During the summer of 2000, I was a recipent of a research grant from the Virginia Community College System (a component of the VCCS Professional Development Initiative). The purpose of the grant was to allow me to return to England in order to continue research on the medieval origins of Puritanism. Conference funds from Thomas Nelson Community College had made it possible for me to attend the International Medieval Congress at the University of Leeds (Yorkshire, England) in order to present a paper on New England Puritan Michael Wigglesworth's apocalyptic poem, The Day of Doom. This travel would also allow me to revisit Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College in Staffordshire, where I had gone in 1997 as a fellow in the VaCIE-CEMP Faculty Exchange.
My proposed itinerary included living at University of East Anglia for the month of June, conducting research at that library and at the Dean & Chapter Library of Norwich Cathedral, traveling around East Anglia for that month, attending the International Medieval Congress in July, and returning to the States in order to undertake research at Yale University's Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscript Library in July and August.
The wandering scholar sets out in one direction but often finds him or herself following unmapped paths. Although I largely accomplished the objectives that I planned in the research proposal, the serendipitous byways were often far more interesting. As a result, I have gathered material for articles on two topics: 1) medieval origins of Puritan apocalypticism and 2) visual discourses of early modern science in apocalypse commentaries. In addition, I spent considerable time and energy researching that remarkable period between 1460 and 1660 when English religious and political life underwent revolutionary changes (many of which resulted in "America").
Moreover, while in Staffordshire and in Norwich, I had the opportunity to visit innovative further education (our "continuing education") sites at Staffordshire University's Lichfield Centre with Tamworth and Lichfield College and The Learning Shop in Norwich. During my stay in Norwich I took advantage of its proximity to London, visiting the British Museum and the new British Library. In addition, I attended the London 2000 Roundtable of the Council on Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication (CPTSC).