a means of articulating the relationship between the ‘inner’ self, the ‘outer’ body, and ‘the world,’ and a strategy for defining group identity and gender.” The sabbatical will allow Dr. Finch to concentrate her time on this broad and interesting study. Though we’ll miss Dr. Finch next year, we are happy to celebrate this accomplishment, and we look forward to the book!