4. Research Materials Series

Susan Keefe's research was manuscript-based, and as such required her to develop relationships with and spend time in various rare book and manuscript libraries, most of them in Europe. She won several grants in order to support her travel and research, from sources such as the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (1987–1988), the American Council of Learned Societies (Grant-in-Aid, 1991), Duke's University Research Council (1991 and 1992), and the National Endowment for the Humanities (1995–1998).

In addition to the libraries Dr. Keefe visited, she also took several research trips to Europe and North Africa in order to visit archaeological sites. Many of the sites on her itinerary were described in older books and articles, whose descriptions she wished to confirm, amplify, or correct as necessary. In many cases, she was able to find descriptions and floor plans of a church within an archaeological dig, but no details (or very few) about the sanctuary's baptistery or font. Her photographs and descriptions, therefore, are an invaluable resource to those interested in the history of Christian liturgy and of the baptismal rite--and in many cases represent scholarship and insight that is not to be found in other sources.

Dr. Keefe often kept handwritten journal accounts of these trips, and also preserved records of her travels in the form of microfilm and photographs, for the purposes of introducing students to some of the practical aspects of Medieval Christianity. For example: the Carolingian era which Dr. Keefe studied saw the Christianization of many tribes within Europe -- a process that would have included the baptism of large groups of people. How were these rituals performed? What sort of vessel might have accommodated the practice of mass or individual baptism in a fourth-, fifth-, or sixth-century church or basilica?

Pictured: Dr. Keefe at Hammam-Lif, a site southwest of Tunis on the way to the Cap Bon peninsula. She is standing in a sunken, hexagonal baptismal font to give an indication of its size. 7 July 2000.

Contents of the Series

4. Research Materials Series

4.1 Faculty Research Grant, Davidson College, 1985 [Box 2, Folder 40]

4.1a Journal: Research trip to France, Italy, and Spain (1985)

4.2 Mellon Faculty Fellowship, Harvard University, 1987–1988 [Box 2, Folder 40]

4.3 American Council of Learned Societies, Grant-in-Aid, 1991 [Box 2, Folder 41]

4.4 URC Major Grant, Duke University, 1991; URC Regular Grant, Duke University, 1992 [Box 2, Folder 41]

4.5 National Endowment for the Humanities, 1995–1998 [Box 2, Folder 42]

4.5a Journal: Research trip to France and Spain (1996)

4.6 Research trip to North Africa (2000) [Box 2, Folder 43]

4.6a Journal: Research trip to North Africa

4.6b Photographs: Travels in Tunisia

4.7 Research Trip to Turkey (2003) [Box 2, Folder 43]

4.8 Research trip to Greece (2005) [Box 2, Folder 44]

4.8a Journal: Research trip to Greece

4.8b Photographs: Journeys through Greece

4.9 Research Trip to Spain and Portugal (2009)

4.10 Undated, Uncategorized Photographs from Research Trip to Croatia and Italy

4.11 Correspondence related to manuscript copy requests, library visits, and approvals given by libraries for Dr. Keefe's purpose of editing manuscripts in preparation for critical editions [Box 2, Folders 45–49]