Constance Furey will spend a month of her Fall 2022 sabbatical in residency at the Max Eastman house on Martha’s Vineyard, working with her collaborator, Rebecca Schorsch, on Unlearning Religion, a co-authored book about teaching. The Teaching Religion in Public series, which Furey directs, will be on hiatus in the Fall, resuming in the Spring semester. 

The Eastman Residency is a competitive program supporting IU Bloomington faculty in the arts and humanities by providing residencies from two to four weeks on the IU-owned Eastman property, deeded to IU by the Eastman family. Max Forrester Eastman (1883-1969) was a prolific American writer and prominent political activist. In the early 20th century, he edited and wrote for a number of radical political magazines. Throughout his long life, he gained international recognition as a poet, memoirist, biographer, and author of books on subjects ranging from humor to the scientific method to Soviet culture. The historic property on Martha’s Vineyard, at which Eastman and his family resided, was a vibrant hub for writers, artists, and thinkers throughout the twentieth century.

The Lilly Library acquired the Max Eastman manuscript collection from 1958 to 1986, and it is one of the library’s most frequently consulted holdings. During this period, Indiana University also developed a relationship with the Eastman family, including Eastman’s widow, Yvette Szekely Eastman. IU received the property upon Mrs. Eastman’s death in 2014, and restored and renovated the house, which is situated at the highest point of the island, and enjoys stunning views of Menemsha Pond, Squibnocket Pond, Vineyard Sound, and Nantucket Sound.

Outfitted with Eastman’s library, personal effects, and period furniture, the house was gifted to the university for the sole purpose of allowing IU artists and humanists to carry on Eastman’s rich work of critically-engaged thought and expression.